Over the last few years, the UCI WCC has been their home away from home, a place where they eat, sleep and train like pros. Where they have developed strong friendships and mutual respect. Where they have progressed under their coach Craig MacLean and where they share a common dread of his legendary “long and strong” sessions: long efforts on a big gear that they unanimously agree “really hurt”.
They train six days a week, on the track, in the gym and out on the road. Sunday is a rest day, devoted to sleep and finding the best spots for a long leisurely brunch.
We introduce you to the team:
Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand), aged 27
In his 4th year training in Aigle, Jai considers the UCI WCC as home. “I’ve got lots of things I like in my room and I consider the guys here my family so it’s fine,” says the athlete who quickly saw improvements after arriving at the centre as a 22-year-old.
“I went from being at the back of the field to being in the middle and even higher.”
Overall winner in the keirin after the six rounds of the 2019-2020 UCI Track Cycling World Cup, Jai’s major upcoming goal is the Asian Track Championships taking place in New Delhi (India) from 18 to 22 June. A win would earn him an automatic ticket to the 2022 Tissot UCI Track World Championships in Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines (France) in October. But there are also other point-scoring opportunities before then, not least the second round of the Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup in Cali (Colombia) at the beginning of July.
Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tobago), aged 23
Nicholas Paul is a force to be reckoned with on the world stage. He is world record holder in the 200m flying start, won the silver medal in the 1Km time trial at last year’s Tissot UCI Track World Championships and finished 6th in the sprint event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The start of his 2022 campaign has been hampered by a broken collarbone sustained during a crash at the opening round of the 2022 Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup in Glasgow (Great Britain). Recovery is going well and as he pushes the watts on a Wattbike at the centre of the UCI WCC velodrome, his fellow track trainees do the same on the track. He even admits to missing the much-feared “long and strong” sessions.
“You never want to do them, but when you can’t, you miss them,” says Nicholas who has received plenty of support from his fellow track trainees during his injury: “The guys have been behind me, motivating me. They are there for me.”
Jaïr Tjon En Fa (Suriname),aged 28
Fourth place in the keirin at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is proof that Jaïr is among the world’s best.
Another of his career highlights – so far – has been establishing the world record for the 200m flying start at the 2019 Pan American Track Cycling Championships, a record that had been held for six years by Frenchman François Pervis. A record that Nicholas Paul went on to beat just a handful of seconds later before beating his UCI WCC teammate into second place.
The Pan American Championships will be a major focus again this year providing Jaïr with a first chance to gain qualification points towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Continental Championships will take place 10-14 August, in San Luis, Lima (Peru).
Miriam Vece (Italy), aged 25
With two medals already under her belt at the UCI Track Nations’ Cup this year – 2nd in the 500m time trial in Glasgow (Great Britain) and 3rd in the same event in Milton (Canada) – Miriam Vece is ready to take on the rest of the season.
Bronze medallist in the 500m at the 2020 Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin (Germany), Miriam will be aiming for another medal at this year’s UCI World Championships in Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines. And why not at least a quarter-final in the sprint?
Miriam has the impression that weekends are too short. And like her training partners, she has a love/hate relationship with the feared “long and strong” track session. But she knows it’s the way forward for her longer term goal: qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Orla Walsh (Ireland), aged 34
“I’m proud that I’m doing this and pushing myself every day to be healthier. I’ve grown more mentally in the last five years than in the 10 years before that.”
These are the words of the UCI WCC’s oldest track cycling athlete, who turned to the sport relatively late in the day, in her 20s, beginning on the road before taking to the track then changing again from endurance to sprint. This is Orla’s second year training at the UCI WCC, and although she says she’s more on a life journey than a quest for medals, she derives pleasure from a hard session on the track, and especially in the gym: (“I love lifting heavy things”).
She clocked a personal best time in the 200m at the recent Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup in Milton and set a national record in the 500m. She does not intend stopping there. Her main goal of the year is the Tissot UCI Track World Championships in October.
We will follow the track athletes’ progress as the season continues.