February 11, 2007 – We caught up with Cycling B.C.’s new Provincial Coach & High Performance Director, Richard Wooles, to get his reflections on recent events such as the Giant Bicycles Six Days of Burnaby and the LA Track World Cup. Wooles came through the British Cycling Federation, first as a rider and then as a coach, and later on coached at the UCI Center in Aigle, Switzerland. He has worked with almost every facet of the sport, from coaching athletes on the British Olympic team, to running their women’s road and track programs, He has also seen the extremes having worked with one of the best-funded programs in the world, and with athletes from far smaller cycling nations as well.

While Wooles has been hired as the B.C. Coach, he’s had to quickly step up and assist with the National team as well as the National track coach recently resigned. Wooles ran a pre-LA Track World Cup camp in Burnaby along with Jeremy Storie, the Burnaby Velodrome’s new Programming Director, and we caught up with him after he returned from the LA Track World Cup.

What was your own background in the sport as a rider? Someone mentioned that you competed at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C. – is that true?

Richard Wooles: I have been in the sport for 20 years, and competed at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games. I spent part of two seasons racing in France, and won the Points jersey at the Irish RAS. For many years I was a full-time bike rider trying to pursue a dream, similar to many young riders. I rode for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, where we specialized in the Team Time Trial. On the day, we would have been good enough for 2nd place, if one of my teammates hadn’t crashed. I have very fond memories of B.C., and my daughter’s second name is Victoria after the lovely place where I met my wife.

How did you end up coaching in Canada after being in Switzerland for two years?

RW: My wife wanted to move home. This is the honest answer, quite a lot of people have asked me how I gave up the job in Switzerland. I’m here now, and really enjoying the challenge. There’s so much work to be done, and so much untapped potential. It’s exciting.

How have you found the experience so far, working with cycling in B.C.? What is your focus going to be in the next year or so, and have you found any major areas you want to address or change?

RW: My experiences so far have been mostly positive. People are passionate about the sport, and are committed to helping. I feel there has just not been an overall focus within the provinces or led by the National body. I’m unsure whether this is actually the case, but I’m here to make sure things get better. My focus is to raise the level of the up and coming young riders, to help them make the National Team. This is my remit through PacificSport.

How did you enjoy the Burnaby Six Day? It was a pretty phenomenal event by the standards of Canadian track racing – how did you feel about the level of racing that you saw on display?

RW: It’s great to see so many people racing. I hope that the event can go from strength to strength in the future. It takes a lot of work to put on such an event, and I take my hat off to the organizers. It also benefits the Canadian riders to be able to race at home for once.

You’ve been working with most of the athletes preparing for Burnaby and the LA Track World Cup, what do you feel about their form and chances for the rest of the year? Pan-Am’s is obviously a focus with it weighing heavily in Olympic selection – are you seeing many athletes really focusing their preparation on that event?

RW: Most of the riders that I’ve spoken to are focused on trying to qualify for the Olympics. The Pan Am Games is one of the first stepping stones. When you dissect the qualification criteria, and you see where the athletes stand at the moment, this is going to be a hard task. I feel that all of the athletes are committed to the cause, but without a focused and directed program this may be difficult.

How does Canada differ or remind you of some of the other nations you’ve had the chance to work with in the past? Do you see the same sort of problems that Canadian cycling has in vying for mainstream attention?

RW: For one thing, cycling in Canada does not remind me of where I’ve just left, or of cycling in Great Britain. We were driven by results and following a process to achieve them, with the funding to back it up. But I do see some positive signs that we are moving in the right direction. The system here reminds me of the system I was in fifteen years ago. I’m not sure if this really is the case, as I’m just seeing things from the outside, but in Great Britain riders are coached by the National Coaches and all work to a game plan which they want to be part of. The services are of a high enough level that the riders move from all over to be part of something. I feel that this is going to happen in Canada, and is already happening in some areas.

You were recently at LA Track World Cup and Canada had a strong contingent there with some good performances. How do feel Canadian riders performed?

RW: It was great to be down in LA with the team, with such a big group. Watching them compete at the Six-Day in Burnaby, and then having a few training camps with them before they traveled was beneficial. I see so much untapped potential within Canada, and given time and resources I think we have the riders across nearly all disciplines on the track to make a huge impact in the years ahead.

This was your first time traveling with the Canadian athletes, but you had a camp with the National team riders, and other work with BC-based riders including the Western Canada Games athletes. Are you’re starting to get a feel for BC’s riders and the level of athletes you’re dealing with?

RW: The riders in BC across the board have the potential to compete on the world stage. Being so far away from Europe is a disadvantage that needs to be addressed in the future, but raising the level of the competition in Canada is something that I hope I can have input into. Riders are being shown where they actually sit, and how far away they are from the podium. My job is to help them reach the next step.

Can the athletes improve much between now and the big events such as the Pan Am Games and the Worlds? Symmetrics seemed to be concentrating on some technical events like the team pursuit and Madison? What sort of things will they be working on?

RW: I can’t really speak for what the majority of the professional riders in our province will be doing. I know that Symmetrics are heading to Cuba at the moment, but are still looking to touch base whenever they are back to keep up with their track skills. There is lots of time for our athletes’ current form to change, for better and for worse.

A national team coach recently ranked track cycling as Canada’s 5th best chance for an Olympic medal, behind mountain biking, BMX, women’s road and even men’s road. But Canada has a history of surprise performances on the track at the Olympics – do we have any real hopes for Beijing?

RW: Yes, we have lots of hope for Beijing. If I were given the opportunity, I would bet on a track medal before a road medal in the men’s event. Do you know any good bookies that would take these odds?

Any insights as to the fate of Canada’s team sprint program? The team didn’t make the magic top-8 figure at the LA Track World Cup, so do they try and rebuild or are things on hold until 2012?


RW: I wasn’t aware that there was a program as such that was ongoing. I talk to Kris Westwood (CCA High Performance Director) regularly, and I hope we can help the riders as much as possible to pull together to put themselves in a position where they are constantly improving. Most of the riders across the board in Canada are doing their own thing. This is new to me, as all the athletes I have ever worked with have been centrally based, and worked with the National or Team coaches. It’s hard to get the team together regularly in Canada, and I believe this is a disadvantage for technical events.

Thank you for your insights and comments. Welcome back to Victoria and we wish you the best of luck in your new position.

RW: My pleasure and thank you as well.