He had several major race victories over his career including the controversia World Championship in 1988 at Ronse and two Classics: Milan-San Remo and Fleche Wallone, in 1993. He was the winner of the World Cup in 1991 and 1993 and finished fourth at the Atlanta Olympics in the Individual Time Trial.
The Press Release:
Australian track cycling is on target for a highly successful Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, according to a recently completed review of the sport's elite program.
The review, by the Executive Director of the Australian Sports Commission, Mr Jim Ferguson and Australian Olympic Committee representative, Mr Doug Donoghue supports the current coaching team as the best to lead the squad to 2000.
Management and coaching support have been identified as the most critical areas to success of the track cycling program in the lead-up to 2000. As a result, the inquiry recommends a number of changes to its delivery and management during the next two years.
Presenting the final report to Cycling Australia and releasing its recommendations today, Mr. Ferguson said the majority of the proposals addressed delivery and management issues.
"By tightening and clarifying the management of the programs, the roles of all individuals will be much better understood and the lines of communication made clearer," Mr Ferguson said.
"Once this is in place, issues in the program relating to decision-making and leadership, selection and grievances can be reduced," he said.
The review found a number of management-based issues had contributed to problems in the program during the past two years. The problems included a lack of management control, unclear lines of reporting and responsibility, and uncertainty about the delineatino between the AIS team and the National team.
To help resolve those issues, the review panel has recommended establishing as Interim Management Committee with wide-ranging authority to manage the track program through to the 2000 Olympic Games. The Committee would be made up of nominees from the ASC, AOC and Cycling Australia. Day-to-day responsibility for the program would rest with the Australian Institute of Sport.
The Key Recommendations:
There were 18 recommendations in all and I don't have time to reproduce them all. The major recommendations were:
(1) An Interim Management Committee comprising nominees of the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Olympic Committee and Cycling Australia be appointed to oversight the operation of the track cycling program through to October 2000. Day-to-day management of the program is to rest with the Australian Institute of Sport. The High Performance Manager of Cycling Australia, the Head Coach and other coaches in the track cycling program will report to the Interim Management Committee. The role of Interim Management Committee will involve the approval of all aspects of the high performance program.
(2) The Interim Management Committee will oversee the implementations of the recommendations listed below.
(3) The coaching structure be revised to provide more effective utilisation of coaching resources. The role of the Head Coach should be revised to incorporate higher levels of planning and consultation with coaches and key sport sciences staff. This can be accommodated by increasing the level of direct coaching support to the men's and women's endurance groups and increasing the autonomy of the sprint program. This revised head coach position enables the recognised skills of Charlie Walsh to be utilised more fully in terms of training programs and determining the overall technical operation of the program. It also removes some of the demands place on him, many of which have been unreasonable in terms of overloading one individual, which have contributed to the program operating less effectively in some areas over the last three years.
(4) Increased coaching support in the endurance area is clearly required. This view is complemented by a strong perception that increased road racing would be of more benefit to the program and that the women's endurance program should provide more opportunity for longer periods at home during the season. It is recommended that:
(5) The budget for each program - sprint, men's endurance and women's endurance - should be separated within the overall program to allow each to operate independently under the overall direction of the Head Coach and with the approval of the Interim Management Committee.
(6) Conflict and tension within the current program can arise given the amount of time that is spent overseas, the intensity of the training, and the standards of accommodation and living arrangements. It is recommended that the men's endurance program is varied more during the year to incorporate some or all of the following:
(7) It is recommended that the sprint and endurance groups operate as separate, autonomous groups for the bulk of the season. The groups should join prior to the World Championships but in the normal course of events do not need to train together at other times of the year.
(8) We accept the need for a training base in Europe. However, if Buttgen is to remain the team's base in 1999 and 2000, then alternative accommodation in the town should be used. Increased costs in this area can be offset by a reduced amount of time spent in Buttgen.
(9) It is recommended that a team manager with clearly understood decision-making powers be appointed to travel with the squad. This would allow for appropriate matters to be dealt with immediately and decisively. The scope of the manager's powers would need to be clear to determine those matters that can be handled immediately and the range of measures that the manager is authorised to undertake, and those matters that must be referred to the Interim Management Committee through a more formal grievance process.
(10) Greater clarity in relation to support staff roles is required. A distinction is required between management and non-management functions. Support staff positions are to be supported with full job descriptions and a performance review for each position at the end of the season.
(11) Due to the length of the overseas program it may be difficult to engage one person for the full season to provide physiotherapy and massage support. However, a changeover in personnel during the season may also be beneficial to team dynamics.
(12) It is recommended that the support staff should include at least one female when female riders are travelling with the group.
(13) It is recommended that the track cycling program should be recognised as the national program when competing in major international events. At all other times the program should be recognised as the AIS program. This arrangement needs to be supplemented by a selection policy that ensures that non-AIS riders are not disadvantaged with respect to World Cup and World Championships selection.
(14) It is recommended that when travelling and competing overseas as a national team, the team be properly outfitted in team uniform.
(15) The current AIS and national team agreements should be combined into one document to ensure there is consistency in relation to grievances, codes of conduct, obligations concerning sponsors and media and clear sanctions and penalties that may apply when an agreements are breached.
(16) It is recommended that the athlete agreement should be prescriptive in identifying the levels of support available to riders within the Olympic squad. A two-tiered system is recommended, with tier one benefits applying to riders within the AIS program and tier two to approved riders outside of the AIS but within the national squad.
(17) While the focus of the review has been to examine the program in relation to performance at the 2000 Olympic Games, it is also important that planning commences immediately for the post-2000 period. It is recommended that Cycling Australia addresses likely staff changes within the program after the year 2000.
(18) Greater use should be made of mature riders to provide leadership for the overall team. While not within the terms of reference of the review panel, it is strongly recommended that Cycling Australia develops an Athletes Commission with appropriate capacity to deal with the relevant issues within the sport.
So who will be head coach?
It seems that Cycling Australia will put the heavily criticised Charlie Walsh in the top job and reduce his day-to-day contact with the riders. For some years there has been a push for this. Cycling Australia (CA) attempted this pusch after the 1986 Olympics but were scuttled when the plan met with extreme opposition. People objected to the total supremo type mentality and the personnel involved.
It seems that under this new plan Walsh will be answerable to the new Interim Management Committee which will oversee both the road and track programs. The president of CA, Ray Godkin told the press that he was happy with the idea of having Walsh as the head coach: " We've taken the bit between the teeth and we're not expecting much opposition,"
Daydreaming.
A Grade, 1 hour plus 3 laps: 1. Cameron Lester 2. Hilton Clarke Jnr 3. Robert Tighello 4. Tom Leaper Started: 41 B Grade, 1 hour plus 3 laps: 1. R. Nelson 2. M. Lema 3. D. McFarlane 4. D. Hollingworth Started: 42 C Grade, 45 minutes plus 3 laps: 1. B. Morton 2. B. Corbett 3. R. Love 4. B. Gilhome Started: 51 D Grade, 45 minutes plus 3 laps: 1. K. McCulloch 2. P. Free 3. K. Love 4. C. Hunter Started: 29