The two-day seminar started with a welcome from Director of WCC, Fredric Magne, followed by a review of 2014. The seminar featured top quality presentations from international UCI experts, including “Effective Leadership”, by Richard Cheetham; “Understanding Our Work from a Talent Perspective”, by Andrew Gillott, Coach Development Manager, Sport England; and “Olympic Solidarity”, by Yassine Yousfi, Senior Manager of Coaches, OS.
“I had a chance to meet some of the coaches and athletes who are training currently at the WCC for the upcoming Asian Championship and UCI Track World Championship,” said Amiri.
WCC was established in 2002 to provide the highest quality training environment for riders and coaches around the world for major Games and World Championships, who don’t have access to quality training facilities and equipment in their home country. Riders at the World Cycling Centre are set up with the best bikes for their discipline, with full bike maintenance. The main focus is Track Sprint and Endurance, Road, Mountain Bike and BMX (Olympic Disciplines)
“Training at WCC is not just about cyclists practicing their sport, it covers in-class sessions on technical elements and includes bike mechanical support on the rides,” adds Amiri. “There is also a big emphasis on developing a rider’s life skills. Riders who come to WCC are known to achieve many successes including podium finishes at Olympic and World Championships.”
WCC has a magnificent indoor track (host to the one hour world record time), world class BMX track, MTB trails and perfect roads for training. There is also a hi-tech weight room and gymnasium. The ‘Velodrome’ Restaurant is located at the main floor of the WCC indoor track, and the athletes residence is 2.5km away in the centre of Aigle.