As many transition into the well-known “base" season, it is easy to feel a bit lost. Fellow athletes, friends, and foes on STRAVA are rolling out the miles and boasting huge days in the saddle. Social media pours out pictures and videos of people "on the grind". Post-season anxiety can build when you feel like you're going back to the drawing board or losing fitness gains from the year. I'm even subject of this myself and find worry creeping in. However, this year –if any– is an indication of what diligence, balance, and having a curated approach to training can do for you...despite everything else.

Long, monotonous days on the bike certainly have their place, but there are a few key aspects of training and everything else off-the-bike that are crucial in preparing for the coming season. As you make the shift this early winter, don't neglect how a basic strength training routine can impact your experience. Now is the perfect time.

Strength Training 
The benefits of strength training are growing more and more apparent. As World Cup style courses are evolving into more technical and demanding tracks, athletes are steering away from body-typing, and the science is reaching the public, we are seeing a push towards time in the gym. Aerobically, everyone can "get fit" fast. However, strength training can dramatically improve overall raw power, repeatability, injury prevention, and (wait for it) even aerobic fitness!  Strength training is actually super variable in and of itself and is also super time efficient. Going into the gym and lifting heavy is great, but it is something that has to be built up to. It's actually amazing what all can be done in your home with simple, basic moves. Challenging your body with dynamic and varying exercises, building core strength, and touching up on your upper body are extremely helpful and enable your body to work properly.  Supplementing some dynamic work in like this does loads for activating important muscles throughout your body AND improving imbalances. 

Some key aspects of my strength routine are to include those that are targeting stabilization muscles and/or isolating a body part to prime my body –like including a balance pad/board and doing single leg activities (these are usually a variation of Split Squats, Pistols, Single Leg Dead Lift, or others). Then, I dial in those traditional workouts like front and/or regular squats, deadlift, etc.  I usually make circuits that include an upper, lower, and core exercise to get solid rest between. Tossing in core exercises in between sets is super easy to do and helps add that little bit of attention to the full core. As far as upper body, it is often neglected by cyclists because they feel they “don’t need the weight”. Mountain bike racing demands a lot from your upper body…and if you can’t answer that demand then riding becomes sloppy. This can ruin your recovery throughout the race, leave you trailside picking yourself up, or just wasting energy making up time.

CONTACT ME PLEASE if you would like a bit more info or want to get an idea of a good routine to follow –I'd be happy to help!
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*For a bit more on strength in the gym and the science behind it, I highly suggest this podcast by Mark Sisson and Jacques Devore.
player.fm/series/primal-endurance-podcast/126-jacques-devore

   With an unexpectedly quiet year for racing, there comes a chance to reset, recalculate, and regain focus for the season(s) to come. While it may be easy to become passive about training, exploiting opportunities to dial in specifics can be as beneficial now as ever. It is about the BALANCE. Unregulated days of barbag-filled adventure, leaving the Garmin at home, can be exactly what your soul craves. Meanwhile, those workouts that complement long term, big picture specifics can be amazingly helpful to your progression. This is the beauty of this time period. Don’t completely neglect the specifics and write it off – racing may not be in your cards for the season, but let the joy of the PROCESS stoke your fire.  Ancillary strength? Anaerobic system power? Aerobic ceiling? Sourdough bread recipe?

Use this flexibility to find the balance, routine, and progression that you need. 

     I had been eyeing an early season experience for a long time, and after settling on a stage race in Greece I couldn’t have been more anxious. An early trip overseas for the 2019 season, questionable fitness (or I should say race speed), and my first stage race ever. I came into the new year with a few goals in mind: get early season points, so those first world cups aren’t so harsh, and try to expand my racing experience. So, a stage race in Greece provided the perfect opportunity to begin ticking off those bucket list items. With a little bit of last minute school prep/cramming/bargaining and some rusty bike packing skills, I was headed off on the first race adventure of the year. 

     Arriving in mainland Greece, (Athens) I met up with Jerry Dufour and we began the complicated journey to Salamina Island. We finally made it onto a ferry as night fell and was saved by USAC and Bear mechanic Julien Petit on the other side. We stayed with a few other fellow teammates and USAC athletes (who had already been there a week for the first stage race) and took time Monday to get acquainted with this weirdly small island. ​

All three races, Salamina Epic #1, 2 and the XCO, were held on the same beach front portion of the island, so we got pretty familiar with the warm up route. We woke Tuesday jet lagged and tired as our all-too-short turnaround ended with the approach of Stage 1: the time trial.
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​     Stage racing requires you to be ON IT every day, as your time on each stage accumulates to a total General Classification (GC), where the final results are determined. The TT, being about 25 minutes in length, was an absolute shell-shock to the system. Not having done an effort like that in months made for a rude awakening to the week. Though I was back in the 25-30 ish range, I was fortunate to not have lost a crazy amount of time since the race was so short.

