Cranx and Sprockids in Hinton
The Cranx and Sprockids programs made their annual pilgrimage to the Hinton Bike Park on May 29th. They were joined by families from the Devon Bicycle Association, bringing the total crowd to over 100 kids, coaches, and parents.
In spite of the forecast, the weather was fantastic and the trails were amazing. Many kids got their first experience on pump tracks, drops, the skills park, and some truly flowy Rocky Mountain singletrack.
As usual, the favorite track of the day was Flow Master. The lineup for the trail extended to over 50 kids at one point in the afternoon.
Above all, the kids had fun and gained a ton of skill and confidence throughout the day.
Many thanks the the Hinton Bike Park community for their hospitality, support, and patience with so many people descending on the park at once.
Most of all, thanks to all of the coaches and parents who made the journey to Hinton to help provide such an amazing experience for the kids. We couldn't do it without you.
Gravel gets thumbs up at Stieda Classic!
Juventus race organizers of the inaugural Alex Stieda Classic decided to add a little spice to their road race: How about a section with a few twists, and a nice steep hill as a selection . . . and hmmmmmm . . . oh I don't know ... how about we do that in gravel!
U17 Podium - Alex Stieda Classic 2016
Yes, there were a lot of comments and thoughts about the added spiciness as race day approached. And maybe a few potential racers decided it was just a little too spicy for their taste. Seriously, would our race organizers do enough to adequately prepare the riders, and was the team ready to manage this intentionally included heat?
Cat 1/2 Men's Podium - Alex Stieda Classic 2016
Without a doubt, the gravel section defined the race. It was tough, hard work and the watts required at times meant drafting was meaningless. But it was fun too, with some twists and turns, a selective hill and the chance to change strategy on the next lap!
Cat 3 Men's Podium - Alex Stieda Classic 2016
And the comments from the racers were unanimous - they LOVED it! And interestingly enough, the follow cars noticed how rider skills improved with each lap. So, yes, thank you to the weather for having just the right moisture balance in the gravel section for the race, - it sure was a great day!
Women's 3/4/5 Podium - Alex Stieda Classic 2016
Gravel was all the talk on race day, but of course we had our superb team of Juventus volunteers ready to manage the details. The course was perfectly prepped - with road issues clearly marked, signage strategically placed, corners expertly swept, and the parking lot ready. Pre-race activities were completed in a relaxed and efficient manner. Volunteers, race officials and racers enjoyed an easy morning, thanks to the careful planning of the race committee. Look for more about this group in an upcoming expose!
U15 Podium - Alex Stieda Classic 2016
Cat 5 Men's Podium - Alex Stieda Classic 2016
Cat 4 Men's Podium - Alex Stieda Classic 2016
The more times Michael Verveda gets on the podium, the better the chance that Bill will pronounce his name correctly (jk).
Bailey McKnight all smiles with the win for H&R Block at the Alex Stieda Classic 2016.
TL! Group C numbers explode!
The rain on Thursday evening judiciously avoided the Argyll Velodrome and Track League! Even the rain seemed to realize the danger of infringing on the cohort of LAMP kids out to race.
The majority of LAMP riders competed in the C group, along side the variety of competitors spectators have come to expect. The "regulars", could not help but notice the savvy skills and continued improvement of LAMP cyclists. Remember, LAMPsters ride for free at TL! Racing starts every Thursday at 7pm.
The Open 5 km race. All the Cs, and a few Bs . . . well, it started out gentlemanly . . .
Rain at the track ups C1/2 skill set!
12 C1/2 LAMP riders braved the dark skies and wind to show up for track last Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, after warmup and some flying 200s, the rain really started to fall just as they were starting a points race. This didn't deter the group; however, as they moved into the clubhouse and rode rollers. Some of the kids were first-timers on the rollers, but they all did well as you can see in the photos.
Juventus junior Sidney McGill wins XCO MTB Canada Cup #2!
On Sunday, Sidney McGill decisively took first place at the Mont Tremblant, Quebec mountain bike race, in the Junior Women's category of Canada Cup #2.
This moves Sidney into first place in the Junior Women's overall standings, and she will wear the Leader's Jersey going into Canada Cup #3 Horseshoe Valley, to be held in Oro, Ontario on June 5th.
The Junior World XCO MTB Championships will be held in Nova Mesto Monrave, Czech Republic at the end of June. Sidney's latest performance puts her front and centre in the selection pool to represent Canada. Congratulations on a great race!
Lots of time for a Slow Race . . .
