During the recent half-term break our youth and junior pathway riders enjoyed a tough but hugely insightful camp.
The camp was split with our track sprinters being put through their paces at the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome, while our endurance riders were based in Plas Menai, North Wales with Pathway coach.
After the recent HSBC UK | British Track Championship where our young female Welsh sprint riders performed well, the camp was a great opportunity to get them all together in Newport. The was to look at how they could improve both on and off the bike.
On the track a lot of emphasis was placed on technique, whilst using that all important video analysis to track progress. On the track they started the week with an emphasis on technique for standing starts and team sprint.
They then used video analysis during the sessions to feedback to riders and look at areas they can improve individually.
Simulating race skills for match sprint and the keirin was also on the agenda. Again using video for feedback, they could analyse each race and discuss as a group what went well and what could be improved.
Of course, success is not determined by solely what happens on the bike, work off the bike contributes to the overall success, and with the gym being a vital part of a sprinters progression, lots was done alongside guidance from Sport Wales strength and conditioning coaches.
“The girls are in a strength block at the moment so gym has also been a big focus. They’ve put in some really hard work recently and can see that starting to pay off with all of them lifting PBs over the course of the week,” said Chris Lewis Sport Wales Strength and Conditioning coach.
Nutrition was another area where the girls took home some valuable learning. Using the expertise of nutritionists at Sport Wales they learned about the fuelling during periods of intense training and practised making different high protein snacks they could use for recovery.
Storm Dennis didn’t put dampener on endurance camp
Whilst the sprinters enjoyed the warm of the Newport track, our endurance riders were up in North Wales as they put the work in both on and off the bike.
On the bike, the riders had various sessions taking place which included hill climbs, lead out training, convoy drills, race starts and a mock race to end.
Off the bike, the group had sessions in the gym, with one taking place under the supervision of Wales’ weight lifting coach. There were also some important workshops which looked at how to build confidence, finding solutions not problems and looking at the all-important process to achieve a goal.
Welsh Cycling's Peformance Director, Matt Cosgrove said: "The two groups had a really productive week and it was great to see them working so hard at this important stage of their development.
"There is lots for them to learn both on and off the bike so this quality contact time with them is really beneficial. The workshop sessions provided by Sport Wales are particularly useful for their learning," continued Matt.
