February 20, 2013 (Calgary, AB) – After flight delays in Calgary and Toronto, all the coaches and athletes arrived in Los Angeles to get ready for the week-long Canadian Elite Track Camp.
A total of 11 riders from across Canada from BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are hard at work to learn the skills needed to advance to the next level in the emerging Canadian track program.
After building their bikes and working out the travel kinks, all the athletes were ready to get acquainted with the LA Velodrome. On day one, the riders were getting comfortable in their new surroundings. After a longer than normal warm up the athletes were jacked up and ready for the rest of the week.
Monday was a double day of training. The three hours of track time, would allow the riders to be split into 3 teams for their first attempts of team pursuit training. Each team had different goals from being consistent, riding on a wheel and not surging while on the front of each effort. For several riders this was their first experience at doing anything close to Team Pursuit.
After a number of efforts the athletes were debriefed and given their instructions for improvement. The final effort of the day, saw all 3 teams make huge gains in their constantly and ability to manage each lap during their effort.
The training continued with a recovery ride where the riders could do more of what they are accustomed to doing riding on the road.
Day 2 had all the athletes ready for the 3-minute trip to the Velodrome. Everyone was on time and had their bikes ready for another long day of training.
The three teams were adjusted and mixed to allow everyone to ride with an entire different group of athletes. The coaching staff introduced flying speed efforts into the warmup and had the athletes do standing starts…. some for the first time. The morning session ended with multiple efforts of team pursuit. The times continued to drop and all the riders are getting much more comfortable in their surroundings.
An optional road recovery ride, had everyone refreshed and ready to go for the rest of the week.
Next report Thursday after training.