Total Scholarships Offered

CYCLING REPORT 2022

PROGRAM STAFF

Tom Dawson

Road/Track Coach

Michael Marshall Road/Track Coach

Chloe Heffernan Road/Track Coach

Lynne Vaughan

MTB/Road/Track Coach

Chris Clarke

MTB Coach

Leanna Curtis

BMX Coach

The 2021/22 Cycling Program encompassed BMX, Mountain Biking, Road and Track cycling for the first time in both IAS and Regional Academies of Sport history. The IAS had regular training sessions and specialised coaches for each specific discipline.

The 2022 Your Local Club Academy Games saw cycling re-introduced to the program with road and track cyclists competing at the new Pomingalarna complex and in Wantabadgery for the road race. BMX

For the first year for BMX, the athletes were pretty raw to specific/structured training and also needed a big focus on bike skill development. The focus was on getting them into a regular training regime with the aim of developing riders to become podium potential for State Champs.

The athletes were all able to improve their bike skills, and with the help of regular sprint training provided to them, they have all been able to reach PBs on both start hill times and full lap track times. The back end of the scholarship season saw a focus on race craft and further technical developments to bike skills.

All five athletes had great results but a standout performer was Cooper Fox who placed 1st in the Junior Superclass and 16 Boys.

MOUNTAIN BIKE

2022 is the inaugural year for the IAS Cycling Program to introduce the mountain bike (MTB) categories. For this first year aims for the program were kept relatively simple with specific focus on establishment of the program with athletes and coaches, introduction of regular training sessions and identification of priority events for athletes selected into the Academy.

The program has 17 athletes, covering the Cross Country (XCO), Down Hill (DHI) and Gravity Enduro (GE) disciplines.

The biggest developments for the squad included a greater understanding of the expectations of being an athlete from within and others, and being a cycling athlete is more than riding a bike, it includes strength and conditioning, recovery, nutrition, and correct warm ups. The MTB squad performed to an exceptional standard. Poppy Pollock represented Australia at the UCI World MTB Championships, after she finished 1st at the U17 GE National Championships and 3rd in the DHI at the National Championships. Oliver Ball placed 2nd in the National GE Championships. At the State GE Championships, Callum Crofts won the title, Poppy Pollock placed 2nd, and Oliver Ball and Alix Luckman finished in 3rd. ROAD AND TRACK

The road and track athletes committed to meeting every Monday night for track sessions held on the Unanderra Velodrome for 90-120 minute sessions focused on skill development, speed, strength, endurance and above all fun!

The Your Local Club Academy Games and the camp with Western Region Academy of Sport offered fun, competitive environments. The team travelled far and wide to participate in State, National and International Competitions.

Track cycling sessions are used to target very specific areas of training. Training included cognitive decision making under physiological load, race tactics and tactical debriefing.

Over the course of the 2021/22 IAS scholarship season the improvement of the athletes has been nothing short of exceptional. The squad this year were incredibly supportive of each other and worked well together at IAS specific training and when they represented the IAS.

As always, our track and road athletes excelled on the state, National and International stage. Gabriel Jakobsen was the U13 NSW Cyclist of the Year, Joe Sossai won gold in the Team Sprint at the Track National Championships, and Joe Sossai, Noah Brown, Hugh Vaughan, Harry Ludman, Nate Burns combined to win the NSW Championship Team Pursuit.