Nulty and Mullen ready for Youth Olympics in Finland

TWO young cyclists with strong Royal County connections, Javan Nulty and Ryan Mullen, will be gunning for gold when they take part in the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOE) next month. Based on their dedication alone few could deny that they deserve a chance to perform on the big stage. Nulty and Mullen have been selected on the Irish cycling team along with Robert Anderson from Armagh for the Festival which will be staged in Tampere, Finland from Saturday, 18th July to Saturday, 25th July. All three promising riders came through a testing qualifying process to ensure they would be on the flight to Finland. They made sure of their places when four of their best performances in five designated races at various locations around Ireland over the past few months were taken into account. Mullen has already made his mark because at just 14 years of age, he will be one of the youngest participants in these Olympics. He has also shown his commitment by regularly travelling over from his home in Wales to take part in cycling events in Ireland. Ryan Mullen"s father, Kevin Mullen, originally lived in the Garlow Cross area before emigrating to Wales where he has been based since the mid-1990s. Kevin Mullen says with a laugh that he 'deserves a share in Irish Ferries' by now as he travels up to 30 times a year from his home in Colwyn Bay, in Wales to Ireland for both work and leisure, and more often then not Ryan travels with him. Involved in the construction industry - Kevin Mullen installs central vacuum systems into houses - he estimates that he makes at least 20 of those trips back to the Emerald Isle to attend cycling events. Kevin Mullen is also a former member of Navan Road Club and won a number of stages in the Junior Ras na hEireann at a time when the race was one of the biggest events in the Irish sporting calendar. From an very early age Ryan Mullen has been involved in competitive cycling and has proved himself to be particularly adept at time trials. The Mullens often set out from their home on a Friday afternoon, catch the ferry across the Irish Sea, attend a cycling event on a Saturday or Sunday, before returning home to Colwyn Bay, often late at night. Ryan Mullen has even proved himself against many adult opponents on time-trials on both sides of the Irish Sea. 'In a time-trial in Wales he beat all adult competitors, he cycled 10 miles in 21 minutes, time-trials are his forte,' added Kevin Mullen who has no doubt that the scene for young riders is much better organised on this side of the water. The prospect of well-organised, highly competitive races is one of the attractions Ireland holds for Ryan Mullen. 'The cycling for schoolboys in Wales is absolutely useless,' said Kevin Mullen. 'The schoolboy racing in Wales is only around little circuits, parks and stuff. Over in Ireland the Gardai will come out and hold up the traffic, it"s proper road racing. Here it"s around a school circuit.' Kevin Mullen added from his home in Wales that his son"s determination to become the best cyclist he can extends to getting up at six of o"clock some mornings and embarking on a spin before returning home and preparing for school. Nulty (16) is a member of the Stamullen club and is already well experienced in road racing. His father Colm, was also a top ranking cyclists and was the overall winner of the Ras na hEireann. Colm trains Javan who is looking forward to broadening his experience at the Finland games. A student at St Mary"s in Drogheda, Javan Nulty was third in the National Time-Trial Championships last year. He also won the Corkman three-day event in 2008 and he also proved best in a high grade race in Fermoy this year. Nulty explained that his programme includes training spins almost every day and competition at the weekends as he tries to maximise his fitness in the lead up to his departure for Finland. He added that he has to watch what he eats. It"s one of the sacrifices he is prepared to make to try in order to compete with the best. The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOE) has been held biennially since 1991. There are nine sporting events in the Festival programme including judo, basketball, handball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, cycling and athletics. The 49 countries that make up the European Olympic Committee will send teams with over 3,300 athletes already accredited. Nulty and Mullen will be doing their best for themselves and their country.