Trevor ready to train local cyclists

by Leslie FERNANDO

CYCLING: Sri Lanka cyclists will receive a big boost when former ace cyclist Trevor de Silva still the only medal winner in Asian Games cycling offered his services to coach the Sri Lanka cyclists in preparation for two major international competitions. This is the promise made by Trevor who is here on a holiday.

Trevor along with the officials of the Sri Lanka Cycling Federation Nishantha Piyasena (Secretary), Group Captain Sujeeva Senaratne (Vice President and Air Force Cycling President), Patrick Hapuarachchi (Vice President), Ashok Kumara Perera (Asst. Secretary) and two former Sri Lanka cyclists S.M. Hassan and Anthony Symons met at the Galle Face Hotel yesterday to discuss plans to promtoe cycling here in a big way.

Trevor, double gold medallist at the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand said that it is a big, but bridgeable step with the right training. You meet strong world class cycling nations like Japan and China at the Asian Games. I have competed against them and so it can be done.

Their philosophy was similar to mine, but completely different to the accepted norm in Sri Lanka at that time. I even upset some cycling officials by my own format and their program. The cyclists must concentrate on improving their own standard year on year. Winning races at national level is important to a cyclist.

But if one concentrates too much on winning the same type of race every year one may loses sight of the overall objective which is the need for constant improvement. You need extreme self-belief and confidence to keep your mind on your goal and then set about it in single minded to the exclusion of everything else.

I had no secret training plan other than training at least once a day 800 km a week on average and sometimes up to 1,000 km. I had my training partners, the late Maurice Coomaravel and Desmond Gunawardena, Trevor Newman, Jeffry Mason and my other Asian Games team mates S.M. Hassan and Ivan Gamage.

I think the standard of cycling in Sri Lanka has improved according to the officials of CFSL and I will make every endeavour to lift the cycling standard to a greater level and even cyclists to win medals at major international meets, said Trevor ever willing to help the Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka in numerous ways.