July 8/10 15:45 pm - CCA Track Endurance Camp Update

Posted by Editoress on 07/8/10
 

Men’s Endurance Track Training Camp in Burnaby is going full swing, joined with a high profile guest

Halfway through the second week of the National Men's Track Cycling Endurance camp in Burnaby, BC, there are some tired legs but also some excellent gains in fitness, skill and view of the task that lies in the weeks ahead.

The start of the second week saw a move to some pure speed work with flying kilos and motor work at 62-64 kph behind the Burnaby Velodrome Club's Electric Coast battery powered pace bike.

Daniele Defranceschi (Windsor, ON), 2007 winner of the Omnium at the Canadian Track Cycling Championships, commented: "The camp has been exactly what I thought it would be. Loads of hard work on the bike, waking up very tired, and going to bed even more tired. That's been the story so far. But the reward will come at the end of the camp when the hard work translates to loads of speed and endurance on the bike. I'm excited for what's to come."

The middle of the week saw a new recruit arrive, as Ryan Aitcheson (Kitchener, ON) joined the team after coming off strong road Nationals earlier this month in Edmonton, where he finished amongst the top riders.

Also joining the camp today for a week is special guest and Canadian Olympic gold medalist Denny Morrison (Calgary, AB) in Speed Skating. Morrison won gold in the Long Track speed skating team pursuit at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and is looking to utilize some early season cross-training to jump start his training season, meet new people, and have some fun.

Morrison's first day of the camp was "an eye opener". "I was definitely more nervous preparing to take my first lap around Burnaby's steep velodrome than I was standing on the line of my Olympic race. These guys were doing incredibly difficult training programs with relative ease, because they've been prepared to do them. It's humbling to be training with this group of athletes and I'm excited to hit the track again tomorrow and learn some more about this sport," said Morison.

Morrison will be joining the group for the rest of the week. This weekend will see most of the camp riders participating in the opening event of BC SuperWeek, the Tour de Delta, before going back to training on the track in preparation for meeting a time standard.

The Men's Endurance camp in Burnaby continues until July 26th, and the group of track cyclist will take part in racing in Portland, Oregon on July 16-18, and in Seattle, Washington on July 23-24.

One of two Women's Endurance camps start tomorrow in London, Ontario, and will conclude on the Sunday with the second camp taking place in to Burnaby, July 13-15.  Many of the riders participating in these camps are new to the track, including elite road riders such as National Champion Joelle Numainville, professional triathletes, and mountain bike cross overs.

The Canadian sprinters will be in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania from July 13-31, to train on an outdoor track with riders from Poland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Italy.  They will compete in the Keirin Cup XXV and Fastest Man on Wheels competitions on July 23rd and 30th respectively.

All riders will be in Bromont, Québec, for the Canadian Track Cycling Championships from August 24-29.

Courtesy CCA