However, Stage Two’s Marathon race was a different story...

   ​Day four and Stage Three came with a good dose of fatigue after the marathon, but I only had to survive 30+ minutes of short-track racing this day. We shoveled more oatmeal, suited up, and headed back to the venue. The racing was expectedly intense, and I certainly dug myself a hole. Not able to force myself towards the front of the group meant I missed that crucial first lap selection: the critical portion of the start of the race where bottlenecks happen and groups form. Thus, I spent most of the race digging forward trying to reclaim lost spots. A little frustrated and spent, I had to collect the lessons to be learned and put all the focus on the fourth and final stage of the race: point to point.
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   ​Unsure of what I’d be capable of after my first four days of racing, I tucked all the doubt away and got stoked for the opportunity ahead. Using the same neutral start to alley-way explosion, we rode from the city hall of Salaminas to the race venue. I was positioned a bit better this time around and was able to limit some loses when the hammer was dropped. As we made our way onto the venue and headed out for one backcountry loop, I felt things starting to really tick over, but tackling every climb blind just meant I had to test myself and hope that it was short enough that I wouldn’t pop. I found some rhythm and was able to settle into a strong mental state, finally feeling that race speed I had been looking for all week. 

We had one day to rest up and relax a bit on Saturday after the conclusion of the stage race. So, naturally we went off to bakery hunt for the best baklava and sight see. When it came time for tackling one more single-day XC race on Sunday to polish off the trip, I must have been stuck in second gear. The legs just didn’t want to snap around and I was pedaling squares –that was that. Not the finishing result I had hoped for, but more racing experience to tuck in my pocket.

That night, our last night in Greece, was an amazing treat. We headed into mainland and drove through Athens where we saw a glimpse of iconic pieces of history –like Acropolis and the first ever modern Olympic stadium. Following that, we were treated to some of the best Greek food around. We were seated and brought endless pitas, homemade Greek salad, and meat skewer assortments. No better way to cap off one of the most unique racing and traveling experiences I’ve had yet.

The opportunity to travel to Europe with USA Cycling is something I never take for granted. To put on the stars and stripes and race bikes in a foreign country always is and always will be an honor. With this being my second U23 World Cup trip, I truly felt like I have been growing into my shoes recently and was ecstatic to head overseas with the rest of Team USA. This time, however, my trip was going to be an even more exciting experience. Two teammates of mine extended the invitation to head over a week early with them for our own little jog through Europe. With this, we had the opportunity to go over a good eight days early to get acquainted with the lifestyle, dabble in a test race in Austria, and even see a few sights. We shared a rental RV from the Frankfurt area and embarked to Austria for the week.
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​As the infamous “base” season transitions into a demanding Spring, it is easy to be “chamois time is training time” oriented. Fellow athletes on STRAVA are rolling out the miles and boasting huge days in the saddle. Preseason anxiety builds and I find myself worrying about hours on the bike-or rather if I have got enough of those hours under my belt. Long, monotonous days on the bike certainly do their part, but there are a few key aspects of training and everything-else-off-the-bike that are crucial in preparing for the coming season. It goes without saying that sleep, nutrition, and hours on the bike are important to “gains”, but I want to point out some aspects of training that are as important as anything else. These focus points have been huge for me and I want to share them-
whether they serve as reminders, encouragement, or just a time-killing read.

Train Hard, Rest Harder
Training makes you slow. Recovery makes you fast. What? Yeah that’s right, training does nothing but break your body down-so why do people neglect the recovery? As training accumulates, it becomes more and more important to pay attention to how you feel and how you are recovering. The adaptation of your work is where all the gains are made. When you have to go hard-go hard, but when you have to go easy-GO EASY.
 

   Saying that I both had a great time and learned a lot at the Bear Pro Team Camp is an understatement. I was so amped to kick off the year and officially get back together with the team. It was so exciting to be packing the bike again and getting things together for another travel day, something I’ve missed over the long winter months. Partnered up with the boys, Jason Jablonski, Shaums March, and Stephen Ettinger, our team camp commenced on Friday afternoon. ​

PLEASE check out this slideshow below to see even more stellar photos!

 Speechless. A dream and goal of being invited to compete in a World Cup had come true. 

After receiving the invitation, I was ecstatic to begin prep for a new European tour. It had been awhile since my last trip over the pond so staying excited, even on two day-long travel, wasn't a task. 

I met up with the team in Barcelona, a quick 8 hour flight and 7 hour time change later, and we began our drive to Andorra. It was a welcoming feeling to return to the last place I had left Europe, like I had left something to be picked up again. Our trip began, the routine became expresso, ride, massage, lay around, eat. Although it wasn't the most touristy of plans, I was more than fine with the experience and opportunity I was getting. 

