India’s hopes of competing in the cycling event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are centered on Frenchman Kevin Sireau and a group of talented youngsters who have already established their credentials on the Asian and world junior circuits. Supported by the Union Sports Ministry, foreign coaches have had a role in almost every Olympic sport where India has excelled at the world level. This is the first time that the Indian Cycling Federation is roping in two-time Olympic medalist Kevin Sireau of France to fully harness the potential of the national cycling ecosystem.
Thirty-seven-year-old Ciro, a professional racing cyclist, joined CFI in January and in four months, is already feeling the curiosity among India’s best cyclists to excel at the international level. India is not only the Asian champion but also the junior world champion in the sprint category.
The Indian quartet of Eso Alben, L Ronaldo Singh, Y Rojit Singh and James Singh won a historic men’s team sprint gold medal at the 2019 World Junior Track Cycling Championships in Frankfurt. Three years later at the Asian Track Cycling Championships in Delhi, Ronaldo became the first Indian to win an individual silver medal in the men’s sprint race.
India performed well as host at the Asian Track Cycling Championships for both able-bodied and specialized cyclists in February this year. India finished with a total of nine gold, six silver and three bronze medals and created several national records along the way. The Asian competition was also a qualifying event for the Paris Olympics but no Indian made it to it.
Having won silver medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games, Kevin Sireau certainly knows what it takes to win an Olympic medal. A matter of a few seconds can make a huge difference.
“In a big country like India I believe we have many future talents. Right now I only train sprint riders. I oversee the progress of riders like Ronaldo, Rojit and David (Beckham). These guys Having just started by winning the Junior Worlds, he is now in the senior category and will have to achieve a much higher level if he wants to make it to the Olympic podium.
“But I am confident that they have the skills and talent to reach the podium. Extra hard work is required. We also have some good juniors like Sarita Kumari and Wattaba Meitei, who are the future stars of Indian cycling,” Ciro told SAI media.
It will be a tough challenge for the Indian team of Esso, Rojit, Ronaldo and David but they are showing signs of improvement. The quartet clocked their personal best of 44.451 seconds in the Asian Track Cycling Championships sprint race this February. This was after a time of 45.692 at the UCI World Track Cycling Championships last year where India had finished 17th.
India may not be anywhere close to the Olympic record and gold standard time of 41.369 set by the Dutch team of Jeffrey Hoogland, Harry Lavresen and Roy van den Berg at the Izu Velodrome at Tokyo 2020, but they are not far off Australia’s 44.013 seconds. Are. Fourth best time in Tokyo.
“This year our target is the World Championships in October. We are putting all the energy in that direction. I have discussed the LA 2028 roadmap with the CFI and am taking things step by step. In the next three-four years you can see a The difference will be huge, I promise,” Sirou said.
Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) secretary general Omkar Singh, who was part of the national federation since 2011-12, is confident that the inclusion of the French coach is a good move.
“From 149th rank to Category 1 in the junior category in four years’ time, it speaks a lot in itself. We won all four sprinting events in the junior category in Asia, a record that will not be broken anytime soon… We We are lucky that we had someone like Kevin, it took some time to convince them, but please remember that these coaches monitor all the countries before saying yes, they are 200 per cent sure that the Indian team is capable of doing it.”
Cyclist Rosit, who is supported by the government’s Target Olympic Podium scheme, said Kevin Sireau has been a great contributor. “There has been a huge difference since Kevin sir joined the team. He has changed how we train, what we eat and how we plan recovery. He has brought a new discipline and I love him. “So happy to be able to learn.” “Rojit said.
Only the top-20 teams with seven quotas allocated to each National Olympic Committee (NOC) according to the UCI Track Olympic Rankings 2022-2024 qualify for the Olympic Games.
The events that count for the final ranking are – the last two editions of the respective Continental Championships, the best two results at the UCI Track Nations Cup in consecutive editions and the results at the last UCI Track World Championships. NOCs qualifying in the team sprint also receive slots to compete in both the individual sprint and keirin races.
For India and Ciro, the long journey to LA 2028 has truly begun.
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