28 local participants took part in the recent UCI Level 1, Technical Course For Coaches
sponsored by Olympic Solidarity through Lesotho National Olympic Committee.
The course was held from 09 July – 18 July with SA cycling star, J-P van Zyl as course
presenter. J-P is the director of the UCI African Continental Cycling Centre and
a co-ordinator of the UCI African Tour and Championships, so he was able to give
some extra advice from an African context together with his experience from years
at the very top of professional cycling.
The course was an eye-opener for most of the participants, some of who have not been
active as coaches before. Some parts of the course were practical, whereas others
were highly technical. Everyone took something away from the course and it is hoped
that this will be the catalyst for the development of a proper cycling and coaching
structure in the country.
For those that plan to coach elite level cycling, Mr. van Zyl had a lot of advice
on recruitment at a young age, long-term planning and proper phasing of training.
He noted that Lesotho has a great terrain for developing riders with an ability
to climb, but we should not expect to be world-beaters immediately. That will come
through a process of developing the national structure and giving talented riders
opportunities to test themselves in the South African races first. He promised that
when young riders have proved themselves at the SA level, they should have opportunities
to develop further through the UCI Continental Cycling Centre.
The participants presented ‘Coach’ J-P and his wife, Theresia, with traditional Mokorotlo
hats to remind them of their time in Lesotho.
