Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport Editor

Ricardo Lynch (top) ... back on track and ready to chase a medal. - file

beijing, china

President of the Jamaica Cycling Federation (JCF), Vaughn Phang, is seeking support for the building of a modern velodrome which will help in the development of cyclists locally.

Phang, the manager of the one-man cycling team here in Beijing, said Jamaica needed to get a velodrome so that for the next Games in London in 2012, the country will not just have one cyclist, but an entire cycling team.

Outdated

According to Phang, the facility at the National Stadium is workable at the level of attracting young people into the sport, but at the international level, the Stadium's cycling track has become outdated.

"We have done a lot to get the surface prepared but as you can see, the track that they are racing on now is much different. It is half the size and it is much steeper. So for you to race on a surface like that, you need to train on a surface like that.

"So, in the initial programme, no problem, but when you have a high-level rider like Ricardo Lynch, one who is ranking with the professionals in the top 20 in the world, what do you do after the Olympics? That's where it becomes a case of getting the proper facilities in place," Phang said.

Lynch did not get past the first round of the keirin event in Beijing last Saturday. He placed sixth in his heat and in the subsequent repechage (a qualifier for first-round losers) he was third. Only the winners of each of four repechages are allowed to advance.

Phang, who leaves here along with Lynch on Wednesday, says a new facility which can accommodate cycling will cost as much as US$2 million (J$144m) but any facility built can be shared.

"We have done costing. You could get an outdoor stadium built for about US$2m. It is quite a bit of money to be truthful, but what we are trying to do is to integrate more than one sporting fraternity within the complex.

"So, if we can get some place built where maybe badminton or volleyball or another indoor sport can use the infield, then it is not just a cycling centre, but really going to be another sports venue to complement what we already have in place, like the athletics track."

The JCF president, who has been heading his association since 2005, said they had already met with the minister of sports and she said such a facility was a possibility but realistically, they needed one soon because the sport does need the development to have an impact down the road.

Lynch, Phang said, is looking forward to fulfilling his dream of getting a medal at the next Olympics but financing will prove to be a huge problem if the cyclist is based overseas at the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland.

Unrealistic

"To be truthful it is not really realistic to have our athlete based overseas because we really don't accomplish any kind of long-term development for the sport in Jamaica," Phang said.

He added that the natural talent was there in Jamaica and could be developed.

"We have been embarking on a programme to train coaches. We have seen what the guys have been doing at the Beijing National Stadium in track and field, so we have the talent. But we just need the infrastructure to be built, not only recognise the talent, but to give them an opportunity to train in Jamaica while they go to school or do their day-to-day business.

"An athlete like Ricardo (Lynch) has basically put his life on hold because the facilities are not in Jamaica. I think we have a lot of potential. Lynch is a talented athlete. the International Cycling Union (UCI) wants to continue working with him, but we have to find the funding and we have to have the facility at home."