Coach: Cycling courses have unearthed fresh talents
KUCHING: The three-day cycling skills course personally designed to help new riders from all over the state for an introduction to competitive cycling has given local riders a chance at cycling on the highest level.
Held at the Sarawak Stadium Complex track and the DBKU MTB track at Bukit Siol – both in Kuching – and at Sibu Town Square, the good turnout especially from new riders has given Sarawak head coach Leon Schepers and his coaching team new hope of getting fresh talents for the Sarawak Games (Suksar) this December and Malaysia Games (Sukma) next year.
About 50 riders from Kuching, Sibu and Sri Aman took part in the courses, which concluded yesterday and the participants all showed excitement and willingness to learn the techniques which is vital in competitions.
According to South Africanborn Schepers, who has coached some of the best riders in the world, the course was well received by the mostly new cyclists who showed enthusiasm and eagerness to learn.
“The athletes had fun while learning valuable riding techniques.
“They were excited and enthusiastic which made our work so much fun,” said Schepers, who is based in Sibu and assisted by coach Mrtle Patricia Wilken.
The other two coaches are Aidwin Aiddan Wing, who was in charge of the course at the Aquatic Centre in Petra Jaya, and Laurel Lauridsen Adrian who took care of his charges at the DBKU MTB track at Bukit Siol.
“The athletes had to endure extreme heat and rain and were very committed to the training sessions.
“We also found new talents this week who are all excited to go on official training programmes,” said Schepers.
Schepers, who is on a mission to search for a pool of talents from all over the state, recently conducted a talent identification ‘Cycling Roadshow of Sarawak’ to
They were excited and enthusiastic which made our work so much fun. — Leon Schepers, state cyclin�� head coach
popularise cycling and to impart knowledge of cycling along the way.
The roadshow, which had covered Sibu and Miri, would move to Sri Aman next at a date yet to be confirmed. The programme has been fruitful so far, with new talents from Sibu and Bintulu discovered.