Road To 2012
Phil Dixon: “Olympics are an opportunity to capture investment in mountain biking”

Published 7 February 2012
Words And Photography By Luke Webber

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With less than one year to go until London 2012 British Cycling’s Olympic Mountain Bike Coach, Phil Dixon, has detailed what success for the Programme would look like and revealed he will work tirelessly to raise the profile of the sport and secure an investment for the future.

Speaking after a year of unprecedented success for the British Cycling team, Dixon talked of the increased value of a Performance Programme three years in the making, but also of the Programmes desire to work towards winning a World Championship or Olympic medal.

“That’s the biggest thing that could happen for mountain biking now and if it happens, the pathway is in place for the next generation to come through the system. To have put that in place is not mission accomplished but it is a massive piece of the jigsaw. The immediate challenge is to produce a product at the very top end – your elite World Championships, Olympic Games and I think that would be huge.

“I’d hope that if we achieved at the Games it would be a good time to try and capture some investment for the sport – not just for the elite, but as a whole – to try and raise the profile of this great sport, one which is accessible to all, safe and something that can bring people and families together.”

Dixon’s comments come in the wake of a public consultation reviewing what form of legacy will remain of the Hadleigh Farm Olympic mountain bike course after the races – with an overwhelming local consensus to develop and open the venue for public use.

Hadleigh Farm's landscape has been transformed by the Olympic mountain bike course - and locals want it to stay that way.

WHAT THE PROGRAMME MEANS
As for the immediate future of British Cycling’s mountain bike Performance Programme, Dixon expects business as usual with daily visits to the Olympic Academy residence, before a punishing schedule of international racing including a series of World Cup events which will decide Games qualification.

After this selections for 2012 will be made, at which point Dixon will focus only on Olympic competitors – but most importantly the developing Talent Team, ODP, Academy and Podium riders who fail to make the cut, will be accommodated for.

“After selection there will be a pathway for the riders who made the Games which I will spearhead and the other guys will have a plan put in place, but it won’t be me hands on working with them. We’re in a position whereby once the Games are over, we can go right back to business for the World Championships without it having affected those development riders.

Annie Last was picked up by British Cycling's Talent Team, progressed to the Olympic Development Programme and is now in her final year of the Olympic Academy.

“Today we have a well established pathway for young riders to follow. The Olympic Talent Team has bought into the system, there is very much a mountain bike setup now, with a camp every month that ties in with the Olympic Development Programme. The riders are looked after by an array of coaches, which next year will help keep the pathways in place and allows the younger kids to touch base with the ODP riders.

“Then at major events there’s a chance for the juniors to ride alongside the under-23s, giving a lot of overlapping and a chance for lessons to be learned. I feel this is a real benefit and certainly the Academy guys have benefitted being around riders like Liam Killeen; he has headlined British cross country racing alongside Oli Beckingsale over the last two Olympic cycles, but they have others in company now like Annie Last – and there are others coming through.

From 2009 to 2011 ODP, Academy and Podium Programme riders have trained and raced together - Dixon belives this to be a key component in the learning process of a bike racer.

“Over time I think the value of the Programme has increased, you can see that in the end product at the end of the process, which helps massively. People come and go; it’s not for everybody, but those who have been on board and gone through the process come out with the goods. There’s a real excitement around next year for the guys and there’s a real positive feedback from the general public, bike riders and people within the sport that we’ve got a well established Programme in place.

“You can’t underestimate how important it is for the young riders to know that if you do well as a junior this is what the next level looks like, and I think that is confidence building for all the guys.”

But despite such an abundance of talent emerging in the past year, Dixon is pragmatic when it comes to how many of these will progress to the very highest level of the sport.

“That’s because mountain biking will never be a high number Programme; there simply are not that many people capable of achieving what is needed.

“This is not a road programme where you get a domestic, a sprinter, a classics rider; these mountain bikers are the full package, they are your grand tour winners – and there’s not many of those in the world.”