Twenty coaches from 14 countries are currently on the final coaching course of the year being held at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland.
While some are completing the Level 1 & 2 Certification for new coaches working with younger or developing athletes, most of the participants are aiming for the UCI Coaching Diploma, which is designed for experienced coaches working with their national teams or national-level athletes.
The UCI World Cycling Centre’s own coaches and external experts are leading the theory and practical sessions on a wide range of aspects including bike fitting, conditioning, power training, monitoring performance, event analysis and benchmarking. The participants also work on talent detection, the coach-athlete relationship, planning and tapering, and nutrition.
"It’s four weeks of intensity. You name it, it’s on the programme."
Those are the words of one of the participants, former Olympian, New Zealander Cath Cheatley. “I’ve ridden a bike since I was 12. I love the sport and still want to be involved. This course has confirmed that this is what I really want to do. And it is giving me the confidence to apply what I gained through my experience."
Bronze medallist in the points race at the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Cheatley competed in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games both on the track (in the points race) and on the road. On retiring from competition in 2012 she didn’t want to fall into the “athlete who retires and goes straight into coaching” stereotype but it didn’t take her long to realise that this was, in fact, the path she wanted to take. And she has the full support of her husband, Cycling New Zealand’s head track coach Dayle Cheatley.
“I have the best role model in the world.” she points out, adding that she would, however, like to see more women coaches working professionally. As a retired Olympian, she benefits from the New Zealand Olympic Committee’s support system AWOL – Aspiring Women Olympic Leaders. However she recognises that not all women can rely on such support in their countries.
“It’s tough for women. It’s hard to find a pathway. There are quite a few women in administrative roles, but few who have a hands-on role in the sport. I want to take what I have learned back home and see if I can make a difference… We’ll see what happens."
"Coaching is incredibly complex. You have to question everything, think outside the squares, try different things."
Her dream job? "To own a women’s team from development level up to high performance level.”
Like Cheatley, Rizal Tisin also competed on the track at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; he was part of the Malaysian pursuit team which finished in 7th place. Specialist in the kilo, he won bronze at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, silver at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2011 Asian Championships.
He has been coaching for 10 months, and works for the National Sports Council of Malaysia, which has assigned him a woman track endurance athlete who is trying to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
On the course in Aigle, Rizal Tisin, who did not have a coach when competing himself, is particularly enjoying everything related to sports science.
“I am learning so much here, even basic things that I had never heard about before. I think as an athlete I would have done some things differently if I had had more knowledge, for example concerning nutrition.
“Everything about this course is good: the courses, the lecturers, meeting people and discussing with them.”
He says he will probably change a few things in his coaching technique when he returns to Malaysia, and hopes to stay in touch with some of the other course participants to continue exchanging ideas.
One thing is sure: he intends to continue coaching and wants to do so “at a very high level.”
The UCI Coach Development Programme will continue in 2016. Details and dates will be announced at the beginning of the year.