Decker has been appointed coach of the Chinese national cycling program - ending a successful 11-year reign as coach of the Australian track endurance squad.

Decker takes up his new position in Beijing and he's already set his sights on next year's Bendigo International Madison with a team of Chinese riders.

"I already have plans next summer to bring the Chinese team out to Australia," Decker said.

"Hopefully if the Madison goes ahead in 2023 I will be able to bring some Chinese track endurance riders to Bendigo so they can compete at the Madison."

Related: Tim Decker: The Bendigo coach behind Australia's Olympic cyclists

Decker's new role will draw upon his years as Australia's head track endurance coach, in addition to prior experience with junior riders and at the AIS.

What he looks forward to most in his new role is building the Chinese squad up to a highly-competitive level in the lead up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

"After receiving the offer I really had to think long and hard about it all," Decker said.

"It's quite a challenge to take on this kind of role with such a big nation.

"I am looking forward to building both the men's and women's programs to be competitive across the board which includes team pursuit, omnium and madison racing at an Olympic level."

As much as Decker plans to challenge athletes during the next three years - he also believes he will have his own obstacles to tackle.

"This new role really has created plenty of challenges for myself - but that's honestly what attracted me to it," he said.

"I am in charge of the male and female athletes, assistant coaches and other support staff that I will be working alongside.

"It will extend my ability and knowledge as a coach so I can continually keep improving.

"The team hasn't done much within endurance and their goal is to establish themselves within this space as well as in road racing.

"However, track will be very important and securing medals is part of the bigger long-term vision."

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Another added element to the new role will be working as a coach within a completely different cultural environment.

"There's no doubt the culture I will be operating within will be completely different to anything I've worked in before as a coach," he said.

"So, how do I deal with a different culture and still be able to achieve great results?

"I will continue with my same coaching philosophy that I've always had which is to to get best the best out of the athletes as well as the staff that I will be working with."

Decker only landed in Beijing a few days ago but he is already hard at work - especially as he now has three weeks of quarantine ahead of him.

"I've got plenty of planning to do and a few meetings to get me started," he said.

"As soon as I am out I will head straight to some competitions to see riders in action ahead of the next phase which will then be selecting members for the team."

Flashback: Tim Decker named Cycling Australia coach of the year

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