Representing New Zealand is many young athletes’ dream but for some coaches and parents the idea of sending their teenager to the cycling high performance programme in Cambridge has become fraught with fear.
Olivia Podmore’s death highlighting the mental strain some athletes are under with one top coach saying the centralised programme isn’t working.
Terry Gyde spends his summers at Denton Oval training young Canterbury cyclists.
He's worked with the likes of Sarah Ulmer, Greg Henderson and Julian Dean but for his current superstar pupils, he has real worries.
“The other morning I sat with my wife and we cried and just said I don’t want this kid going in there,” says Gyde.
“You build up an amazing relationship with the athlete and the parent…when the parents put the trust in your hands, you sure as hell don't want anybody going into that programme.”
Gyde used to be the head coach at what is now Cycling New Zealand, but since going back to grass roots he says he’s seen too many young cyclists ruined by the high performance system.
“Every one of those bike riders has gone there with a dream and more often than not they've come back with a nightmare...and that's not the way it's meant to be.”
Athletes are often teenagers when they move to Cambridge. They’re expected to find a flat, cover bills and adjust to a high pressure, elite sporting environment, all while usually a long way from family support.
1 NEWS has heard from a number of former riders who say their mental health suffered as they tried to balance their new life.
If and when they were dropped from the programme things got worse with one saying he was flung into the wilderness.
Another adding there was no support, no guidance and no concern.
High Performance Sport New Zealand says from next year the funding system for athletes is changing to be more equitable. They're introducing a base training grant and things like health insurance will be covered.
Cycling New Zealand says it's committed to reviewing support offered to athletes.
Gyde opposed the idea of a centralised cycling programme when it was initially developed and he still thinks it doesn’t work.
“They're living in world where there's no balance…they just sit there and stew and mental health is one of those things, if you don’t vent it, it just becomes all-encompassing and we can't afford to lose an another Olivia Podmore.
"One is way too many.”
Olivia Podmore was a talented junior rider who rose through the ranks in Canterbury. She arrived in Cambridge as a 17-year-old.
Gyde says in the regions there’s more room to have fun. He is hopeful things will get better.
“I hope it can be fixed, I love cycling…we do it because we enjoy it, we enjoy coming down to the track here helping young kids and seeing the smiles on their faces when they get off their bike.”
Medals may always matter but there’s now many, like Gyde, demanding that they can’t matter above all else.
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