Mason (left) said Bichard will have to race longer distances

Guernsey cyclist Jamie Bichard has caught the eye of selectors for the Special Olympics World Games which take place in Athens in summer 2010.

Bichard recently recorded success at the regional games in Leicester including a gold in the 1km time trial.

"The Southern region, which Guernsey are part of, haven't had a cyclist take part in the world games in the past," coach Matt Mason said.

"So there's a good chance of getting Jamie a place."

Mason added: "He needs to sit down and think about how seriously he wants to go and whether we're able to raise the funds for it."

It is expected the costs of attending the games will be £2,000, but is likely to be higher as Bichard will also have to attend training camps in the UK.

"In the World Games they tend to not look at the shorter distances, so the 1km time trial would go and we'd have to start looking at longer distances," he said.

"It can be very demoralising not to have competition at your level, we all find that naturally but certainly athletes with a learning disability struggle to find that competition and that's what Special Olympics offers them."

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