Buxton lecturers help select team for London 2012
20 November 2009
Identifying talent athletes
Lecturers Lee Rylands and Mark Chetham from the University of Derby Buxton are working in conjunction with the British Cycling Team to identify talented athletes and develop a number of performance aspects of the current team's hand cyclists.
The trip to Milan
The joint working performance development between British Cycling and the University of Derby started in September 2009 when Lee and Mark embarked on a research trip to the UCI Paralympics World Road Championships in Bogogno (Milan) Italy. As part of this research the lecturers conducted biomechanical performance analysis on both the British team and other international teams. This research will be used to develop the hand cyclists' equipment and aerodynamic position.
The selection process
Lee and Mark will also be working with the team to devise and implement a selection process for potential athletes on to the GB programme for the London 2012 Olympics. The process includes establishing benchmark data and devising a physiological test protocol for the team. The lecturing team at Buxton have modified a Monark hand cycle to be used in the selection process, the equipment enables comparative data to accumulate.
