KUALA LUMPUR – National cycling technical director John Beasley has expressed his frustration with the National Sports Council (NSC), claiming bureaucratic hurdles are crippling efforts to identify and develop young talent.
Beasley said national junior development coaches are being left “starved” of fresh prospects after being instructed to leave talent identification (TID) entirely to state associations.
“The situation is extremely disappointing,” said Beasley.
“Our young national-level coaches are struggling because they are not being fed talent, and that raises serious concerns for the future.”
According to him, attempts by the national set-up to take a more proactive role in TID have been repeatedly blocked, with NSC maintaining that such responsibilities fall under the states.
“When we try to initiate TID programmes, we are told it is the states’ responsibility. But if the states are not delivering, where are we supposed to find the next generation?” he said when contacted.
Beasley described the situation as stagnant, likening it to “running on a hamster wheel” with no real progress being made.
His frustration is further compounded by the fact that funding has already been allocated for talent scouting initiatives, yet remains untouched due to procedural constraints.
He revealed that cycling was among eight sports selected under a RM1 million allocation announced during Hannah Yeoh’s tenure as Youth and Sports Minister last year, aimed at uncovering potential athletes for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
“We were encouraged to think outside the box, but in reality, we have not been able to spend a single sen,” he said.
“We have been told to follow a fixed method, but if you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same results.”
Beasley had proposed a data-driven approach to talent identification, which involved bringing specialised equipment such as Wattbikes to various states to assess young athletes.
The plan included collaboration with local universities to analyse performance data before shortlisting promising riders for further evaluation on the track, prior to returning them to their respective state programmes.
“It was a structured and progressive plan. We wanted to start with states that already have velodrome facilities and expand from there,” he explained.
However, the proposal failed to move beyond the planning stage.
Currently, only Negri Sembilan, Johor, Terengganu and Perak have velodromes, although the Velodrom Rakyat in Ipoh is not operational due to the deteriorating condition of its wooden track.
Beasley warned that unless the bottlenecks are addressed, Malaysia risks falling behind in producing the next generation of elite cyclists. – April 8, 2026