After their hard work and an outstanding outcome at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, national cycling head coach John Beasley would give his senior cyclists a breather.

He noted that he would not set any big target for Mohd Azizulhasni Awang and Fatehah Mustapa in the coming season.

“We have worked hard for the past four years and I just want to give all the senior athletes a bit of a break and have a down year,” said Beasley when met at the KL International Airport (KLIA) upon arrival from Rio de Janeiro yesterday.

Beasley noted that the cyclists will be competing in the World Cup Series and the World Championships.

“We will try to win every race but it will not be a focus for us.

“I want to let Azizulhasni focus on his studies and just take the pressure off competing at such a high level then slowly rebuild the team in preparation for Tokyo (Tokyo Olympics in 2020) over the following three years,” said the Australian.

Beasley noted that Mohd Azizulhasni and Fatehah have been under immense pressure to perform over the past few seasons and deserved a break.

“They have been away from their families for a such long time and deserved to have the break and spend time with their families,” said Beasley.

Mohd Azizulhasni created history in Rio de Janeiro Olympics by winning the nation’s first ever medal in cycling after claiming the bronze medal in the men’s keirin on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Beasley said in the next three weeks, he would carry out studies on how to get Mohd Azizulhasni on the Tokyo Olympics podium.

He added that he would give junior riders more exposure competing in high level competitions such as the World Cup.

“Obviously, Muhammad Shah Firdaus Shahrom has done really well for us thus far but there are four or five others who are also promising, while we have Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan on the women’s side,” said Beasley.

Beasley, whose contract runs out at the end of next year, gave his assurance that he will remain coaching Malaysia for the long run and is hoping to see a comprehensive development programme for the sport established before calling it a day.

- Bernama