Foundations in place for islanders to be Olympians

A TOP British coach has said there is no reason why Guernsey cannot produce an Olympic cyclist.

Stuart MacDonald was in the island this week as part of his role as the Olympic Talent Team coach for the south-west.

He pointed to the fact that Isle of Man's Jonny Bellis is currently representing Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics as evidence that one day a Sarnian cyclist could be picked for the biggest sporting event in the world.

'There's no reason why not,' he said.

'Jonny is there in Beijing and he's come through the Isle of Man set-up, which is a little bit more established than here, but give it a few years.

'Unfortunately, it takes time. It won't happen overnight, but I'm sure before long it will.

'The biggest limiting factor is getting them to the mainland for races. If they were able to get over just once or twice a month, that would really help.'