KUALA LUMPUR – Outgoing Malaysia cycling technical director John Beasley will reunite with former protege Jason Niblett in Japan, taking up an assistant head coach role as the Australian veteran looks towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Beasley, who spent more than two decades working with Malaysian cycling, said the opportunity to work alongside Niblett was a significant factor in his decision to move to Japan, having previously coached the Australian during his competitive career.
Speaking to Scoop, Beasley said he had been weighing up his next move for some time before deciding to accept the opportunity, which will allow him to continue working in elite cycling while taking on a supporting role rather than leading an entire programme.
“Yeah, I was weighing up things for a long time,” Beasley said, explaining that his decision was influenced by his existing relationship with the Japanese programme’s coaching leadership.
“The head coach from Japan is an athlete that I used to coach and he won a world junior championship under me,” he said.
Niblett, an Australian former track cyclist, won the junior world championship team sprint title in 2000 and 2001. He later competed at senior international level before moving into coaching, eventually taking up a role with Japan’s national track cycling programme.
His relationship with Beasley dates back to his days as a developing rider, giving the pair an established professional connection as they prepare to work together again in the build-up to the 2028 Olympics.
For Beasley, the appointment offers an opportunity to reunite with an athlete whose development he helped shape, while contributing his experience to Japan’s preparations for the next Olympic cycle.
The Australian said he was also attracted by the prospect of remaining involved in the sport through the Los Angeles Games, which carry personal significance for his family.
“My dad was the mechanic for the Australian team, the Olympic team in LA, where Australia won their first Olympic gold medal,” Beasley said.
“So it’d be nice just to probably end my career at the games,” he added.
Beasley’s father (John Beasley Sr) was part of the Australian cycling set-up at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, making the 2028 edition a particularly meaningful destination for the veteran coach as he considers the final chapter of his career.
The move to Japan will also allow Beasley to continue contributing to high-performance cycling without carrying the full responsibility of running a national programme.
Reflecting on his decision to move away from a leadership position, Beasley said a supporting role would suit him at this stage of his career.
“I’m getting older and, yeah, a supporting role would probably suit me down to the ground,” he said.
Beasley, 64, leaves Malaysia after more than 20 years with the national cycling programme, during which he played a major role in developing the country’s track cycling ambitions and working with some of its leading riders.
His time in Malaysia included working closely with Datuk Azizulhasni Awang, who became the country’s most successful Olympic cyclist after winning keirin bronze at Rio 2016 and silver at Tokyo 2020.
Beasley’s departure comes after Malaysia secured four cycling medals at the 2026 Asian Games in Shizuoka, including a gold, a silver and two bronze medals, but he has maintained that he is ready for a new challenge.
Veteran Azizulhasni remained the toast of the Malaysian team as he romped to gold in the keirin and bronze in the individual sprint.
The silver came from the women’s team sprint squad of Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri, Nur Aliana Syafika Azizan, Anis Amira Rosidi and Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid.
Izzah also claimed bronze in the women’s keirin.
Although he will be wearing Japan’s colours rather than Malaysia’s, Beasley’s next assignment will keep him involved in the same elite cycling environment he has worked in for decades, with the 2028 Games serving as a potential final milestone in his coaching journey. – October 16, 2026