Update from Lukas Adomonis!

(Lukas Adomonis is a U23 Juventus member, riding for Giant - Langley/Smart Savvy)

Lukas Adomonis

Hello Juventus,

I’m going to try to keep this update short; since unlike some of the other Juventus+ racers, I’ve mainly spent my past few months either slogging it out on the indoor trainer at the clubhouse, or into gale force Alberta headwinds, just like most of you - instead of travelling to exotic locations. However, I can’t complain too much because I did get the chance in early February to travel to Palm Springs for a week long team training camp. I got a chance to meet most of my new teammates, and put in over 1000 kilometres of base while I was there.

For those of you who don’t know, I will be racing with the Giant-Langley / SMARTSAVVY cycling project this upcoming season - a U23 development team based out of BC. I am very proud to be able to represent the team this year.

 

The majority of my racing will be at the larger events in BC, but I will still be returning to Alberta for a few events, as well as travelling to races in Quebec, Washington, and Oregon. My biggest goals for the year will be to put in strong rides at Road Nationals and BC Superweek. During my past couple of seasons, I’ve struggled with injuries; this year, so far, I’ve had a very healthy start to the season and the plan is to translate that into results!

 

 

When it comes to my activities off the bike, I try to rest as much as possible; however, I am still going to school full-time. I am in my second year at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Business.

 

Finally, I need to give a huge thanks of support to all the Juventus members, whether it be the Trackies, the Juniors, or the Masters – all the members I have had the chance to interact with. You have made the riding culture within the club absolutely amazing for a youth rider learning to love racing. I can say with 100% certainty that without the Juventus Cycling Club I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Thanks again for the support,

Lukas

 

Update from Ross Wilson!

{Ross Wilson is an elite (editor's word) middle aged (Ross's words) para-cyclist with Juventus and Cycling Canada’s para-cycling team}

 

 

Hello Juventus members,

For those of you I haven’t met, I’m part of Canada’s para cycling team; I compete in the men’s C1 division.

Over the winter I was fortunate enough to make a couple of trips out to Milton for much needed track time, and a trip to Hawaii over the Christmas holidays to build fitness.

In March I was in Portugal for two weeks of prep work before transferring to Italy for the UCI para cycling track world championships. In the pursuit I qualified with a time of 3:54.5, about 0.7 s off the then men’s C1 world record of 3:53.8 – so the cycling gods were with me. 

God of Cycling

 

 

Ultimately I finished the competition with a silver in the pursuit and a 4th in the kilo, so a step in the right direction but no rainbows yet.

 

 

My next main target will be the road time trial event at the Ostend (Belgium) UCI World Cup in May. Following that, Canada’s selection for the Paralympics will be announced and I’ll hopefully shift into specific prep for the time trial on the road and the pursuit on the track in Rio.

Ross

Ross Wilson set to ride his silver medal performance at the 2016 World Championships.

Triple Crown for Stefan Ritter!

Stefan Ritter was completely in charge of the sprint category at the 2016 Junior Track Cycling Championships, held in Milton this past weekend. Stefan rode away with the Match Sprint, 1 km TT, and Kieran titles with ease. Clearly he will be a force to be reckoned with at the Junior World Championships in Switzerland this summer!

Stefan Ritter prepares for speed.

At speed.

Meanwhile, Devaney Collier also had a very strong showing in the Junior Women's category, racing well, and collecting hardware in the Scratch, Points, Elimination and Kieran events. Congratulations on 2 silver and 2 bronze medal performances!

Podium.

Saturday morning sunshine . . .

A truly beautiful morning and 2 groups of our masters were off for long rides. Of course, punctures happen occasionally; no worries - a quick fix and off we go.

Update from Kinley Gibson

(Kinley Gibson is a U23 Juventus member, currently riding for Trek Red Truck, and Cycling Canada's NextGen Women's Track Endurance program.)

Hello Juventus,

Winter rollers - Juventus clubhouse

There’s always an element of surprise for me when racing comes around again. When I’m in the midst of winter training, the San Dimas Stage Race always seems like a far-off, intangible event - completely separate from the rides and intervals of the day.

