Cycling: Carswell to guide Kiwi endurance riders on road to Rio Olympics

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Former Commonwealth Games medallist Tim Carswell has been named as the new Kiwi men's endurance coach as the road to Rio continues.

Carswell, who took the track team to the last two Olympics, will work under head coach Dayle Cheatley as BikeNZ looks to build on a successful Commonwealth Games.

With Carswell looking after the men's endurance squad, Craig Palmer coaching the women's team and Anthony Peden leading the sprint programme, Cheatley will be allowed to oversee all three squads at the 2016 Olympics.

Carswell, who won two bronze medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, was in the top job at the Beijing and London Olympics before leaving to take up a coaching role with the sport's ruling body, the UCI in Switzerland. His initial two-year contract has concluded and Carswell has opted to return home with his family and face a new and exciting challenge.

"It's not something I had contemplated but the opportunity was too good to pass up," Carswell said from Switzerland.

"I've learned a great deal from this role with the UCI and believe I am a better coach as a result and have much more experience and knowledge.

"It's exciting to be part of the new set-up in Cambridge and to work with Dayle and the rest of the team.

"I feel that with the current established riders, the future talent coming along and the pro tour riders who may potentially consider returning, that New Zealand's men's endurance stock is the strongest it has ever been."

That stock claimed a pair of gold medals in Glasgow - Tom Scully in the points race and Shane Archbold in the scratch race - as part of the track cycling team's 11 medals.

A similar total in Rio would be beyond the coaches' wildest dreams but BikeNZ high performance director Mark Elliott thought Carswell was the right man to push the team forward.

"Tim has the skills we are looking for to lead our men's team pursuit squad, in particular," Elliott said.

"He has gained much knowledge working for the UCI and working across many countries and programmes."

Elliott heaped praise on Cheatley, who had carried out direct coaching duties of the men's endurance programme as well as his oversight as head coach, with the reduction of those responsibilities a long-term aim in the high performance set-up.

"Our vision had always been to have Dayle focus on a position as head coach to ensure we have the best possible knowledge transfer across all of our programmes," Elliott said.

"Both Rio and Tokyo Olympics will demand a higher level of strategic planning to ensure we make the most of qualification and performance delivery on the day.

"This has been our vision since the London Olympics but we needed to get the right people into the right roles to make it effective."