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  • 3 weeks ago
Load up the experience.

As T&T's cyclists are benefiting from some vital insight.

As They're currently being trained by an International Cycling Union coach, who's in T&T for a two-week development camp.

The camp features riders from across the region all looking to sharpen their skills and take their performance to the next level.
Transcript
00:00As one of the premier satellite centers in the Americas, Trinidad and Tobago has been allowed to host regional cyclists at the velodrome, which accommodates foreign expertise.
00:12International Cycling Federation coach James Hay is in TNT conducting a UCI two-week camp, not just for TNT's athletes, but cyclists in the region as well, including Puerto Rico, Barbados and Jamaica.
00:25So the objective of this camp is to bring the nations, which are what we consider tier 3 and tier 4, across worldwide really.
00:35Obviously we're focusing on the Pan-American region just now to bring cyclists from track and road disciplines to our satellite center here in Coover and Trinidad to improve their skills on the bike,
00:46improve their knowledge off the bike and just generally make them a little bit more rounded and give them the tools so they can train with their coaches and respective federations and just generally raise the bar with the cycling.
00:58His two-week stint involves an intense program involving a calculated approach, which at times dissects previously taught concepts about training athletes.
01:08But is the time frame sufficient for him to see real results?
01:11So we've got two weeks from end of October till November the 8th, six days a week. It's quite an intense schedule. We've got 22 athletes.
01:22The challenge we've got with this camp is we've got road and track cycling. And then when we look at the track cycling, we've got endurance and sprint.
01:30So unlike some of the other camps I've done in, for example, China, earlier in the year, we had road cyclists, we had nine cyclists for five weeks.
01:39So the coach to rider ratio is a little bit more concentrated. I'm not as thinly spread, but I do believe we're adding value to these riders out here.
01:48After five days, he believes that the cyclists are understanding his methodology as well as his evidence-based data-driven approach to cycling.
01:56Today, we dropped in on a session with sprinters as he used the manual timing to monitor their speed, which he says is a standard protocol for training and fits in with his style.
02:06I do believe I've got quite a rounded approach. Every coach has a philosophy. Mine is about connecting with the person and the data will follow.
02:14So I do believe it's quite holistic approach. But by having that trust, that openness both ways with rider and coach, and then that gives them the confidence to push on.
02:26He is hoping to have more time with the athletes moving forward and is in talks with the National Cycling Federation and the TNT Olympic Committee to weigh that possibility.
02:36I'm currently working with the Trinidad Cycling Federation, the Olympic Committee here in Trinidad and Pan-American sports for the whole region to grow the sport of cycling from youth, from schools, from clubs, right up to the Pan-American Games for under 17.
02:55I mean, that's something I'm in discussions with just now. So hopefully I can make a bit more of an impression than I would in two weeks. Yeah, it could be a six month, two year project.
03:07Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the coaching style of the Great Britain and the UCI coach. Sergio Dufour, TV6 Sport.
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