As part of its overall junior development efforts, USA Cycling recently invited 34 road and mountain bike athletes to its annual National Talent Identification Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. During the five day camp athletes participated in a variety of instructional activities and exercises designed to assess and track fitness levels, as well as educate them on several key elements of becoming successful cyclists.

Junior racers training at the Olympic Facility 
 
Directed by USA Cycling’s Junior Program Manager Benjamin Sharp, the National Talent Identification Camp represents one of the many initiatives employed by the national governing body to facilitate the development of young men and women. As emerging talent goes, the participants of this camp aspire to become members of the U.S. Junior National Team which represents the United States at international competition across the world. Before notable junior athletes like two-time World Champion Taylor Phinney and 22-time National Champion Coryn Rivera make their mark internationally, talent such as theirs often receives the support and direction necessary from USA Cycling and its network of coaches, program directors and resources.
 
The 34 athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 had already illustrated their capabilities, first performing well at Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic Race Series events locally, then showing continued promise at USA Cycling Regional Development Camps, National Championships or other national-level bike races. The reward for modest success at those levels resulted in an invitation to the National Talent Identification Camp. Sustained success will likely translate into a national team roster spot somewhere down the road.
 
Throughout the week, the camp focused on two primary objectives according to Sharp. The first was to conduct field testing on the athletes, while the second was to address basic skills that juniors racing at the international level often lack. For the road athletes, Sharp conducted clinics that taught many basics of cycling – proper cornering techniques, riding in a paceline and echelons in the wind, taking feeds from a caravan car and feed zones, and various other technical skills. On the mountain bike side, USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Development Director Marc Gullickson led instructional activities that focused on cornering, descending, feeding, braking, starting, and riding in a pack--all seemingly elementary skills, but ones that are rarely taught in a formal setting yet vital to performance.
 
In addition to hands-on clinics, several presentations were also given to the youngsters, focusing on several important issues. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency was present to give an overview of policies and procedures, as well as the resources available to athletes. Bob Seebohar, a USA Cycling certified coach and registered dietician, spoke about sports nutrition, USA Cycling-licensed mechanic Andrew Hawkes provided information on bicycle maintenance and travel. Certified coaches May Britt-Hartwell and Ryan Kohler gave presentations on road and mountain bike training respectively.
 
Complementing the instructional clinics and presentations, Sharp also conducted field testing using a standardized test developed by USA Cycling certified coach Corey Hart. The test, which measures athletes’ power output for their body weight in watts/kilogram, was applied to the riders over two separate distances. For some, it was the second or third time they had taken the test, allowing Sharp to track their progress physiologically over time. For others, it was their first time, giving Sharp a benchmark to compare future tests. Afterwards, both Sharp and Hart followed up the field testing with a discussion on power-based training methods.
 
Discussions were also led by USA Cycling Collegiate Cycling Manager Daniel Matheny and USA Cycling Development Foundation Director Steve McCauley. Matheny discussed the role collegiate cycling plays in the development of elite cyclists as well as the opportunities that are available to cyclists of all disciplines at one of USA Cycling’s 287 collegiate clubs. Currently, more than 4000 student athletes represent an institution of higher learning on a collegiate cycling team. And for many of these Talent Identification Camp participants, the collegiate cycling scene will be the next step in their development.
 
Finally, in between testing and talking, there was plenty of time for riding, either on the roads around Colorado Springs or the trails through Cheyenne Canyon , Palmer Park, Bear Creek and Red Rocks Park. Rides were led by Sharp on the road and Gullickson, Lindsey Bishop and Lianna Miller on the mountain bike.
 
Participants in the camp were subsidized by USA Cycling to stay at the Olympic Training Center; to live in the athlete dormitories and to eat at the Athlete Dining Hall throughout their time in Colorado Springs.
 
Following the camp, mountain biker Kevin Kane (Dillon, CO) had this to say:
 
“It was a novel experience to ride in a big group at camp,” added Kevin. “The couple of days that we rode together with the road group, it was important for me to adapt to the group dynamics as I never could in a mountain bike setting. Off the bike, the many seminars that we attended were extremely beneficial. Even though I had seen some of the presentations in the development camp earlier this summer, I found that they were equally engaging the second time. Personally, the nutrition seminar with Bob Seebohar was one of the best. He insisted that we ‘eat to train’ and not ‘train to eat’. This concept came into play in his target nutrition diagram, which made the complex idea of nutrition very simple. Other than Bob’s nutrition presentation, we attended seminars on collegiate cycling, the USA Cycling pipeline, USADA, training, bicycle maintenance and more. In all, the camp was extremely effective in its ability to teach a broad scale of topics over a five day period.
 
“I had the best time on the bike. The trails and roads we rode around Colorado Springs were great and helped me to focus in on the ‘Springs as a potential winter training ground. Despite the adverse weather, the rides were great, and the mountain bike group was exceptionally dynamic. It was an awesome chance to put names to faces. In the U.S. rankings, there are all of these great competitors ranked in the top ten that I had never raced against or even met, so camp was a great chance to meet many of them. Also, I really enjoyed getting acquainted with Marc Gullickson. He is a great guy and it was great to get to know him on a personal level since my future depends upon his decision whether or not to let me race World Cups next Spring. Overall, camp was a great time; meeting new people and riding great trails is what made it so much fun.
 
“The seminars at camp addressed many of the key facets of professional cycling. For me, the camp didn’t necessarily increase my ability on the bike, since I feel that I have already acquired many of the skills discussed during training, but the discussions off the bike were definitely beneficial. The many commentaries on training and racing in Europe were some of the most interesting since I will be in Europe for four months next year; all of the other seminars had something unique to offer. The camp was very effective in my development as a competitive cyclist. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of USA Cycling, and this camp is just more tangible proof of that."

 

Posing in front of the Olympic Center
 
Congratulations to all the National Talent Identification Camp Mountain Bike Athletes:

1. Davis Bentley (Mill Valley, CA)
2. Will Curtis (San Rafael, CA)
3. Eric Emsky (Fall City, WA)
4. Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, CO)
5. Kevin Kane (Dillon, CO)
6. Seth Kemp (Campobello, SC)
7. Wes Lamberson (Limestone, TN)
8. Jensen Ricks (Colorado Springs, CO)
9. Christine Weir (Nevada, City, CA)
10. Meghan Kane (Dillon, CO)