Great Britain duo proud to coach University Club

Cardiff University Sport, in conjunction with the Athletic Union, are delighted to announce that former Great Britain Cycling Team riders Lewis Oliva and Ciara Oliva have swapped cadence for coaching, as take they take the reins of the University Cycling Club.

Lewis, who is currently in his fourth year studying Medicine at Cardiff University, is a track cyclist who was part of the Great Britain cycling team for eight years and represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi 2010, Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018. Lewis picked up a silver medal in the keirin at the 2018 Games and is a Welsh and British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) record holder. He’s represented Great Britain at World Track Cycling Championships and was also national keirin champion in 2017. Lewis has recently become involved in para-cycling, cycling in tandem with visually impaired cyclists where he’s the pilot (sighted rider), with the stroker (visually impaired rider) on the back.

Ciara, who’s a physiotherapist by trade, is a double European Team Pursuit Champion and a World Championship medallist on both the track and road. She was part of Team GB at the 2016 Rio Olympics as a member of the Team Pursuit squad.

Speaking on the appointment of the world class duo, Stuart Vanstone, Head of Sport said: “I’m delighted that Lewis and Ciara have taken on the role of coaching the Cycling Club at Cardiff University. Both Lewis and Ciara bring a wealth of experience with them, having competed at the highest level, with 11 World Cup medals, 4 European medals and 5 British titles between them. I strongly believe that they’ll develop the University Club cyclists across the track and road disciplines and with their support the club will go from strength to strength.”

Speaking ahead of BUCS Cycling Track Championships this weekend, Lewis and Ciara commented: “We are extremely proud to be head coaches of the Cardiff University Cycling Team. We thoroughly enjoy helping others achieve their dreams and have both been very proud of the club development over the past six months. We are excited to see what the future holds for the club and are both looking forward to the BUCS Championships on the track and road over the coming years.”

With a strong partnership already in place for the husband-wife coaching team, this promises to be an exciting period ahead for the University Club.