AusCycling continues to reorganize its high performance department, and earlier this year placed Gene Bates and Scott Gardner in two different head coaching roles, but this change eliminates the need for an elite road coordinator, Rory Sutherland's position The company said that it now has.
Sutherland, a former professional cyclist, was appointed to the Europe-based role at the end of 2020 by then Australian team performance director Simon Jones, but since then things have changed dramatically within the organization, with Jones leaving and multiple As part of the consolidation of cycling disciplines, AusCycling was created and Executive General Manager Jesse Korff oversaw the reorganization, which included the appointment of Bates and Gardner.
"We made an important strategic shift when we reorganized several siloed sports into Endurance and Acceleration & Action. We want to enable athletes to move between endurance sports, help them win pro contracts when possible, and have them compete in the biggest races on the planet in green and gold," Korff said in a statement. Integration of para-athletes and able-bodied endurance athletes is also a major priority.
Head coaching roles by Bates, former sports director of BikeExchange-Jayco, which oversees road, mountain bike, and track endurance, and Gardner, sports scientist who oversees BMX, BMX freestyle, and track sprint. The division of responsibilities was the first step in a reorganization that added two sports director positions to the men's and women's teams, as well as the role of European coordinator.
According to the statement, the creation of these positions means that the elite road coordinator role Sutherland has held for the past two years will no longer be needed.
"Rory has been an important part of our success for some time. He has overseen some great results at some of the pinnacle competitions, including the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games." He has also played a pivotal role in the evolution of our culture, which has been a focus over the past year. Rory leaves us after helping us win four medals at the recent UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong."
Sutherland will leave on December 31.
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