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Paul McNamara

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.
“I didn’t want to fight with the provinces … it was a big risk, but I wanted to prioritise relationships with them so in future we can work well together,” Vetu said.
Although he recognises that the National Games can help preparations for international competitions in that they compel riders to race under pressure, Vetu said the event should be “part of the journey to the Olympics … it shouldn’t break the process”.
“The National Games is a big frustration; it uses so much effort and resources, which is very hard for me to understand,” Vetu said.
“I understand a lot of money comes from it, but it doesn’t bring anything new for the riders.
“They’re racing in China, between themselves. The importance given to that event, it’s tough to say but, for me, it’s fake.
“It looks big … but the reality is that it’s just a national race.”
With next year’s World Championships taking place in Shanghai, Vetu said he felt 90 per cent of the country’s cycling community were now invested in helping the national team.
“Unfortunately, some provinces think they’re better than everyone and don’t want to collaborate,” he said. “That’s a shame; every province needs to fight to have China at the top of the podium.
“If China had good structure and organisation, and was capable of having a long-term plan, they could be the world’s best nation in every sport. They can dominate the world.
“The impact of the China Games doesn’t allow them to have long-term plans.”
Vetu, who previously coached France and Russia, said the landmark 2016 gold was the best achievement of his career because “it’s so difficult to work here”, but he was confident a structural overhaul could result in more gold in Los Angeles in 2028.
The 52-year-old was Japan Keirin Association head coach for five years from 2016, before accepting a technical role with the same organisation because “I was exhausted from coaching”.
“I needed to step back, refresh and have another vision of the job,” Vetu said.
He said that since his last China stint, he had “learned to be more efficient, prioritise important things and not waste energy trying to make everyone happy”.
After Gong and Zhong were relegated to silver following an illegal change at the 2016 World Championships, Vetu broke a hand hitting a table in anger.

“The passion’s still there,” he said. “I’m maybe a bit wiser … but people never really change.”
Vetu has taken his entire track squad to Hainan for a two-week camp.
“It’s the first step in re-establishing the connection between people and the different disciplines, so we look and act like a real team,” he said.
“If I can stay for two Olympic cycles, we can establish a strong system. If after LA, the riders go back to their provinces to focus on the China Games, that’s not ideal.
“But it could be a nice goal to bring the whole team … to the top of the world in 2032.”


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China

National Games prove ‘big frustration’ for China’s coach Benoit Vetu, who says he must start from zero to chase world domination


National Games prove ‘big frustration’ for China’s coach Benoit Vetu, who says he must start from zero to chase world domination.


Olympics

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China can’t rule Olympic cycling until provinces put own agendas aside: national coach

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}National Games prove ‘big frustration’ for China’s coach Benoit Vetu, who says he must start from zero to chase world domination

National Games prove ‘big frustration’ for China’s coach Benoit Vetu, who says he must start from zero to chase world domination