Elite track training is not always about speed. Sometimes going slow is the key to success. Tuesday the group did one neutral lap at a walking pace - and then crossed the pursuit line. The race was to see who would be last across the finish line.
The group approaches the start of the race, but not everyone has thought this through . . . Phil just cannot help himself . . . and he is first across the start and finish of the race - for last place.
Luke has a meet up with the track and the race is down to the final four.
Dave and then Chris put a foot down, and it looks like Dave E. for the win! Ahhhhh, but wait a second, whose wheel is that entering the frame? Apparently Linda does know how to minimize power - enough for first place!
May Update from Ross Wilson!
(Ross Wilson is an elite para-cyclist with Juventus and Cycling Canada’s para-cycling team)
Hello Juventus members,
Comparing to my last update, April has been calm; I'm just doing lots of miles (about 65 hours of training). The focus has been on building for a UCI World Cup in Ostend, Belgium. I’ll be racing an urban time trial on May 21. I will not be doing the road race; the team decided to avoid any bunch racing risk with me. This is the last international event on the UCI para-cycling calendar that would qualify an individual for the Paralympics in September.
A lot of people have asked, some have assumed, that I’ll be going to Rio – while I am very optimistic it isn’t a ‘done deal’ just yet. Officially the selection pool is picked following the Belgium world cup (I know that I’ll be included in the pool). From there, the selection committee from Cycling Canada evaluates all those nominated and picks a team. The coaches then have final say on event entry, but the focus is on selecting those with medal potential.
Aside from Training I was asked to participate in a media day in Montreal. I had a fun day being interviewed by various TV channels like CBC. Locally, AMI-tv has asked to do a profile on me. After the media day, I travelled to Toronto for some filming on behalf of the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC). Finally, I participated in the CPC school week and had the chance to visit a couple elementary schools. It was a good experience, and hopefully helped raise awareness about para-sport.
Trailblazers 2016 Photos
On May 14, 2016, Juventus hosted the first ABA Trailblazers series race at Terwillegar Park. There were 173 riders from clubs across the Capital region, with kids from our own Sprockids, Cranx, LAMP, and Juniors programs participating.
We had a fantastic turnout in all categories, especially the Gnarly kids:
- Little Rippers: 18
- Gnarly: 106
- Geared: 33
- Dialed: 16
Some photos of the event courtesy of Graham Versailles from LuminousFoto.com
Great racing at Velocity!
Each year, The Velocity Stage Race is a bit of a gage as to what all the winter training was about. Either that, or it serves as a marker from which to push onward with renewed effort.
Juventus had a good sized group out racing across the categories. Early on Saturday morning, CAT 1,2,3,4,5 men, Women, and U17s had the rollers, trainers, skinsuits, and TT helmets ready for the 9.46 km time trial.
Of course, Tracy was there to ensure the bikes were in top form and as unencumbered as possible. Word has it that a certain Colnago experienced extreme speed thanks to Marin!
The weather was wonderful and atypical for Velocity. Just a breath of wind, sunny and mild - perfect for some good results across all categories.
Next up was the Road Race. The CAT 3 men were strong with Peter in 3rd and young Mike winning the bunch sprint for 4th! Our Women in 3/4/5 had Sidney in 2nd, with Abbey and Elka also finishing in the front bunch. Our CAT 5 men all finished in the front (and only group). U17 Matt had a sweet finish with 3rd in his race.
Time for the Velocity Crit!!!
Our U17s bring strong track skills to the crit, and can paceline with confidence.
Chris for the 6 second bonus, and Matt for the 4 second bonus!
Crit action in CAT 3, crit action in CAT 5.
Michael (young Mike) nips in for 3rd in the CAT 3 Crit sprint!
Great finish by our 3/4/5 women Marin, Sidney, Devaney and Abbey in the Crit and GC!
Peter finished the weekend with a 3rd overall in the CAT 3 GC!
Happy Friday the 13th Birthday to Stefan Ritter - and an Update!
Since my last post not much has happened other than Track Nationals, so that's where I’ll begin.
Track Nationals were phenomenal. I won the three events I took part in; the Sprints, Kilo and Keirin. The weekend started early Saturday morning with my warm up for the 200m TT. After stretching, some plyometrics to wake the legs up and ergo efforts, I was warm and ready to go.
I qualified first with a time of 10.727s. I wasn’t super content with my ride but I'll take it. After a long day of sprint rounds, I was able to step onto the top of the podium.
One down two to go. The next day started nice and early with the Kilo. My last official Kilo was back in 2015 when I rode a 1:06.7. I knew I had gained some strength since then, so I was aiming for sub 1:06. What happened next definitely surprised me; I rode a 104.168. That time would have put me 5th last year in Kazakhstan. So considering that, it's more than likely that some kilo work will make its way into my program fairly soon in prep for Junior Worlds.