This particular off-season saw the start of the Women’s NextGen Track Endurance Program, which added a whole new dynamic to the year, and took some getting used to. There were moments this winter when training seemed a bit endless: a busy cycle of CompuTrainer workouts in Edmonton, long road days in California, and double track days in Milton.

Yet now that it’s the end of March, I can’t believe it’s already race season again – I feel like I was just here!

 

Kinley Gibson - Tegaderm and stitches, San Dimas 2014

2016 will mark my third entry into San Dimas, and my second into the grueling race that follows, the Redlands Bicycle Classic. A large and aggressive field, difficult climbs, and some of the top riders in North America put these races in a class of their own.

As a first year elite in 2014, these races were my introduction to racing a women’s field in the USA; and to put it as nicely as possible, they were a complete kick in the pants. With a DNF in the San Dimas Criterium and a time cut at Redlands, it was pretty clear my junior days were done and gone.

2015 followed up with an even more disappointing turn of events – burned out before the race season even got off the ground; I once again DNF’d San Dimas and failed to even start Redlands. With this kind of early season resume, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a certain amount of trepidation heading into the upcoming races.

 

California miles.

However, the past few weeks of training in both Edmonton and California has replaced some of my nervousness with a cautious optimism. The tough interval work, careful nutrition planning, long road miles, and (of course) Jeff’s famous roller sessions seem to be coming together. For the first time in the early season, I’m feeling the benefits of both reasonable fitness and the confidence of two years elite racing experience.

So - that hard work I’ve been mentioning: I’ve done the bulk of it with a group of very cool ladies as part of the NextGen track program. Lead by my coach of three years, Cameron Jennings, the four of us (Jamie Gilgen, Meghan Grant, Ariane Bonhomme, and I) have been putting in some serious time in the gym, on the track, and out on the road.

It’s a very diverse group – Ariane and I are both twenty-one, slowly chipping away at school, while Jamie and Meghan have about ten years on us (not to mention, you know, little things like degrees and jobs). We’re from all over the map too – BC, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, and believe me, our personalities could not be more different. Despite everything, we’ve grown really close over the last few months: I guess the adversity of double workout days has that effect on people.

Many, many miles with great teammates.

 

After spending the bulk of the winter bonding with these girls over everything from lifting weights to recovery day coffee spins, I’ll be transitioning from my NextGen family to my Trek Red Truck Racing family – my road team for the third year running. TRT has a great lineup this year (including Juventus’ own Anna Talman) and the team always provides really solid support for us. I’ll be sad to bid farewell to my NextGen teammates for the next few months, but a change of training environment and racing partners will bring an exciting new challenge.

 

I’ll wrap this up with a big thank you to everyone back home in Edmonton.  I can imagine no better place to train than our track and our clubhouse. Juventus members are a veritable treasure trove of valuable experience and meaningful encouragement, and I wouldn’t be here without the club’s support. Thank you all for everything, I hope to do Juventus proud this season!

Kinley Gibson - BC Spring series

Juniors fun in Penticton

It appears our juniors can climb! Here they take a break, and Tracy practices using new fangled technology.

Home for the week in Penticton.

Update from Sidney McGill

(Sidney is a first year junior with Juventus, currently training with Cycling Canada's NextGen Mountain Bike Team.)

Hello Juventus,

2016 Canada Cup MTN Bike Race - Bear Mountain

After taking some time off during the Cyclocross season, I've been gradually ramping up training for the 2016 mountain bike season.

In November, I was selected to the Canadian NextGen Mountain Bike program. Since starting with NextGen, I've been training out in Victoria at least once a month. The National Mountain Bike team is now based out of Victoria, and many national level athletes are moving to Victoria to train and go to school. It's incredible to be riding on some of the best terrain in the world, with some of the best mountain bikers in the world, and enjoying every minute of the experience.

On March 5th, I competed in the first 2016 Canada Cup Mountain Bike race at the Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria. With Junior girls coming from all across Canada to compete, and as a qualification event for the World Cup Championships, this was an important race. The race started with very fast first and second laps. I was chasing the first place racer the whole time and finished with a solid second place result.

This was my first big race in a while, and I wasn't sure where I stood nationally, so a strong 2nd place finish is positive, and I'm really happy with my result. Still lots of work to do, but I'm making good progress.

