A former Armagh county camogie player – who refused to give up competitive sports following an injury – has found a new niche in cycling… and it’s now become her full-time focus.
Gabrielle Fox of Derrynoose (27) first took to two wheels during rehab work after a cruciate ligament injury left her unable to play camogie – a game she had played and excelled at her “entire life”.
It was during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when the mundanity of cycling in a gym was beginning to take its toll. Then… Gabrielle’s sister-in-law offered her the loan of a road bike.
After taking it out for a “few spins”, the now elite cyclist soon realised that it was a “good bit better than sitting on a gym bike!”
One day, in need of parts, she visited Emyvale Cycling Club in Monaghan, where she was delivered the delightful news that they had a scheme in place where she would be given a “free” bike if she agreed to cycle with them every Sunday.
“I just thought this was a win win,” laughed Gabrielle. And, it might just have been the kick-start she needed.
Speaking to Armagh I, she explained: “Buying a bike, a helmet and shoes is so expensive and can put a lot of people off. When they offered that, it got me in to cycling.
“We just went out randomly around the roads and from that it grew and they saw how competitive I was and they threw me into a race one day and that was the start of it.”
At the time, Gabrielle was employed full-time as a Mechanical Engineer and was during her employment relocated to Limerick where she moved to live in September 2023.
She had just completed her first season of racing but admits she still “didn’t know anything” about training, heart rate and power.
So, in Limerick she joined Greenmount Cycling Academy and under the direction of coaches Vinnie Gleeson and Alan Loftus “grew and got stronger”.
“They put a lot of time and effort into me,” she said. “They taught me about how to train, the different types of training and intervals. Coming from camogie I was thinking that I understood training but this was completely different muscles.”
While involved with Greenmount, Gabrielle excelled. She was racing across the province “almost every weekend”, she won her first solo Women’s Race with Bray Wheels at the Pauline Walsh Memorial Road Race and was consistently coming second, third or “at least top five” in all races – every time, she says, she was “just tipping the nose of my competition”.
One of her main 2024 highlights was racing in the Irish colours in Denmark.
Said Gabrielle: “It was my first time racing in the Irish jerseys and racing outside of Ireland – but I said to myself at the time it wouldn’t be my last!”
She had also qualified for the Gran Fondo World Championships where she eventually raced, placing eighth in the world just 0.02 seconds off the winner.
But the majority of her competitors arguably had an edge. Gabrielle explained that many of them were younger, they were students or were working part-time. She – on the other hand – was working a 40 hour week and on occasion “getting 10,000 steps in by lunch”.
Vinnie and Alan both became instrumental in helping Gabrielle realise that this was more than just a hobby. She had a talent – but to progress she would have to make a difficult decision… she would have to go full-time.
Said Gabrielle: “My two coaches just asked me, ‘Why don’t you try it?’, I wanted to try and push on but here in Ireland racing is limited. I also was aware that I was 26 turning 27 and not getting any younger.
“I thought if I don’t try it now I won’t have this lack of commitment outside of sport in the future. I looked in the mirror in the first or second week of October and thought I’m just going to go for this.
“I quit my job and booked a flight four weeks later for Australia.”
Gabrielle enjoying some “down time” on her tour of Australia
Having been advised that she needed “good winter training” and International racing experience, Gabrielle knew Australia would likely offer both.
“I basically packed a schoolbag and my bike and took myself to Australia with only a one way ticket and I didn’t know anyone in cycling and not many contacts,” she said.
“I found out about Elite Racing in the ProVelo Super League and to race it you had to complete like a CV – they only wanted elite racers.
“I got selected so that was my opportunity to race with the top elite riders in Australia which was what I needed to expose myself to if I wanted to come back to Europe to race.”
It involved six different rounds of racing all across Australia, from Sydney to Brisbane to Melbourne, along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide to Tasmania, from January 17 to March 24.
She was there entirely self-funded and in between the rounds of racing as a solo rider, she was planning her travel, sitting on trains for up to 14 hours at a time and trying to secure accommodation… all the while carting her bike everywhere she went.
After requesting help from Australian locals through a few online groups, Gabrielle was “taken in” by families, provided hot meals and collected from the airport. Their immense generosity, she says, “kept her going”.
At the ProVelo Super League she finished 15th – a place she was happy with – but it wasn’t without its hiccups.
“I’m still learning,” she said. “I’m just throwing myself into it but it was tough. There were a few crashes, a few cracked helmets and I ended up in hospital.
“But, I looked in the mirror each time and thought – I have to keep going. I was on a mission… it was either going to physically break me or financially break me but I’m not going to stop.”
If she could sell it, her persistence and tenacity would keep her legs turning forever. But Gabrielle’s cycling career is undoubtedly hampered on the financial front.
She pumped “every penny” she had into Australia. Her gear, she says, “isn’t the best of the best” and she openly expresses that she’s at the stage where she “needs help”.
Said Gabrielle: “I need someone to sponsor me or point me in the right direction. Is there funding from the community or from council for people to get into Olympic teams, to get out there and compete in the Commonwealth Games, for to be seen on TV?
“You need people like me – amateurs coming through the ranks – but if I don’t get the support I’m going to have to pack it in.”
On May 1 of this year, Gabrielle returned to Northern Ireland to compete in the Irish National Championships – where she again scooped a top spot securing third place – and it’s only been a brief 20 day stop over as she once again packed up that “schoolbag” to head off to Spain on May 20.
In Spain she hopes to “prove” her racing ability and cement herself a space on the Spanish UPV Ciclista Woman’s Cycling Team.
This trip – like all others – is self-funded. But in terms of sponsorship, Gabrielle is not asking for mountains to be moved.
Commenting on the type of sponsorship she would like to receive, she said: “Anything! Discount on gear or an overnight stay if I am travelling. But if somebody could back me financially or even just help with logistics that would be amazing.
“You don’t realise how far little things go.”
Not wanting her dreams to be dashed because she doesn’t have the cash, Gabrielle is issuing a sincere plea for support in any form which will undoubtedly ensure that this young athlete can reach her full potential and continue to represent her country at the highest levels in cycling.
Said Gabrielle: “I think coming from an agricultural background where I saw my parents work hard has made me so driven and determined- no is not an option!
“There is always a way around it or an alternative solution!”
If you would like to sponsor Gabrielle or can offer her support in her journey you can make contact via email gabriellefox98@hotmail.com or telephone 07596915902.
