April 05, 2013 – Time for the March update on the Jet Fuel Coffee/Norco Bicycles team. All the guys are back now from being down south in Tucson. Back to the cold of Ontario, always a shock after having been down south!

This last month was a great one for racing. Down in Arizona the guys did the Old Pueblo NRC crit, and the Tucson Classic. Then here in Ontario the team did the season opener, Good Friday. Speaking with the guys it seems that there were lots of lessons learned. And that is just what we are looking to have happen with the young guns. The more they race, the more they will learn.

For Travis, one of our two riders moving up from the junior ranks, it was realizing that positioning is everything in an NRC level criterium. And you can’t be in the wind all the time trying to stay towards the front, that just takes too much energy.

At the Tucson Classic Yuri figured out that who’s wheel you’re on is super important, particularly when the racing suddenly goes ballistic after cruising along all day. He wasn’t going to contest the sprint at the end of the first stage, but also didn’t expect to lose 20secs in the last kilometer.

Then at Good Friday it was a lesson in tactics. Good Friday was a great race – there was just no hiding from the wind anywhere on the new course. The guys learned that racing in the wind is different than on most other days: a thirty second gap can be un-bridgeable and you definitely can’t just power through with the legs, you need everyone in the break pulling together to make it work. At Good Friday we had Joe Giuliano, one of the Jet Fuel Coffee/Norco Bicycles veterans, racing in the break with the guys. He saw the tactical mistakes and after the race the team sat down and had a great discussion about where things had gone sideways.

Mix together some quality racing, dedicated young guns, and some older riders to give some positive advice about racing and you’ve got a solid mix for developing Canadian cycling talent. After a month of lessons learned the team will be that much more of a threat at the next races.

And if you haven’t liked us on Facebook yet check us out and give us the thumbs up!