GWENT'S Julian Winn, pictured, has caused a shock by announcing he is to quit competitive riding to become cycling's new Welsh national coach.

And he is ready to build 'the next wave' of big time cyclists to take the sport on further after next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Abergavenny's 32-year-old former national champion is on a contract that will keep him in the role until the Games in March. After that, the job will be advertised but with Winn likely to be the prefered candidate.

He will ride his last race in September, a town centre circuit in Shropshire called the Newport Nocturne, which comes a week after he leads the Welsh team in the Tour of Britain.

Winn said: "Someone said to me the other day that you are retiring and, as far as I'm concerned, I'm not. I still think, eat and dream every bit like a bike rider except I am going to help other riders achieve their goals, really. "Transferring over to a coach feels natural to me. There will be times when I will look at the results and think what I would do in that situation but since I came back from racing abroad (with Danish outfit Team Fakta) I've struggled to race, with no disrespect to others, at a lower level.

"So, if I can't ride the Tour de France or a Tour of Italy again, the heart was sort of waining. This has been on my mind for the last month-and-a-half but I'm 100% sure I have made the right decision."

He is relishing the chance to lead the next generation that will challenge Nicole Cooke, for one, on the big stages.That means focussing not for Melbourne but for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.

Winn said: "As of 2006, there needs to be a complete new wave of riders who are pretty much under 25 and, by the time we get to the next Commonwealth Games, we are taking 16 riders who are all around the 23 or 24 mark.

"A lot of pressure gets put on Nicole because she is reigning Commonwealth champion, but we have to spread it around and we have people like Yanto (Barker, third in Sunday's National Championships) who has come on leaps and bounds since returning from racing in France this year, plus Geraint Thomas on the track.

"I'm looking at it as a four-year cycle and the majority going to the Commonwealths next year will be youngsters going for experience."

WCU chief executive Peter Sommers said: "Julian is respected by all Welsh riders and will bring his extensive knowledge and professionalism to the athletes that will undoubtedly improve their performances."