Our very own Adam Chamberlin is now fully qualified by the British Cycling Association as a cycling coach.
Now, this isn’t just your normal cycle down the country path. Adam coaches young people who want to get into racing, helping them develop advanced technical biking skills. The students are aged between 8 – 16 years. They can already ride a bike, but want to learn the techniques for racing. “We help improve the efficiency of the students pedalling and braking. We also look at their starting positions, how to take tight bends and sharp turns, looking at where their weight should be…” says Adam.
A member of the Sudbury Cycle Club and now coaching in Hadleigh, Adam’s always had a thing for cycling, “ I grew up on a farm, so I’ve always been around bikes… It was in 2006 that I really got involved in racing”. Adam starting the Coaching course back in January this year and the final examination involved a three day course. “There were two days of practical where I had to plan a cycling session on a particular area, pedalling efficiently for example. It was a bit daunting as those I was giving the the session to were fellow cyclists, also looking to qualify as coaches!”
Over the last three months, Adam has also been racing himself. In a recent “Mud, Sweat and Gears” race he managed to come 14th out of 96. Go Adam!