December 12, 2007 (Vancouver, BC) – Richard Wooles became Cycling BC’s new provincial coach and HP Director in late fall 2006. One year later, BC has had a banner year in terms of performing well at the National Championships and Western Canada Games — exactly the events Wooles said he would focus on when he took the job. We caught up with Wooles to find out more about his first year coaching in Canada, his ambitious plans for Cycling BC and his new position on the High Performance Committee.

Team BC had a great year, with four golds overall at the Western Canada Games, in addition to multiple track and road national titles. Did you meet your goals and what do you see happening next year?

Richard Wooles: I am happy for the riders. The ones that had the potential achieved the results they deserved. We had great results at the all National Championships at the Junior male endurance level, placing 1st, 2nd and 4th in the TT, 1st and 2nd in the pursuit, team pursuit win, points race win, mountain bike cross country win, and 3rd in the road race, so this was a good start. However, it really highlighted where we are weak, and we need to find more females and sprint riders. We did not even start in about half of the races at Nationals. This is a big concern for me when we’re thinking about development of the sport as a whole.

We have great mountain bikers here, and we took over 20 riders to Nationals, winning medals at the U17 and U19 level with males and females. We had a great spread of results in BMX as well this year, but still have some work to do to build a stronger BC Provincial Team. Western Canada Games was a great event for all and really helped us to teach the riders teamwork in a multi sport arena.

I hope we will have enough good riders to take a team to Abitibi in the future to win stages and go for the overall, but this has to fit into the overall goal of getting our riders to the any of the World Championships, in the best shape to go for the win. Last year we had a few strong riders. My goal is to build this base out so we have a whole team who are capable of racing at a high level.

How important is it to have cohesiveness to a development pipeline like this in terms of bringing experience back for next year (when the 2008 Track Nationals will be in Team BC’s backyard at the Burnaby Velodrome).

RW: In case of the Team Pursuit, it’s great to have at least one or two of the guys able to pass on their experiences to the new riders in the team. We’re always looking to make the groups as big as possible when it comes to training. When Kevin comes back to the group as a cadet with a National title, I feel this really inspires the riders around him to realize that they can do the same. The track is an easy one, as it’s based around a central facility. What we’re trying to do across the board with all the groups is get them together more regularly. We had a camp late in October for MTB, Road, and Track, and we’ve just had a BMX camp a few weeks ago. We need a lot more contact time with the riders, but a the moment we’re trying to put the fundamentals in place.

This year was heavily focused on the junior side of things, will there be more opportunities and focus on espoirs as the current group of juniors graduates to the senior ranks and how flexible is the pipeline?

RW: The 2007-2008 year will be focused on getting more Juniors into the program. We need a much bigger base than we currently have, and my next priority is building out the Youth Team, which we have just initiated with a great Youth Coach, Dan Proulx. We’ll expand the focus to include the Espoirs for 2009, and this ties in well with the Canada Games. As for riders coming in at a later stage of their career, Cycling BC currently offers coaching and support in the form of advice to anyone who comes and talks with me, if we both agree that they have the potential at the World and Olympic level.

How much of your vision for Team BC is based around getting riders to quality races and creating a positive training environment? Is racing really the best training as so many claim?

RW: You need both. In the end, the sport is about winning races. It’s nice to be in a positive environment but there are always going to be times where people see things differently. If you have a good strong vision and clear goals, it’s easier to succeed. My goal is to create a system that enables riders to fulfil their potential. Races are important, but many people aren’t prepared enough and never really reap the benefit from races. You need to be in the front group to learn how to race, and you need to be fit enough from your training to be there.

Your presentation uses the SouthAustralia-AIS program as a model (note: Neil Ross from Ontario is currently on a contract with the South Australia-AIS road team), which is a hugely successful program that has seen riders move on to ProTour teams (Matt Goss to CSC and Matt Loyd to Predictor-Lotto to name two). It’s an ambitious goal that will require a lot of funding, how has the quest for financing gone?

RW: I love a challenge, it always make the rewards worth a little more. We’ve had a great response so far on the funding front, and somebody even donated $100 through our website when they renewed their membership. We still have a long way to go, but it’s amazing what happens when you ask for help, and they can see you have a plan.

I looked at the South Australian program as a model because I think they’ve done a great job of focusing on one area and trying to put the resources behind it. I’m not fully up to speed with their model, I don’t think they cover all the disciplines, but I still see it as an example that’s relevant to our situation here. I believe that Australia has the same issues with geography that we do here, so in the future we might also need to look at spending prolonged periods of time elsewhere to get the greatest benefits from training and racing.

Congratulations on being elected to the CCA High Performance Committee. What were your motivations and how do other organizations you’ve been involved with differ in terms of trying to ensure equitable selections?

RW: I have been asked this one quite a bit, and in three words, I wanted to help, understand and support. I want to give back some of the information I have learned from working with GB and many other countries while working for the UCI in Switzerland. People tend to see things far worse than they really are, so let’s get the information out about why the decision was made. If we all agree a decision is for the best, let’s support it and work together with what we have.

I think when you talk about development and selection, it’s another whole interview. As I see it at the moment, we don’t develop riders, and the selection processes across the board don’t work for us. Things should be simple, and always work in the favour of the governing body. There should be clear criteria and processes: either you’re heading for the win, or you’re in the development stream.

You’re presentations about Team BC have been very positive and inspiring according to some. Do you have any closing insights or observations about cycling in BC and the rest of Canada?

RW: We are going to be the best in the World. It will take time but with the riders that are here in BC and Canada, we can be on the top of the podium by 2012 and 2016 if we focus on building a system rather than the final outcome.

I want the riders in the years ahead to look back and say “I am a product of the system, and it has helped me get to the top of this podium”. I believe that anything can be achieved if we focus our time and resources in the right direction.

Thanks for your time.
RW:Thank you as well.