Eve McCrystal & Katie George Dunlevy are one of the world’s best tandem pair. They are World Champions on the road having won five gold medals at the Para-cycling Road World Championships.
The world class duo are well used to spending long hours in each other's company but are being brought closer than ever at the moment as they both isolate together to get through the COVID-19 outbreak.
Originally from Crawley in the UK, Dunlevy is happily spending life in lockdown on these shores in the company of pilot McCrystal and her two daughters in Dundalk.
"It wasn't planned," McCrystal explained in a video to Paralympics Ireland.
"Katie had come over two weeks before all this happened. We had an engagement camp pencilled in and Katie came over for that just to get a week done before we went to Dublin.
"Then this all kicked off and she hasn't gone home!
"I love having people around me so I prefer that she's here. We are motivation for each other. We're on the bike together, we have gym twice a week.
"In my head I'm just looking at like a long training camp and I have to say I'm really enjoying it."
Dunlevy believes the duo have gotten even closer thanks to their increased time in each other's company.
"I live with my parents so it was the best decision for my family at home, the risk of travelling and everything, that I would stay here.
"It's a change but I've been over here to stay with Eve throughout the years, especially in the summer, getting time in on the bike together. The girls know me quite well.
“I’m just making sure that I’m staying in touch with my family. Sometimes I’m a bit homesick and struggling a little bit, but on the whole I’m good and we’re training well. I’m enjoying it. It’s not forever and I’m making the most of the time here with Eve.”
"It's her house but she has welcomed me and we work so well together. Even though we know each other so well, it has brought us closer together.
"Sometimes I'm a bit homesick but on the whole I'm good and we're training well. It's not forever and I'm making the most of the time here."
The pair had been aiming to peak for the Road World Championships in June ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics, which have both been cancelled due to the pandemic.
Dunlevy says they have just embraced the situation and knuckled down to lots of training.
"In those first two weeks we managed to get out and do a lot of miles on the tandem. It got worse really quickly. The restrictions changed so that we couldn't go more than 2km so we've been indoors training.
"We're just training away hard every day. We're fortunate that we can train indoors."
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