Trinidadian cycling coach Robert Ferrier is hoping to get his athletes back on track soon as they continue to prepare for the Pan American Championships in May and hopefully, the Olympics in July.
Last week, training facilities in Trinidad and Tobago were locked down over fear of the spread of the Coronavirus Covid-19 that has infected close to 250,000 worldwide and caused almost 10,000 deaths.
For Ferrier and his cyclists from different countries, it has been a frustrating time.
“I have five athletes from the Caribbean here in Trinidad that started preparation for Pan American Championships that was carded for the 27th of May,” he revealed to Sportsmax.TV.
“That has set us back a little bit in terms of preparation.”
Under his charge are Jamaican track cyclists Mordecai Baines, Daniel Palmer, Brandon Reid and Dahlia Palmer as well as Tachanna Dalger from Suriname. So far, maintaining training standards has been a challenge.
“Presently, we are improvising. We are using home trainers and different methods where can do simulations of training so, for the time being, we are just monitoring and from a coaching perspective just trying to keep the athletes to a certain level of fitness until this whole thing is over,” Ferrier said.
However, recent pronouncements have given him hope that they will soon be able to get back into the first-class facilities at their disposal in the twin-island republic.
“The Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) did make a statement (Tuesday) that they would be opening the facilities for athletes preparing for the Olympics and major competitions around the globe so hopefully we can get back into full training early next week,” he said.