Azizulhasni does not need a full-time coach anymore, says director
KUALA LUMPUR: National cycling programme technical director John Beasley is confident that track cycling great Azizulhasni Awang does not need a full-time coach at this stage of his career.
Despite hinting at retirement after the Paris Olympics, Azizulhasni last week announced that he has decided to continue racing, albeit as an independent rider.
He will, however, still have access to support from the national team setup and can train with them when he is in Malaysia.
Azizulhasni said he will likely be dividing his time between Malaysia and Melbourne, Australia where he is studying. His family is also based there.
Beasley, who has coached Azizulhasni for almost two decades, said training on his own in Melbourne should not be an issue for the 37-year-old.
"He is incredibly self-driven and disciplined so it should be no problem," said Beasley recently.
"He definitely does not need a coach to whip him and do the session.
"He is highly motivated and is usually one of the first ones there at training sessions. He does all his stretching and warm-ups early.
"All the riders have power metres on their bikes. The data (from metres) can be shared, so we can analyse his numbers from here.
"He can also train with athletes from the Victorian Institute of Sport or other quality athletes in Melbourne.
"He still wants me to draw up his training plans for him as I have been doing it for many years now. I will let Harnizam Basri (national head coach) roll out the programme for him when he is training here (Malaysia)."
The national elite track squad had been based in Melbourne for over a decade before the National Velodrome in Nilai was completed in 2017.
The Youth and Sports Ministry, via the National Sports Council (NSC), have given Azizulhasni an RM200,000 grant to help cover some of his training, equipment and competition costs for a period of two years.
In return, he is expected to represent the country at the Nagoya Asian Games next year.
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