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“VeloFriends Foundation together with the Akimat of the Almaty Region and the city of Talgar built a high international standard BMX track in Talgar and already held competitions there - VeloFriends Supercross Open Cup,” begins our conversation Mr. Batalov. – “It was the Cup of Kazakhstan, which we combined with amateur competitions and once again were ensured that such events can and should be combined together. I believe that this landmark event will give impetus to the development of BMX in Kazakhstan, because this discipline has recently become an Olympic sport. With the right approach Kazakhstan may well earn Olympic medals in nearest future”.

The issue of development of BMX in Kazakhstan as a separate discipline with the national team is now being worked out in the Cycling Federation together with the Olympic Training Center and the National Olympic Committee. To date we’ve got tracks in Astana, Tekeli and Talgar, at the moment we are compiling a general calendar for next year, which will include BMX competitions of different levels. I want to say that we, in the VeloFriends Foundation, practically started from scratch and laid the foundation for the development of BMX in Kazakhstan. It is important.

We also built a mountain bike trail. Now Kapshagai has one, and literally the other day the national championship was held there.

I believe that special attention should be paid to the development of youth cycling. This year, the VeloFriends Foundation launched the “Runbike” project. The aim of the project is creation of sections in kindergartens across the country dedicated to teaching toddlers how to ride a runbike. We give kindergartens a set of running bikes, helmets and equipment for training - various slides and obstacles, as well as train coaches. The runbikes are ideal for instilling in children a love for biking, for developing coordination skills. Children as young as 2 years old can ride a runbike, and such children usually switch to a two-wheeled bicycle by age 5 - 6. My heart is so pleased that we have launched and are implementing this project. This year there are several kindergartens in Almaty, Astana, Shymkent and Taldykorgan, next we will go further to the regions. But the most important thing is that we also create infrastructure for this. There is a methodological material, trainers are being trained, and they come to us from regions, from different cities of our country, to learn about this project. 

This year we have also realized the idea that was discussed in our Federation for a long time – the organization of the international track competitions “Silk Way Series” - the Silk Road Cup. This year the competitions were held in Omsk, Astana and Beijing. Athletes from Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Armenia took part in the competition. Next year we will make the tournament even more interesting and representative. Moreover, 2019 will be a pre-Olympic year and it will be very important for athletes to score rating points.

This year, for the second time in Talgar, we organized a national championship in cycling among amateurs and veterans. We have also received a license for next year to hold the first Amateur Asian Championship. Prestigious international amateur bicycle race Gran Fondo Kazakhstan has been successfully held in Almaty region for several years now. Representatives of regional akimat and the head of the regional cycle federation Serik Turdaliyev are helping in organizing this event.

This year, VeloFriends continued the tradition of supporting amateur starts. Tour de Kids, BegoVelogonki, VeloFriends Junior, Jeyran Trophy, MTB Cup, which was organized by Alatau Racing Team, Astana-Paris cycling marathon, in which visually impaired athletes participated. Few of the amateur contests today pass without our support.

We provide financial support to Youth Academy named after Andrey Kivilev in Talgar. This summer we purchased BMX bicycles for them. We opened a veloschool in "Ak-Bulak" sanatorium and children from neighboring villages are already signing in for classes.

As for infrastructure, I want to say that our old idea that the road should be repaired along the BAC (Big Almaty Canal) and cyclists drove there is also under implementation.

We continue to move towards creating the infrastructure for ecotourism. As part of the Association of Travel Companies of the Almaty Region (ATCAR), the Velofriends Foundation is engaged in work of creating a mountain cluster - from Kaskelen to Turgen. It takes a lot of time, but we are absolutely sure that we are laying a solid foundation for the development of tourism in this area to be carried out in the right direction.

I don’t make money on this, on the contrary I spend my own money, time and invest my soul in this issue. I try to approach everything systemically. Of course, not everything depends on me and my team, but we are slowly realizing our dreams. We made a plan to develop runbikes - we began developing runbikes. We wanted to support amateur competitions - we support them. Would they have taken place without us? Maybe they would, but we made it much easier for bikers. With our support, these initiatives have been preserved and developed, and have some guarantees that VeloFriends will support them tomorrow. It gives them confidence. And the most important thing is that we see is that more and more people are joining cyclists.

- Some time ago, you had a misunderstanding with the administration of Almaty regarding the construction of cycle paths and the development of bicycle infrastructure. What about now: have you found a common language or are you moving in parallel dimensions?

- We are moving in parallel and constructively. The most important thing for me is that I publicly and openly conveyed my vision of the development of both cycling and bicycle infrastructure in Almaty in general.

The akimat (city administration) is implementing some ideas that we proposed to them. We offered to support reconstruction of the Almaty cycle track 50 to 50, but the akimat decided to fund it themselves. For example, I, as a cyclist and as the first vice-president of the federation, am looking forward to this - the faster the track in Almaty is going to be ready, the better.

I am glad that the akimat actively develops bicycling as a transport. Finally, we’ve got bike lanes. It is important! It's one thing to say, actually doing it is another thing. There are obviously some mistakes and errors in design, in general approaches and so on. But, nevertheless, and we must agree with this, the cycle paths are already actively exploited by bicycle lovers. Of course, it takes time for us to improve all this, but it is important that there is a trend, that it has already started. And traditions that were laid by Akhmetzhan Yesimov, like bike races, are continued. Another question is that they still require transformation - in quantity, in terms of approaches. But this, too, is all fixable, everything can be improved.

- What are your plans for 2019? What are your plans for the development of the bicycle infrastructure in Almaty and Almaty region?

- We are not fixed on Almaty and Almaty region. In Talgar, we have built a BMX track, and our task now is to actively develop it. It can and should be used for holding international competitions, national championships. Advanced athletes should visit them more, and we should grow professionally by looking and learning from them.

We are helping sport school for children and youth named after Kivilev and we want the children's and youth sections of cycling to grow - this is one. We will also continue to develop sections of the runbike in kindergartens. Second, we intend to help conduct amateur and professional cycling competitions. Third, we believe that Kazakhstan needs a national BMX team and its creation is planned for 2019. We are working towards building professional BMX Freestyle track in Kazakhstan.

Fourth, this year we held the first Silk Way Track Series competition, and in 2019 we will be moving this format more actively. We hope that by this time the track in Almaty will be finished.

Fifth point. As for the development of mountain biking, I hope that next season, finally, the implementation of the project on the arrangement of bicycle paths in the mountains will begin. Unfortunately, the project is "suspended" due to bureaucratic delays.

Next year we plan to hold a cyclocross competition in Kapshagai. This is a promising discipline, which we have not developed yet. Well, there is a certain vision on how to help youth cycling. We are actively working with the Center for Olympic Training, while it is more concerned with the Almaty region, but with other regions we are discussing this topic and there will be a more holistic program.

In addition, there is a lot of work going on within the Asian Confederation, where I personally, as a member of the steering committee, am working to change the charter and the Asian Confederation itself to become more modern, open and transparent. One of the ideas that has already been implemented is that we are actively working with the UCI to develop a bicycle as a transport, cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle. I will continue to move in this direction.

We have many plans and closing the season is not a reason to stop working. Winter is the time to get ready for new starts, new initiatives and within the VeloFriends community as well. By the way, we are planning many offline meetings of our community for the next year. So, friends, to all those who are on the wheel in the winter – I wish you good weather, and those who do not take a risk on a big snow drift - we will meet in April - at the official opening of Bicycle Season - 2019.