NATIONAL ROAD SERIES TEAMS

With no National Road Series Racing occurring over the last 6 weeks, we have made time for our NRS teams to focus more on process then outcome. What this means from an application perspective is to either take an off season (2-3 weeks) or focus on aspects in training that require attention and can be completed away from the taper/recovery periods around high importance racing events.

Despite a large percentage of our rider group getting colds/flus of some description, the application process has been excellent, with around 30% taking an off season, and the remainder looking to build through the season into our start date in August for NRS tours. The Perth based team did well to win one of the recent road races on a slightly harder circuit, showing great team tactic and application in doing so. Whilst our NZ based rider Boris Clark just last weekend won the Zwift NRS round demonstrating his incredible power to weight ratio, hopefully setting him up for bigger and better things in the coming years.

We have the upcoming NRS Tour de Brisbane on the 11^th July as a high priority event, which has between 3-4 x 10min climbs in each event, meaning this is a race for climbers, or at the least, those that can yield enough power to get over them. For this event we are taking mainly our climbers, with a sprinter for safe measure in both male and female teams. Thus much of the riders preparation is focused on achieving a desired power/weight ratio which looks like around 5w/kg for 5mins and 6w/kg for 8mins as a minimum threshold for consideration for this event.

JUNIOR CYCLING ACADEMY

This has been an exciting period for our junior riders. Several of our juniors are starting to really embrace the need for higher training volumes in their training diet, alongside their goals for elite sport performance. This is a real process and one which you cannot just lump onto the athlete. They need to find time and focus on this need of their own volition rather then being pushed into such a commitment. But many are starting to make this transition.

Alongside this several have been preparing for the National track championships in early July, with good effect. Each have specific goals around said event, which makes the quantification of success more realistic, as opposed to adopting a win/fail mentality. Whilst we have been working closely with the athletes, they have benefited from excellent training sessions at the track provided by XSpeed, Trackcycling WA, and others, meaning a well-rounded approach to preparation is very possible. Combined, cycling application has greater benefit for athletes then a silo approach to training.

We have seen all the JCA athletes improve on fitness markers, like in the Maximum Aerobic Power Ramp Test (a test that can predict 95% of endurance fitness performances), meaning they are continuing to grow and prosper toward their own high performance goals. Coupled with a recent visit from Steven Bradbury around the mental and application demands of high performance sport (Olympian and Champion Speed Skater), and our up coming training camps, mean we will be focusing on the continued road/cx/mtb season and even next years performances for many of these athletes.

MASTERS CYCLING TEAM

The stated goal of the masters team is to develop and prepare cyclists for the demands of racing in a supportive atmosphere. This has been well achieved by the athletes and collective as a whole. Many of the athletes we see twice a week at an indoor training/testing session and on road with a group racing session in Kings Park. This allows us to develop the team bounds required for collective development both on and off the bike.

Our main goal, alongside obviously winning at races, is to do so through an open and supportive atmosphere. This culture of practice allows us to share ideas and understandings around racing outcomes and application of racing tactic among a likeminded and compassionate group. Over half the people within this team are completely new to racing, with most having already achieved good outcomes at racing events and assisting others in their own performances.

A great catalyst for the development of cycling.