The Cycling Academy at St Peter’s, Cambridge began in 2014 to coincide with the opening of the velodrome. Having this world-class facility and CyclingNZ on site provides unrivalled opportunities for aspiring cyclists in road, track, and mountain biking. Led by former Olympic and Commonwealth Games cyclists Tim and Fiona Carswell, the Cycling Academy provides holistic, tailored programmes that develop talent and provide pathways for students to excel, from beginner to high performance level
Programme Structure
Our prep squad caters for Years 7–8 students, introducing them to bunch cycling on quiet roads, track cycling in the velodrome, and mountain biking.
Our triathlon and cross-training programme is designed to build fitness for other sports.
Our mountain biking programme provides coaching in the specific skills required for mountain biking on local tracks each week during the summer terms.
Our development squad is a road and track cycling team that competes in club nights, regional events and national events. Riders participate in multiple training sessions per week. Development Squad members receive a high level of coaching input, including individualised training support and goal setting. They also have access to nutrition, fitness and sports psychology services. The Development Squad benefits from training sessions in the velodrome and specialised team time trial training.
Our elite squad is for high performance road and track athletes. The programme replicates the Development Squad programme with higher intensity and a greater emphasis on gym-based strength and fitness training. Our elite riders benefit greatly from the velodrome where they can continue to develop their skills year-round. Our Elite Performance Squad competes in regional and national competitions.
Meet the Coaches
Tim Carswell
As a cyclist Tim represented New Zealand at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics. He was also a double Commonwealth Games medallist. In his time with the New Zealand National Cycling programme and the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland, he coached at three Olympic Games, three Commonwealth Games and multiple World Championships. Athletes under his guidance have won three Olympic medals and 16 World Championship medals. Tim was Waikato Coach of the Year in 2015 and has previously been a finalist for the Halberg Coach of the Year awards.
Fiona Carswell
Fiona has a strong background in competing, coaching, managing and event organisation. She first represented New Zealand as a 16 year old and went on to compete at the Sydney Olympic Games as well as at multiple Commonwealth Games, and World Cup and World Championship cycling events. Fiona’s strength in road racing has earned her national titles across all age groups from U15 to senior levels. She has retained close ties with top-level cycling since her competitive days, including coaching at the 2015 World Track Championships.
Cycling Accolades
- Numerous national age group titles and medals in track and road cycling
- Track, road, mountain bike and BMX champions at regional level
- NZ representatives at Oceania and World Age Group Championships
