The Olympic Academy (Under-23) Programme

The Olympic Academy Programme (OAP) aims to deliver riders to the Podium programme who are ready to win medals at World Championships and Olympics. The programme has Men's Endurance, Sprint, Women Endurance, BMX and Mountain Bike Cross-Country elements.

Since its inception, the programme has taken talented riders and helped take them to new levels. Riders live the lives of full-time professional bike riders seven days a week. They are required to be disciplined, committed and focused.

They are required to live close to the programme's base in Manchester and there are many aspects of the Academy life which could be likened to going to University: it's often the first time riders have lived away from home; the skills development and learning experiences they go through are preparing them for adult life in their chosen career; they find themselves having to get on with strangers in a strange environment; and they are often making decisions for themselves for the first time.

However, there's probably more at stake day-to-day for members of the OAP than for any university student: the new challenges thrown at them have to be tackled against a background of high levels of self-discipline and year-round performance expectations. Of course, for the aspiring professional cyclist, sacrifices of lifestyle are a small price to pay in return for a chance to chase personal goals.

For most, the programme has a heavy Track bias, reflecting the availability of medals at Olympic level. However, with the recent move towards a winter Track season, riders with Road ambitions have ample opportunity to showcase their skills on the Road through the summer, when much of the Academy's focus is on Road Racing.

As with the whole cycling programme, from Talent Team through to Olympic Podium Programme (senior GB team) there is a gradual move from skills training to physical conditioning. The first year in the Academy is usually heavily skills-focused, but as rider progress they will find themselves experiencing the progressive workload increases that they will have to handle if they are to succeed at the very highest levels.

Of course, many of the riders on the Programme will have progressed via the Olympic Development Programme, but there are still opportunities to join the programme direct, if you have the talent and the drive. Contact the team for more details.