Offaly resident Sinead captures silver on world paracycling championships debut
Offaly resident Sinead Greenan and pilot Alice Sharpe have achieved an incredible silver medal finish on their the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Paracycling Road World Championships debut.
Greenan, originally from Cootehill, Co. Cavan and now living in Mountbolus, finished behind fellow Irish pairing Katie-Goerge Dunlevy and pilot Linda Kelly (who secured their fourth consecutive World Championship time trial title) in the Women's 'B' individual time trial in Huntsville, USA last Saturday.
Dunlevy and Kelly completed the 29.2 km course in 36:55.48 with Greenan and Sharpe following in 37:28.08, finishing just 32.60 seconds behind their team-mates and 20.71 seconds ahead of Great Britain's bronze medallists Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl.
Greenan, who was born with congenital cataracts and secondary glaucoma and has lived with a visual impairment all her life, is only in her debut season in the sport, and speaking to Cycling Ireland, she said that finishing in the silver medal placet was “pretty unbelievable”.
“It feels like a dream at the moment and it's still hard to believe, but the silver feels even sweeter after such tough conditions. The heat was the hardest part. On the second lap, I just focused on reaching each corner and telling myself there was one less to go,” Sinead said.
Her pilot Alice Sharpe added: “It's amazing and I'm so proud of Sinead. We only came together for our first World Cup in Belgium, so to already be standing on a World Championship podium is pretty special. It's a testament to all the work she has put in. To achieve this in her first year of racing is incredible, and I'm excited to see where we can go together.”
The result gave Ireland its first two medals of the 2026 UCI Paracycling Road World Championships and placed two Irish tandems on the same World Championship podium.
A qualified physiotherapist and former mountain biker, Greenan only joined Cycling Ireland's paracycling development squad in March but has quickly established herself on the international stage. She has hopes of qualifying for the Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Partnering with tandem pilot Alice Sharpe, she won bronze in her first World Cup appearance in Belgium before capturing silver at the European Paracycling Championships in Italy in June.