KUALA LUMPUR: National junior track cycling coach Herman Terryn has said that replacing cycling legend Azizulhasni Awang will not happen overnight.
Azizulhasni, who initially planned to retire after the Paris Olympics, was recently asked by his teammates to continue. The 36-year-old is currently taking time off to discuss his future with his family.
Terryn showcased his coaching skills when his protege, Nur Alyssa Farid, became the first Malaysian female cyclist to qualify for the keirin final at the Junior Track World Championships in China, despite a crash.
The Frenchman, who took charge of the national junior squad in February, believes that more talent must be identified at youth level before they are developed into world class athletes.
"It's not easy. I know the level needed at the junior stage to progress to becoming world champions... we can't just take any rider, we need exceptional talent," said Terryn, who is known for coaching France's 2022 sprint world champion, Mathilde Gros.
"We need to assess riders' potential, and data is crucial. The experience and mentality of the athlete are also important... this is what I am looking for.
"Then we can focus on maximising these talents. At the junior level, we may find one or two, but only a few will be exceptional like Azizul.
"Perhaps we can find one talent every 20 years, but that's not what I want. I believe Malaysia can produce more talent with proper youth development structures."
Terryn felt that the ongoing Yayasan Sime Darby Track Series and the national championships are insufficient to unearth new talent.
"There are probably one to two million children involved in sports, and if we could develop even one per cent of them, it would be good. But now, we are just hoping for a talented athlete to emerge.
"We have a lot of talent, but it's hard to discover them due to issues with organisation and funding. We need strategies to address this."