Cycling BC held its first Provincial BMX training camp of the year at Abbotsford BMX on their newly rebuilt indoor track. The High Performance team was a big fan of the new design with some bigger jumps and a little more wide open layout.
Newly appointed head coach Mischa Partridge had the team in close quarters working on their passing and race tactics with tight bunch races. With National Team rider Alex Tougas in attendance, the level of competition was high and all riders were pushing their limits on the skill portions of the day. “My main goal for today was to set the team expectations for the year. I know these athletes well already but it was a good opportunity for me to see a number of them ride for the first time in a while.” said Partridge.
The High Performance team will center their season around the Canada Cup circuit. With financial
support for travel, and on-site coaching at all team events, these riders will represent their province at competitions in Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec this year.
Following the High Performance team session, Abbotsford BMX welcomed the 2018 Cycling BC BMX Development Team. This team of top 11-13 year olds were all excited faces to get their first training session of the year underway. Looking the part with their matching team kit, this group put in three solid hours of skills, tactics, and gate technique.
Assisted by local elite rider Jared Ennis, Coach Mischa Partridge lead the day. “The focus for this age group is always progressing their skills. “We worked a lot today on the fundamental skills of manualling and jumping on our flat pedals.” With a very tight-knit and competitive group of boys and girls, this team showed great work ethic at their first training camp, and of course had a ton of fun doing it.
Preparing for their first BC Premier series race, this team will focus their season predominantly around BC events. Training camps throughout the season, an introduction to BMX specific training, video analysis and more are all perks of the team. These riders will also have rider support at BC Championships as well as their annual team project.
