The Importance of Ethical Coaching

As part of our anti-doping and ethical sport messages, we feel it is vitally important that coaches instill the principles of honesty and integrity upon the riders that they coach. We are in contact with a large number of coaches in several countries who represent a large number of riders at both amateur and professional level across all disciplines and age groups who use our message to educate their athletes.

The position of a coach is one that is often overlooked, yet behind the majority of successful riders there is a dedicated coach, whose talent, trust and leadership is rarely mentioned when  their athletes are successful.

Riders have the talent but coaches help to develop and nurture athletes to fulfill their own potential by analysing their performances and instructing the relevant skills and improvements required to take a rider that one step further. Athlete’s must instill their entire trust and commitment to a coach in order to become successful. Bike Pure have recognised that coaches are an integral means to directly educate athletes on anti-doping guidelines and encourage their athletes to compete with honesty and integrity.

Awareness and vision, not only relating to a riders physical ability, but also their understanding of doping and integrity is an important factor in the make up of any rider. Many coaches (we hope all!) adhere to the WADA code (insert link) which encompasses many of the elements we promote.

One such coach who believes strongly in the elements of anti-doping education is Ian Melvin, head cycling coach at the Queensland Academy of Sport in Australia, “The Bike Pure anti-doping message is crucial to what we try to achieve within the QAS Cycling scholarship holders. For me, Bike Pure shows our athletes, their families and the public our zero tolerance attitude towards doping in cycling and highlights our support of a drug free pathway from us, through the AIS Cycling Programs and beyond.”

Ian added, “It is an added bonus for us that our current group of riders can look up to a rider such as Michael Hepburn, (QAS Cyclist since 2008) a Bike Pure role model, and know that not only do we support this anti-doping message but that truly great success can be achieved by living it.”

Lionel Reynaud, a prolific British Cycling Coach and Bike Pure Ambassador, has worked with some of the best riders in France and the UK and is creator of the ‘Coach My Ride’ iPhone app for athletes, “As a coach, we are there to train, help, and educate our riders. We also have a protective job in leading our coaching group and promoting to other riders that to race clean is smart. We need to go a step ahead with the biomechanics passport in order to ensure riders progression traceability and avoid any doubt.”

A large proportion of the work that coaches undertake often goes unnoticed and coaches are deemed to work under strict guidelines and protocol. National and International federations can refuse to renew the license of a coach if deemed to have violated the WADA Code. Therefore coaches have a huge role to play in the education of their athletes.

Another prolific coach is Dave Lloyd, a former professional who still races today. Lloyd said of his association to Bike Pure, “I always push out the Bike Pure message to my athletes. There are a large volume of youngsters joining at the moment, so I never fail to tell them about Bike Pure’s valued work and give them a wrist band and a small hand-out.”

Lloyd who has many titles to his name and a former pro with the TI Raleigh squad based in mainland Europe said, “One of my first pupils who joined me when he was 13 has just signed a great contract with Quick Step for 2012. A great talented guy Andy Fenn, who recently finished 15th overall in the Tour of Britain.”

We wish to thank all of the committed coaches who work to educate riders about the dangers of doping and ethical sport. If you are a coach and would also like to become more involved with Bike Pure, please drop me an email for more information.. Thank you. andy@bikepure.org