I was also recently selected to represent Canada as a member of the Junior National Mountain Bike team. I'm actually leaving in less that a week for Zurich, Switzerland. Our first race is in Rivera, Switzerland on April 3rd, then we travel to Bad Säckingen, Germany on April 9th. This trip will be an amazing learning experience. I've traveled to big races before, but dealing with eight hours of jet lag and having to race in an aggressive field within a couple days of arrival is something new for me. I will try my best.

Sidney McGill - Cycling Canada NextGen Mountain Bike Team

After all the expenses - travel for training and racing, new bikes and constant repairs - my sponsors (i.e. Parents) have scaled back on my budget. They're excited I was selected for the Europe trip, but said I had to raise the money myself. I've started a GoFundMe campaign at www.sidneymcgill.com/gofundme/ to help cover the costs. Within a week I've almost raised enough to cover my hard expenses.

I'm so grateful to all my family and friends who have donated. Thank you all so much!

This upcoming Europe trip is an important stepping stone in preparation for the 2016 Mountain Bike World Championships in Nové Mesto, Czech Republic in early July. I haven't qualified for the 2016 Canadian World Cup team yet, although I'm working hard towards this goal, and should know more in May.

Canadian Junior National Mountain Bike Team

To prepare for the European races, the Junior team had an awesome eight day training camp in Victoria. We had so much fun together, but it was a lot of hard work. By the end, my legs were dead, but spirits were high. The National Development coach Ian Hughes will be leading us to Europe.

In February, Ian Hughes also coached the Team Alberta mountain bike camp in Victoria. More than half the people at that camp were from Juventus; including Sam Poon, Abbey McGill, Cody Shimizu, Laura MacLean, Adam Germaine and me. Again, lots of hard work, but we had a great time. The highlight of the trip was going out on a big group ride at the Hartland mountain bike park in the pouring rain and cold. We ended up getting horribly lost, as the trails were turning into rivers. Good times.

In other news, I recently launched a new personal website at www.sidneymcgill.com. I needed a place to store photos, and a simple blog to post status updates. The website also has my race calendar. Please check it out, and let me know what you think.

That is all for now. Wishing you all the best of luck this year and hope to see you on the trails!

Update from Stefan Ritter!

(Stefan Ritter is a second year Junior with Juventus, currently training in Cycling Canada's sprint program.)

On the Milton track

Hello Juventus!

 

Since Christmas, my cycling endeavours have taken me to Milton twice. Sadly not to sunny California like Evan, but nonetheless it’s always great to get on the boards of the Milton velodrome.

While there I trained with Erin Hartwell and the elite sprint squad. Training with the likes of Monique Sullivan, Kate O'Brien, Hugo Barrette, and Evan Carey was very cool and motivating to say the least.

As for some of the efforts on the track, I was doing Flying 200s, Motor Drops, Motor Chases and some Keirin work. One thing with Erin is his love for big gears. For the 200 I’ve been using gears in the range of 110 to 117 inches, experimenting with different gears to see which would yield a slightly faster time.  

Stefan Ritter motor drop

I would have to say the highlight of the second trip was riding a 9.96 second 200 m from a motor drop. Riding at that speed the track behaves in a very different way, as everything comes a lot faster, even though the difference is only half a second. I could feel the Gs pulling me through the corner and propelling me onto the transition to the straight. It is quite fast and at the same time quite humbling, as Hugo is doing faster times without the lead in from the moto. 

Gym work in Milton

 

 

Complementing the work on the track was gym work with Brendan Murphy (Cycling Canada’s strength and conditioning coach). I learned a lot concerning technique, and the value of proper warm up, as well as some Olympic lifting - which was a totally new skill to learn.

Also added to my arsenal of sports related equipment was a pair of lifting shoes. They make squatting, deadlifts, and cleans an absolute dream.

My time training at home is spent in the very exciting environment of my basement (as I’m sure many of you can relate to) on the Lemond trainer, which sounds like a jumbo jet at times. I go to my school gym for weights, and also on the odd ride outside to keep the technical skills sharp. If there is one thing I miss since I made the jump to sprinting, it is the long rides. 

Next stop for me is Milton in one week for some training, and then Junior Track Nationals right after from April 1-3.

