The Canadian Press caught up with Richard Wooles after the conclusion of the World Track Championships in Melbourne where he stated that Cycling is ready for a revolution!
Original article: Cycling ready for revolution, says coach
Canadian track cycling coach Richard Wooles believes his squad is on the verge of a breakthrough after its best-ever medal haul at a World Championships.
Canada’s cyclists came home from the Melbourne, Australia tournament with three medals: silver for Zach Bell in the men’s omnium and Jasmin Glaesser in the women’s scratch race, as well as bronze for the women’s team pursuit trio of Glaesser, Tara Whitten and Gillian Carleton.
“We’re looking good for the future, I hope,” national coach Wooles told CTVOlympics.ca inside Melbourne’s Hisense Arena velodrome.
Wooles grew up in Britain and spent time as part of the British Cycling program, which has undergone dramatic changes in the past decade to become one of the best in the world. Britain’s riders finished second to Australia in last week’s medal table, and he drew parallels with the development of Canadian track cycling.
“Canada has some of the best athletes we’ve seen around the world and we have the potential,” said Wooles. “I was in Great Britain when Chris Boardman first won his medals – you have to pick some winners, you need some headliners like Boardman before things start to change on a broader level.
“You need somebody at the top [so you can] go back to the government and sponsors and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing. Can you come with us in the next four years and maybe we’ll get two, or three, Olympic medals?’
“We’re putting our money on one or two medals and hopefully we’ll deliver, then we should receive some extra funding coming into 2016. I think we’ve got a few little headliners within all of our cycling programs, track cycling especially.”
For young sprint cyclist Monique Sullivan, who missed the podium in her two events, her team-mates’ results are an inspiration.
Read more: Canada a Rising Power in Track Cycling