Race day came, quicker than my jet lag wanted it to. However, there's no rest for the weary and it was time to saddle up for my first World Cup ever. A deep field had me sitting around 80th in it for a call up. As we surged at gun shot, the field tore up the first grassy, open climb. Diving into the woods it was almost immediate that we began to walk/run through the first single track section...and then the one following. This was to be expected, so the name of the game was picking riders off consistently. It quickly dawned on me that the thin air and travel was taking more of a toll than I expected it to. I could feel a massive lack in power, like I couldn't get oxygen through my body to start turning things over. From here I tried to minimize my losses and hold on to every spot. I ended up losing some ground and finished two laps off the leaders—a discouraging start to the euro trip. It was no good to dwell on what was, so I had to gather myself and move onward and upwards for the rest of week and trip. One last salute to Andorra with a day off following the race and it was time to move on. 

We departed Andorra Tuesday morning, with two days of trekking to do until reaching the venue of World Cup number two: Lenzerheide, Switzerland. We split the drive into two, six-ish hour drives, spending most of the time in the rolling hillside of France. However, the scenery drastically changed as we rolled deep into the Swiss Alps. There are the Smokies, there are the Rockies, and then there are the Alps—a breed of their own. 
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It didn't take too long to settle into Lenzerheide for the week. With stunning views, a course-side hotel, and comforting Swiss culture, the week was second to none. Being there on Tuesday evening gave our crew plenty of time to learn the course and dial in lines. As the little village became populated during the week, World Cup number two was on. 
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Downhill was first on the schedule for the weekend. There is something special about sitting next to the finishing drop of a World Cup downhill race that you're used to watching on red bull tv from the couch at home. It was an awesome experience, but the focus was back on us. Saturday we dialed in lines on course and put in some efforts to open up the engines—it was race day again. 

Overnight rain didn't ruin the party, it just made things even more exciting. I snagged a quick breakfast and then before I knew it I was kitted up and mounting the rollers for warm up. I knew I would have some work to do, being called up 96th, so a good start was going to be crucial. The 140 deep field surged off at gunshot. A few pedal strokes later and there was a pile up to avoid, and then stragglers trying to fix their bikes. We pushed on up a paved road before dumping into single track, where things got hectic. Trying to fit 140 riders into one track works for the first 15 who stay on their bike, after that we were walking...and I mean literally barely walking. Things were a bit more zesty with a fresh coat of mud on course, and there were two or three other spots in the first lap where I had to dismount and run. By the time lap one had come around I was already about four to five minutes down on the leaders. The next few laps it was just picking off and holding on to riders. Small line changes here and there might save you two or three seconds, but over the course of a lap could mean two or three riders. I found some rhythm and a bit more strength than the previous weekend, pushing it at every little opportunity. I knew I was losing more and more time each lap, so I went all in trying to avoid the time cut. Unfortunately, I finished one lap down, moving up about 10 spots from where I started. Although it's not the "numbers" I was looking for, I'm satisfied in knowing I found some rhythm in my race amidst the chaos.  

I'm beyond grateful and happy to have had the opportunity to return to the European scene. It's a whole new ballgame on their side of the pond, so every race and trip is a learning opportunity. The experience benefited me so very much. I'm grateful for all who donated to making this trip possible and to the coaches, mechanic, and people who made it so amazingly smooth. Pulling on the Stars and Stripes is an amazing experience every time. 

Please visit and/or share my page! [​https://usacycling.rallyme.com/rallies/7399]

I am beyond excited and grateful to have been selected for the next round of World Cup races in Europe! These races will be in Andorra and Lenzerheide, Switzerland. It has been a long work in progress and I am stoked to see the work and planning fall into place. I know I will benefit from the travel and experience of racing at the highest level and am eager to get this trip kickstarted.
 
With an amazingly supported Canada Cup fundraiser, I am looking to keep the ball rolling. Typically, USAC athletes have to raise funds for airfare in order to take part in international races, with funds not available to cover all the expenses of these trips. I am hoping to use this Rally Me fundraiser to cut the costs it will take to go and compete. The USA Cycling crew will cover all on-ground expenses, but it is my job to get over there-covering flight costs and other airfare fees. With flights costing me and my family nearly $2,000, it would be incredibly helpful to get any aid in this process, and I can not explain how grateful I would be to receive any.
 If you would be so gracious to assist, your help would extend well beyond just this trip!

A special thank you to Julia Violich and Bear Development, coach Dario Fredrick, USA Cycling, and those who have supported me to this point. I am unbelievably thankful for the continued love and support as I pursue this awesome cycling career and I look foward to what is to come!