Sino-French collaboration on pump track fosters coaching experience

SHENYANG, May 7 (Xinhua) -- France's Thibault Dupont, a two-time UCI Pump Track World Championships bronze medalist, stepped back into the Shenyang International Pump Track Park, keeping a promise he made a year ago.

"I'm here with a new training plan," said Dupont. From Monday to Friday, he and Alexis Calle, head of BMX at the French Cycling Federation, lead a coaching training course for around 30 Chinese pump track instructors, with the program aiming to standardize coaching practices for the fast-growing sport.

The training course, co-organized by the Chinese and French cycling associations, builds on a partnership launched last year. Michel Callot, president of the French Cycling Federation, called it a "key outcome of Sino-French collaboration."

Pump tracks - undulating circuits with banked turns - are used for BMX, skateboarding and roller sports. Riders navigate the "waves" by shifting their body.

This is the second time that the coaching training course has been held in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. Last year, nearly 30 coaches across the country completed their training and obtained their certificates.

In addition to maintaining the beginner-level training course, an intermediate pump track coaching training course has been added this year.

Yang Junwei, a graduate of the beginner-level training in 2024, credits the training with his students' success. Eight-year-old Li Zihao took second place in a national youth BMX race this spring. "The international instructors have enriched my training philosophy," Yang said.

11-year-old Zhang Yiran leaned into a turn, her bike skimming a berm. "This sport makes me strong," she said, after a year and a half of training.

Over 200 children are now training at Shenyang's pump track park, which stunned Callot. "Children's enthusiasm is essential for promoting the sport," he said.

The park itself is a catalyst. Its 8,000-square-meter pump track - roughly the size of a football field plus two basketball courts - holds a Guinness World Record as the largest of its kind. It has drawn over 100,000 visitors since opening and will host the 2025 UCI Pump Track World Championships China Qualifier in June.

Callot noted that Shenyang's infrastructure and strong community involvement offer a valuable blueprint for other regions of China. He suggested that the experience in Shenyang could be expanded nationwide before serving as a global example. ■