Last up were the Keirins. Last year there was only one round, the final. This year however, there were three rounds with multiple heats in the first round. After flying through the first two rounds, and waiting for the lights to turn back on after the power outage (which provided a nice period of rest I might add), I was ready for the final. After the gun fired, I couldn’t make up any positions and found myself right at the back. It actually worked out quite perfectly as I was right behind Adam, who had the second fastest qualifying time. My strategy was simple, let him lead me out. With a lap and a half to go, he went. I followed him, went straight to the front and didn’t look back. I was super stoked to take all three sprint events. It was an incredibly fun and fast weekend.
Photo Credit Michel Guillemette
After one week of rest, and a few off-road rides, I was back training at the velodrome with non other than Alex Ongaro, the new coach for AVRA.
He also was able to come to track nationals and watch which was very cool. Under Alex’s coaching, the training has been ticking along very nicely. The gym work has also been coming along. My squat max is up to 155 kilos and deadlift is at 150 kilos.
As the weeks fly by and more and more training is added to the bank, I can’t help but get excited for Junior Worlds this summer in Switzerland. Thank you all for the incredible amount of support; it helps so much, and is super appreciated!
Till next time,
Stefan
Juventus Christmas present!
Go get your calendar and flip to December. Now mark these dates:
December 22
December 23
December 24
Now is the time to make time to volunteer for our Juventus Casino!
Juniors succeed at Coulee Cruiser!
The 2016 Coulee Cruiser held last weekend in Lethbridge was the first in The Alberta MTB XC Cup Series.
Juventus fielded 13 riders among novice, sport, expert and elite categories to great success. Coaches report good improvement and solid racing. Many of our Juventus riders experienced the view from the podium! Well done!
LAMP C1s evade the Devil!
Noon on Saturday was hot; and track conditions were perfect for the LAMP C1s to finish their session with a Devil. Coaches Alex and Peter explained the race, 'Devil Takes the Hindmost', and discussed some of the strategies that might be employed to win. The goal is to avoid the elimination, each lap, of the racer whose rear wheel is last across the finish line - and thus be the only racer left - for the win!
C1s offer different strategies for the win.
Time to get on the bikes and test theories.
Oh no! First elimination about to happen. The more times you race The Devil, the better you get at staying in for a few more laps. Sometimes even experienced riders find themselves boxed in, and unable to avoid elimination.
Matt keeps a close eye on the pack, while Kasi comes up and over to avoid elimination.
LAMP C3s first up on the track!
The C3s enjoyed a delicious evening on the track Tuesday. Coach Gail began with a little chalk talk (OK - it was a white board), to help explain a couple of the day's goals. The group then successfully fired up their track legs & spidey senses for some laps, before finishing the evening with a timed flying lap.
Coach Gail explains track etiquette and the paceline.
Gail demos her expectations, with assistance from Juventus Juniors Matt and Brendan.
Clipping into pedals is sometimes a little tricky.
Coach Gail checking dynamics and etiquette.
Active coaching for the C3s.
A quick shoulder check before moving up track.
LAMP cyclists looking great on the track, apron & remembering to stay off the cote d'azur!
Up to the rail requires speed adjustment, the correct approach; and the occasional save!
Hot weather means diligent hydration.
Gail explains the best line for a flying lap, and Matt demos how it's done.
Another wonderful outing on the track for the LAMP!
LAMP ready to hit the trails!
Tuesday evening was certainly on the warm side, as the LAMP group organized to ride. Coaches ensured the kids were prepared:
Kids are shown how to do a pre-ride bike check and then follow through on their own bikes.
A helmet is useless unless it fits and is properly adjusted.
Helmets on, bikes checked . . . ready to ride!
May update from Evan Burtnik!
Team Race Clean kicked off it's European campaign with a travel weekend from Hell.
Our flight into Brussels was redirected to Paris, after hearing of the attacks, moments before we were about to land. Had our flight leaving Montreal not been delayed, we would have been in the Arrivals terminal right as the explosions went off. Life's crazy man.
So, after leaving Edmonton on March 20th, I made it into my bed in Spain the evening of the 23rd ready to crush out some final hard training before the racing campaign in Belgium.
Oh man is racing in Europe fun!