Until next time, 

Stefan

All decked out and ready for speed!

Silver for Ross Wilson at World Championships!

Ross Wilson has solidified his position on the 2016 Canadian Olympic Team with a silver in the individual pursuit at the 2016 Para World Track Cycling Championships in Italy.  He was pleased to be on form, reducing the gap to the gold medalist from his World Championship silver in 2015.

Ross will continue to work with coach Cam Jennings towards Rio, and is confident he will be ready with his best in August. Today, Ross also competed in the 1 km time trial, and was just off the podium placing 4th. Congratulations to Ross for a very successful World Championship!

Update from Evan Burtnik!

(Evan Burtnik is a U23 with Juventus, currently training with Cycling Canada's Team RaceClean - formerly NextGen Men's Track Endurance team.)

Hello Juventus members,

Apparently there's been some interest in what I've been up to over the winter and what I'll be doing for racing in 2016. I'm usually not one to write blog posts because I feel there's always a bit of ego attached to them, but here's mine anyway.

After getting a taste of World Cups, I spent most of the winter in Oxnard, California, grinding out base miles with the NextGenMTE (Men's Track Endurance) group. I am getting ready for my first European campaign, and I'm pretty stoked to finally experience some real racing. I had a really quiet road season last year, so I'm not sure what to expect, nor am I sure of how I will stack up, especially in my first year as a U23. Hopefully I can be a useful cog on the team, and maybe get lucky and find myself in a breakaway I have no business being in, and somehow pull out a result. Who knows. 

California was awesome; I had some great days and some miserable days, but definitely mostly good ones. The house that we were in got pretty crazy at times; at one point we had 11 people in the house and just not enough space, especially in the fridge! Training was hard, but that's to be expected and it's not bad considering we didn't have a day of rain, or a day below 20 C for all of February! Life can't be that hard when the most heated arguments in the house are over what coffee shop we go to on recovery days. For the nerds who are into power data, my biggest gain came in my 30 minute power which I increased by 20 watts compared to my best last summer. 

Training ride with NextGenMTE

Even with the great time I had in Cali, I was glad to be home and back to normal for a bit. But it's a little strange. What's "normal" for me has now turned into being on the road with my teammates. I now start counting down the days until I get to come home instead of counting down the days until my next trip. My friends at home are now those weird people I see every so often; and my teammates have filled that void. The stress of upcoming racing, and trying to keep the coaches happy is always there, so I try to switch off a bit when I'm at home. It only takes me a few days at home to get that itch again - to go back to ripping up the track in Milton, or grinding up the climbs in Malibu. I'm addicted.

I'm typing this I'm on my way home from from Vancouver, after racing 2 weekends of the infamous spring series they have. The last race on Sunday was definitely my best. I got in the day's breakaway of 6 riders which was pretty stacked with a couple pros, and a few other very strong guys. They thrashed me around pretty good until we got caught by H&R whose rider in the breakaway flatted, forcing them to chase us down. The last 40 km of the day were the coldest I've been since the 2014 Lake Louise stage of Banff Bike Festival. I had ditched most of my clothes after over heating in the breakaway; and then after getting caught, I froze my ass off in the rain at 3 degrees. There was only one reason I forced myself to finish that ridiculous, meaningless race: Chris Prendergast, who I was sharing a ride with, was up the road in the winning move with the keys to the car in his pocket! 

Evan Burtnik - BC Spring Series

That was my last time for a while repping Juventus kit in a race, because I'll be getting all my NextGen clothing when I get to Europe! A little bitter sweet after 9 years in Juventus colours. It didn't seem to matter what I was wearing though, Cycling BC still thought I was Mason and riding for Smart-Savvy, on the result sheet.

My European campaign officially begins March 20th, with our final preparation camp in the Spanish Sierra Nevada's for 10 days, and then we're at the Cycling Canada European outpost in Tielt-Winge, Belgium. I'm very excited for the opportunity to race for the NextGenMTE program and I'm incredibly grateful for all the support I've had along the way to get here. Hopefully I don't blow it!

Ross Wilson in World Championships!

