Cycling centre prepares Olympic hopefuls

swissinfo.ch visited the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) velodrome and training centre at Aigle in western Switzerland to check out the young Cuban track star Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez as she prepared for the London summer Games.

The 24-year-old is one of 100 up-coming cyclists from less-developed countries training at the internationally recognized World Cycling Centre as part of its SFr4 million development programme.

In the ten years since it was opened the centre has welcomed nearly 600 athletes from over 100 countries under the guidance of professional coaches. The high-level development programme also includes language courses (English or French), computer studies, doping prevention and nutrition. Achievements include two Olympic titles, one silver and one bronze medal, and 32 World Championship titles.