China can’t rule Olympic cycling until provinces put own agendas aside: national coach
National Games prove ‘big frustration’ for China’s coach Benoit Vetu, who says he must start from zero to chase world domination
The mastermind of China’s first Olympic cycling gold has said the country needs to make a choice: allow its provinces to keep prioritising National Games success alone, or unite to conquer the world.
Benoit Vetu returned as boss of mainland Chinese track cycling in March, nearly nine years after he oversaw women’s team sprint glory at the Rio Olympics for Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi.
The Frenchman said that he was “starting from zero” and had to “rebuild everything”.
“There’s a lot of talent, but no real structure,” Vetu told the Post.
His most pressing task is to resolve the ongoing conflict of priorities between provincial teams and the Chinese Cycling Association.
Vetu encountered a “critical situation” when China skipped the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in October to allow the squad’s best performers to focus on the following month’s National Games.