Thai Cycling Plans Olympic 2028 Push, SEA Games Prep
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Pol. Gen. Decha Hemkrasri, Deputy President of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC), President of the ASEAN Cycling Federation (ACF), and President of the Cycling Association of Thailand under Royal Patronage, chaired a meeting of all Thai national team cycling coaches at the association's conference room on October 20, 2026. The purpose was to plan operations to achieve goals in selecting athletes for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA, and preparing for the 34th SEA Games in Malaysia in 2027, which is the most critical year for accumulating points to qualify riders for Los Angeles.
The meeting included coaches from each discipline: Road coaches "Coach Tom" Visut Kasiya-pat and "Coach Bas" Pol. Maj. Gen. Phuchong Sai-udomsilp; Track coaches "Coach Nop" Pol. Lt. Col. Adisak Wannasri and "Coach Beez" Pol. Lt. Col. (f) Chutathip Maniphant; Mountain Bike coaches Robert Herber Jr. and Pol. Maj. Gen. Seree Rueangsi; BMX coaches Harvey Crapps and Sgt. Nontakorn Inthakhosung. Also attending was Pol. Maj. Gen. Dr. Phusit Fuengfoo, Deputy President of the Cycling Association of Thailand for Medical and Sports Science.
The meeting reviewed Thai cycling's performance from the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, and all disciplines' results in 2026. Most recently, the Thai men's sprint team placed 13th at the Track Cycling World Championships in Shanghai, China, moving up to 13th in the world Olympic qualification rankings.
After the meeting, Pol. Gen. Decha revealed that for 2027, the road team will focus on competing in Asian Tour events to accumulate points, especially the 2027 Asian Road Cycling Championships in China, where the top two Asian men's and women's elite riders earn automatic Olympic quotas. Similarly, BMX Racing and Mountain Bike Asian champions will secure automatic Olympic berths.
For BMX Racing, the plan is to send male and female national team riders, including juniors, to train at the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in New Zealand from January to February 2027, then move to the WCC in Switzerland for training and European competitions from March to April 2027. They will return to Thailand 3-4 weeks before the 2027 Asian BMX Championships, which Thailand will host on May 27-28, 2027, targeting the men's elite gold. Meanwhile, Harvey Crapps will begin developing new Thai BMX riders targeting the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Regarding track cycling, the team must prepare for the 2027 Asian Track Cycling Championships in Malaysia from January 31 to February 6, 2027. The coaching staff plans a one-month training camp at the 250m indoor velodrome in Tianjin, China, before the championships, which is one of the key qualifying events.
