Dominique Mayho, Bermuda’s top cyclist, is being put through his paces by renowned coach and Olympic medal winner Brian Walton.

Walton represented Canada at three Summer Games, winning a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

A former USA Cycling Developmental Coach of the Year, Walton is also a three-time Pan Am Games gold medallist, and president of the Cadence Cycling and Multisport Centre in Philadelphia.

Peter Dunne, the Bermuda Bicycle Association president, believes that a coach of Walton’s pedigree can only help Mayho’s promising career.

“This is a very good thing and it is good to have someone of that calibre giving you direction,” he said.

“Brian is very highly decorated and well-known and somebody that I really feel will be an asset to help Dominique achieve the things he wants.

“If you want to enter world-class events you need to have world-class advice and guidance. I am very pleased that Dominique has made the commitment because that is what is needed to move along to the next level. I think Dominique can make huge strides if he sticks to what’s required of him.”

Walton came on board as Mayho’s coach earlier this month and since then has mapped out an intense training programme for the 20-year-old. The Canadian came highly recommended by Mayho’s mentor and former top local rider and Commonwealth Games medallist, Graham Miller.

“It feels good to have someone of that calibre offering me technical advice,” Mayho said. “I feel a lot more confident going into the new season and all the big races because he will be able to give me good advice. Brian is a great coach.”

Mayho is due to travel to Orlando, Florida, at the end of the month where he will step up his pre-season training.

“I am basically going to get some base miles in before the season starts,” Mayho said.

“I am going to have very long rides everyday, pretty close to one hundred miles, which will be good base miles to get your legs going before the season starts.”

This year promises to be arguably the busiest of Mayho’s career. He is due to travel to Guatemala in May for the Pan American Continental Championships, which he intends to use as a warm up for July’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

“I am using that experience in a bigger race to get ready for the Commonwealth Games,” said Mayho, who represented Bermuda at the 2011 Youth Commonwealth Games held in the Isle of Man. “The Commonwealth Games is my biggest goal this year and hopefully I will be ready for that. The Commonwealth Games will be by far the biggest race I have been in.

“It always has top pros that race in the Tour de France, so it will be the biggest competition I have ever been in.”

Mayho is also expected to fly Bermuda’s banner at October’s Caribbean Cycling Championships in Puerto Rico and November’s Central American and Caribbean Games in Mexico.

“Right now I feel pretty much as fit as I was at the Caribbean Cycling Championships last year,” he explained.

“I didn’t take a long break so I feel that I am almost where I was last year.”