February 3/10 13:33 pm - Pacific Cycling Centre Hosts Successful Winter Training Camp

Posted by Editoress on 02/3/10
 

The Pacific Cycling Centre in Victoria, BC held a very successful cycling camp last weekend, the third camp hosted by PCC during the 2009-2010 season. The four-day camp - which ran from January 28-31 - was offered free for participants by PCC, to facilitate an opportunity for athletes to be part of an organized world-class training group. PCC was able to provide this opportunity through the support of Action Motorcycles, and Olympians Erinne Willock and Svein Tuft. PCC Head Coach Houshang Amiri designed the camp which had participants from Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC.

The first day - under sunny skies - consisted of a 110 kilometre ride that included two ITT’s (3.4 kilometre technical hill climb and 11 kilometre Flat). “We have done this ITT every year since 2002 and the fastest times are still held by Max Plaxton and Erinne Willock,” said Amiri.

Day 2 was a 145 kilometre ride for Group 1 and 120 kilometre for Group 2, including a 9 kilometre climb from Shawnigan Lake to Goldstream Heights. A total of 800m vertical was climbed that day.

On Day 3 Amiri took the athletes to the peninsula to work on technical components. Group 1 did 4 x 12 kilometre and Group 2, 3 x 12 kilometre pace lines. These laps were observed by Amiri, who gave feedback after each lap, with corrections made by Erinne Willock during her group ride. That evening the athletes met for a two hour dynamic strength and core stability session, at James Bay Community Gymnasium. These sessions are part of PCC’s regular off-season training program.

Day 4 saw camp participants do a 60 kilometre steady ride before heading to Willis Point climb. There they did a number of repeats on a 2.4 kilometre climb, with a 10% slope (average). Their effort was based on each athlete’s recovery rate and fatigue level, with the focus being on aerobic capacity and climbing technique.

“In total participants covered about 500 kilometre of quality training during the camp,” said Amiri.

Pacific Cycling Centre is committed to supporting athletes and the community, and would like to thank PacificSport Victoria, Action Motorcycles, Robert W. Cameron Law Corporation, Erinne Willock, and Svein Tuft for their contribution and support, enabling PCC to continue in its role of developing future Olympians and world champions. For information on all of PCC’s programs and camps see www.pacificcyclingcentre.ca.