Cyclist Williams looks to the future
Cyclist Oshane Williams failed to shine at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, but the young rider still believes he has the confidence to compete with the best and is looking to continue building on his first international experience.
Williams, who replaced the more accomplished Marloe Rodman, who could not attend the Games after he was involved in a motorcycle crash and a resulting court case, said adjusting to the climatic changes affected him greatly. However, he thought he ended the Games well after his performance in the road race event, even though he did not make it through the qualification stage.
“It was a really wonderful experience. It was my first time at this level and I didn’t do as well as I thought I would. But the climate change took a toll on me when I just got there,” he said.
BUILDING PROCESS
“But the last race I did pretty well because that was a road race. It was a really wonderful learning experience and a building process, and I hope to continue to develop this year so I can go out and do better than this,” he told STAR Sports.
He added that the lack of international races in his preparation was also a hindrance.
“We didn’t get to ride any races before we attended the Games. We went straight out of training and into the Games and training alone cannot bring you to that level, you have to be racing as well,” he reasoned.
Williams’ coach, Carlton Simmonds, agreed with the cyclist’s comments. “We had an acclimatisation problem when we got there. But I could not have expected much more based on what we had done and the lack of international meets going into the Games. It was a good experience and a stepping stone as we look to 2020,” he stated.
Williams competed in the road race, men’s points race and men’s scratch race at the Games.