My first race of the season was the Scheldeprijs Interclub, which was a flat cobbled race near Antwerp to get us ready for the U23 Tour of Flanders. You're constantly making contact with people in the pack and it's a constant struggle for position and there's always some dusty Belgian yelling at you in Flemish that sounds like absolute alien gibberish. "QHrq efheyu fh Canada Move! uhfrhgus rgf uih!" is how it usually goes.
Another thing that's different about Belgium is the dreadful road conditions. When you're not riding on the roads made of concrete slabs with a huge line of death (just the right width for a tire) straight down the middle of the road, you're dealing with traffic furniture, potholes, or cobbles! Some guys don't like how sketchy it is, but I've just always assumed that bike racing is inherently sketchy - so I love it.
Flanders was pretty cool to race. I was riding in a support role for Adam and Sean who were both looking for a solid result, but the day was just not to be for us.
Adam crashed 60km in, at the bottom of a 4km climb, right as Great Britain hit the front to hammer over the top and then stretch the field out through the crosswinds.
I stopped to help Adam back up, and we had to absolutely haul ourselves over the hill and navigate the death gaps in No-Man's Land of guys going backwards through the crosswinds, to barely make it onto the back of the peloton.
That effort to help Adam mangled me pretty hard, but I stuck around to give absolutely everything I had and deliver him up to like maybe ~30th position in the peloton. From there on, I was just hanging on for as long as I could. My race ended when I gave Sean a wheel with 35km to go - after somebody put his foot in Sean's spoke - while he was up the road in a stacked move. Just not our day I guess.
The next week after Flanders sucked pretty hard. My achilles tendons were giving me some troubles, but I down played it in my head because I was hungry for that open Flanders spot on the team. I didn't ride for 4 days after Flanders because of my achilles and I came down with a cold that I kept quiet about - but honestly I think I'd make the same decision to race again. Flanders only comes once a year man. Especially as a first year U23 - how could I turn that opportunity down because of some stupid ankle pain?
Next weekend Will, Aidan, and I went to the Ardennes Challenge. What a joke. That was the most ridiculous race I've ever been in.
It's a 4 stage race, but you don't have to race every single day - and it's an omnium instead of a GC! So what happens is that you race 200 people the first day; and then the next day, the 150 people that DNF'd are back again the next stage fresh as a daisy (plus another 50 guys who didn't even race the day before).
By the time Sunday rolled around, it felt like I had raced against every single Belgian with a road bike and a pair of bibs! And since it's an omnium, and not a GC, even if you're not in the lead group, you can't just switch off and roll into the line; you have to fight for every placing that's still up for grabs! it's total chaos the whole time.
Stage 1 was insane; I was still dusting off the cobwebs from my legs and trying to get my head back into race mode, so I was too far back when the selection was made - and missed the lead split, but luckily Will made it and cracked 7th on the day.
Stage 2 in the Jungle rolls around and I was adamant about not missing the selection. Anytime a group rolled off the front, I was eager to bridge across. Finally, we hit the circuits all together and I'm 4th over the climb - and then I attack over the top, but don't get much of a gap, so I sit up. Seconds later, a train of 6 guys on the same team come flying past me hammering through the crosswinds. That's probably one of the most important things I've learned so far about racing in Europe: ALWAYS pay attention to the wind direction. Anyway, after re accelerating, and falling probably 3 places too far back in the string of riders in the gutter, I found myself closing death gaps left by riders in front of me - only to bridge past that rider who was trying to close his own gap of death. After dangling in No-man's land for what seemed like forever, I retreated to the main pack to battle with everyone else for another seemingly irrelevant position in the sprint. Try again tomorrow.
Another stage (3) of absolute madness in the Jungle Challenge; pouring rain all day with a 5km and 10km climb on the menu. That's before hitting an absolutely savage finishing circuit of 6 laps of 8km, with a 2.5km climb in it - and the finish line halfway up. I made it 2 laps in, with the lead group of 30 riders, before my legs blew up. And that's when my DS Joel pointed out to me in his broken English that most of the guys ahead of me were either pros (continental) or hadn't raced the days before. A glimmer of hope I guess.
After how hard I cracked on stage 3, I knew I was in for a rough one in stage 4 with an even harder course. Even after all the struggle, I was somehow in a half way decent position in the omnium and was our team's protected rider. There was an absolute wall of 2km at 15% 45km in, and my teammate Will did everything he could to keep me in, but I was so mangled I was utterly useless. He was giving me pushes and Madison slings up the hills - trying to keep me in the front group - it's actually kind of tragic and hilarious how futile it must have felt to be Will, and see me after all this help he's giving me still just going backwards. I remember Will looking at me struggling up this climb, and he just shakes his head, gives me a big madison toss up over the top of the hill and yells, "Come on Burtnik!!!" and then heroically claws his way back onto our group, only to see me dangling on the back. It didn't matter when it came down to it; I was so deep in the box that as soon as we hit the bottom of the wall, my legs just buckled and the 2 minute lead I had over the peloton just evaporated.
