Team Sky hired the services of Shaun Stephens as a Performance Coach
Shaun Stephens has managed to secure a significant deal with the top World Tour team of the 2012 season, and his new role as Team Sky Performance Coach will definitely make a significant impact on his resume.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity to work as part of the Team Sky programme,” Stephens said in the team's press release.
He further added, “I have watched their outstanding performances with interest over the last three years and have been impressed by how they have assembled their team and introduced innovative performance strategies to cycling”.
“I believe it is Dave Brailsford's vision of introducing a diversity of skill sets into Team Sky, and ultimately the cycling staff and riders' embracement of new training and competition strategies, that has given Team Sky a competitive advantage over other
teams,” he concluded.
The Australian will work along Team Sky’s Head of Performance Tim Kerrison after serving Australian athletes in the past.
He served his country’s Olympics cycling team for four mega events and is currently performing his duties as a Programme Manager and Head Coach at the Triathlon Australian and the Australian Institute of Sport.
Shaun will fill in for Bobby Julich since the American left the team earlier in October after he confessed to doping previously in his professional career.
Team Director David Brailsford welcomed the new inclusion in his perfectly balanced side and cited that Stephens’ addition will certainly add fresh expertise into his team and boost its confidence in the season ahead.
Team Sky has an exceptional 2012 season and bagged several World Tour victories all through the season, securing the top overall position after the UCI World Tour team’s rankings with as many as 1767 UCI points to its credit.
Bradley Wiggins helped the team registering an overall victory at the most esteemed cycling race of the season, the Tour de France 2012 and became the first British cyclist ever to receive the honour.
He made the maximum contribution of 601 UCI points in the team’s total of 1767 points and Wiggins secured the second overall position at the UCI World Tour Individual rankings.
The team definitely did everything right in the 2012 season, but there is always room for improvement and only time will tell, if Shaun Stephens inclusion helps the team exploiting those grey areas.
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