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THE National Cycling Centre (NCC) in Couva is currently being upgraded to an International Cycling Union (UCI) satellite centre.
A UCI satellite centre is a unique training hub for athletes coming from developing countries. It aims to offer the same path to elite success by hosting training camps to nurture young athletes and to assist the development of cycling within the region.
Currently, there are four UCI satellite centres worldwide; South Africa, Japan, Korea and India.
Satellite centres provide expert coaching from accredited coaches who are geared towards unearthing and developing new talents into world-class athletes capable of winning medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and Tour de France.
The Ministry of Sport, Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT), TT Cycling Federation (TTCF) and the UCI have all agreed to this upgrade which augurs well for cyclists within the Pan American region.
Although there will be no direct physical change to the NCC structure, the sessions, athletes and coaches involved will follow a UCI sanctioned programme. Cyclists will benefit from modern training schedules and tactics to help improve their craft to a world-class standard.
On Tuesday, Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe put pen to paper with the UCI on this visionary initiative.
“I just signed off on a document this morning regarding working with UCI to have our cycling facility developed to international standards and be a part of their UCI programme. It’s a work in progress,” said Cudjoe
According to the minister, foreign athletes will have to pay for use of the centre which will eventually allow the centre to become self-sustainable.
“It’s about having the right technical staff and making the necessary changes that they have recommended to continue to bring the facility to international status so it would be more economically viable and more suited for that level of high performance activity,” Cudjoe added.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, TT was represented by three Olympic debutants; Nicholas Paul, Kwesi Browne and the Caribbean’s first female to qualify for the women’s road race, Teniel Campbell.
Paul placed an impressive sixth in the men’s sprint, Browne finished ninth in the men’s keirin while Campbell showed grit but was unable to complete the gruelling 137 kilometre course to Mt Fuji.
TT’s best ever showing at the Games came in 2012 when two-time Olympian Njisane Phillip finished fourth in the men’s sprint.
Prior to the Games however, Paul and Browne were based at the UCI’s World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland since October 2020. They also spent several months there before the pandemic hit in mid-March last year.
At the WCC, they trained under Scottish coach Craig McLean and also worked alongside a cast of other top international riders.
Thankfully, the hefty cost of their nine-month stay at the WCC leading up to Tokyo was offset by the Olympic Solidarity which provides assistance to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for athlete development programmes, in particular those with the greatest needs for it.
It costs approximately 9,000 Swiss francs (TT$66,060) per month, per athlete to utilise the WCC’s facilities.
TTCF president Rowena Williams welcomed this innovative move to upgrade the NCC to a satellite centre. She believes the centre will provide the elite coaching needed to develop more pro cyclists in TT and the region.
She added that it will also remove a major financial burden on the sports ministry, SporTT and TTCF to constantly have cyclists travel to Switzerland and other territories to seek out pro training.
“Having UCI coaches assigned here will be ideal for our cyclists. This means all elements of elite training will be available here and the cyclists would have these services available to them.
“That would make more sense and less expensive for the country. It would even draw income as cyclists from the Caribbean and Americas would also train here but have to pay for it,” she said.
Williams deemed the satellite centre a “necessity” and said it was crucial to establish a locally-based headquarters for international cyclists.
“We really need to make it a cycling hub. That way, UCI will have the coaches here available to us and the cyclists will have the availability to have access with less overall expense to the country.
“In the Caribbean, this will be the ideal base because there is no satellite centre in this region. It will eliminate us having to go to Switzerland, Asia and those other distant places to train,” she added.
Williams however, called on corporate TT to buy in to this initiative as an investment into the future of local cycling. The sport is growing rapidly locally and within the region.
To have the likes of Paul, a world record holder in the men’s flying 200m (9.1 seconds), representing the red, white and black on the international stage serves as a platform for upcoming generation of riders.
Phillip set the trend in 2012 and the likes of Paul, Browne, Campbell, her brother Akil Campbell and women’s pro cyclist Alexi Costa among others continue to hold the banner high.
“Corporate TT should look out for investing in this project because it will require some level of sponsorship. They will also be getting much international recognition as this is a UCI-sanctioned venue with similar programmes,” she closed.
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