Juventus Cycling Club and Canadian national team member Ross Wilson, will ride two events at the Para World Championships.  The C1 rider will contest the IP (individual pursuit) and the 1 km time trial at the event in Montichiari, Italy, March 17 - 20.

Ross is a strong contender in both races, and is ready to give his all at this final qualifying event for  the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Best of luck and ride well Ross!

Juniors challenge Bear Mountain XC!

Six Juventus Juniors started March with the inaugural Bear Mountain Canada Cup XC race in BC.  The intense indoor spins, and core workouts of the winter, as well as outdoor riding and good old Glenora stairs showed their worth: podiums and great riding!  Well done, Abbey, Sidney, Laura, Cody, Sam, and Adam!

Adam Germaine takes U19

Adam Germaine working hard for Team Alberta

Sidney going for silver!

Abbey McGill wins U17

Sidney McGill silver in Junior women.

Adam making things pretty again.

Open roads Saturday and then . . .

Many of you were lucky enough to ride the rural roads near Edmonton on Saturday.  Well, more of that soon, but for now . . .

Indoor training . . . almost a wrap.

Track and road cyclists in Edmonton only have so many options with a track under the white stuff, and roads iced over.  Juventus Juniors continue to get in miles led by coach Tracy.  Many are stationary, but some also get in cyclocross and mtn winter rides outdoors.

Soon, many of these juniors will be off for some long road rides at the annual Penticton Spring Camp.  These base miles will be welcome after all the indoor work.

Riding easy after a gruelling set.

Coach Tracy leading by example.

These three square off against Evan and Chris on the far side of the room.

Everyone focussed on the effort.

Someone is having too good a time.

Ross Wilson Invitational a success!

Creative cycling minds were active Monday evening , as the Track Group worked through a series of exercises designed for optimum impact on neglected calves.  The Invitational honours club member and Olympic hopeful Ross Wilson. 

The rock solid dedication of the track group to these muscles, each and every February 29th is a testament to its commitment to excellence. Dylan and Scott were extraordinary in brainstorming and  executing a bazaar variety of techniques to work the forlorn muscles of the lower leg.

Warning: The following images have been censored for your sanity. 

Still feeling cocky -  and oh so innocent.

Determination. Note the strain on the headband!

Yes - bowling shoes ARE an appropriate choice for an intense calf challenge.

Chalked for optimum performance; and John monitors good technique.

Here we have 2 experts in resting between sets -.

Keeping the calves active. No pics, but there was at least one quadra skip!

When weights are not enough.

He cannot stop; the drive to create yet another challenge is formidable.

Will these creative minds ever run out of ways to extract the most from those calves?

An amazing picture of the rare star heel dip in action. Fantastic!

Track kit order deadline!

Sunday February 21st is the final day to order your "All Black" Juventus Track Kit.  Choose from SS (short sleeve) jersey, bib-shorts, and SS skinsuit.  All available in xs, s, m, l, xl, xxl.  Send an email to ljberger58@gmail.com with your preferences.

This kit will look so much better on you!

Another busy Sunday morning at the clubhouse . . .

The sun has yet to peak above the track, yet the first computrainer riders have already arrived at the clubhouse.  The track group is close behind; and after tending espresso needs, they await the rogue training set that Scott manufactures in situ. Another CT group utilizes their time spots, and the sweat continues.  Meanwhile, Scott's workout for the roller crowd is only appreciated once it is finished. 

Dan and another effort on the CT.

Scott is not going to listen to the peanut gallery.

Gail, Bill, and Chris warming up . . .

Juventus Masters take titles!

Lorne and Gail were feted as they won the master c category titles with the Edmonton Masters in 2015.  Also represented at the annual awards was guest of honour Clive Burke who gave a touching and engaging talk about his many journeys and triumphs: to Canada, discovering romance, biking, surviving cancer and winning big in Europe last year. 

 

Juventus squad adds flair!

On Saturday, the ABA had its Race Organizers Meeting.  Juventus was on scene contributing ideas and locking in dates.  Sounds like there will be a lot of road races on the calendar and the official details will be available soon.

Many thanks to Dan, Bill, Bruce, Lance, and John for representing our club!

Looking for cool TILs?

You should check out Juventus Track News!  So many cool things to learn . . .  And you will always know when rollers are rolling and the track is tracking.