After surviving my first Jungle Challenge I finished 16th overall and 4th in the U23 category so not too bad at the end of the day I guess. of the 300 guys I raced all weekend only 31 finished every stage!
It's a little depressing racing in Belgium. Back home you get built up with all this confidence only for the Belgian Hammer to come and whack you down a notch. All I could think when I was getting dropped going up those climbs was, "Where do these bastards come from!?!?"! If I couldn't manage a result in this nothing amateur race, how could I ever expect to sign a pro contract one day? It feels like I'm bashing my head against the wall sometimes for these seemingly petty results, but hopefully, eventually, there will be a breakthrough. Nonetheless, the coaches are giving me compliments, and are satisfied with how I'm progressing. The hitters on Race Clean are asking that I come to the big races because they like the work I'm able to do for them. So that feels pretty good.
I just got back from Escborn-Frankfurt U23 - which was probably the coolest race I've ever done. It had the finishing circuit right in downtown Frankfurt. My job was to hunt the early break, so I ended up riding myself into the ground trying to get into it. I was dropped 60km in, just before the crest of the first major climb, after getting my teammates' bottles, as my last huzzah for the guys. Our goal was top 5 and we fell just short of that, with Ed leading out Alec round the final corner with 250m to go; he managed to snag 6th, so we'll take that.
Coming up in a few days, our Month of stage racing starts - with Fleche du Sud, in Luxembourg, Tour de Berlin, Paris-Arras, and Tour de la Manche. All except La Manche are UCI 2.2 level races (the same level as Saguenay and Beauce), and La Manche is a D1 which is the highest level of amateur racing in France. I'm pretty pumped to get back to trying to tear myself apart trying to grind a result out for the team.
If you want to follow me through the jungle of bike racing at a non-monthly interval, @teamraceclean is very active on twitter and instagram.
Evan
Spring Series #3 brings on summer!
What a great day for racing! All categories in the 3rd Spring Series race enjoyed numerous chances to learn, hone, and employ race tactics. And they also went fast.
It was really great to see so many young LAMP and LAMP+ cyclists racing AND being actively coached through-out the event. At Juventus we are fortunate to have coaches that invest additional time to teach race skills in situ. It was also fun to see the juniors throwing down attacks and keeping things lively!
Congratulations to the many Juventus members that raced today. Thanks also to Lance for spear heading the organization of the Spring Series, and thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this event successful.
The As are away for Lap 1 . . . this weather is Bruce approved!
The Bs follow the As by a few minutes.
On the next pass, the B group strung out with Bill pulling on the front . . . but John enjoys the calm for now.
Juventus coaches provide guidance to race etiquette . . . hey, there's Alex Stieda and he is one of our coaches!
The coaches also help our youth learn how to employ a few tactics . . . thanks Tracy and Ken!
A sharp looking bunch under some watchful eyes.
Ross cannot resist a 20 minute effort.
One more lap to go . . . Thanks Sam, Shane and Greg!
Shortly after this, Peter was off the front working a break away for 5 laps. Is Michael considering following him?
A busy Tuesday at the Argyll Velodrome
The weather continues toward summer, and our clubhouse and Velodrome are busier each day.
Sprockids and their handlers spent the evening learning about mountain bike maintenance.
Thank you to Pedalhead Bicycle Works for a step by step demonstration of how to care for your mountain bike.
And when a track bike makes a sound it shouldn't . . .
No worries . . . Adam Todd ensures the LAMP and Juventus bikes are in good order.
A bit of adjustment to Gail's possible new ride.
Track training included a couple of 4 man x 6 lap pursuits, requiring good communication and teamwork.
The second ride was definitely better than the first!
The session finished off with a 10 mile. No gentlemen were seen at any point in the ride.
Tuesday night training now moves to the 7:30 pm time slot, and will follow LAMP on the track.
Wind and bluster for a Saturday group ride!
Bruce organizes a dedicated group of Juventus masters' riders and always ensures they all have a good day regardless of the weather.
The first order of business is always a quick little something at Good Earth Cafe.
Ross offers his thoughts on Bruce's route.
Espresso done.
Nature calls and time for a little break for the rest of us.
Hoping the clothing choices are correct.
Bill always smiling and ready to ride.
Dressed for the weather, these two are enjoying the day!
Ready to ride farther on down 510.