Training this year has been going very well, although the race season is just getting started. My teammates and I have been training full-on since December, including two trips down to California: the first with the Cycling BC High Performance team in earlier February, and later with my trade team, Trek Red Truck Racing in April.
These trips are extremely important, in my eyes, as they allow new teammates to come together as a unit, while at the same time getting a very hard, focused block of training done early season.
Equally important is that we get some nice weather to keep the spirits high. In addition to the warm weather camps, I have raced in most of the local Escape Velocity Spring Series. Theses races are a great opportunity to hone race fitness and skills, and try new things before the big races begin.
A few of the big races that I’m focused on include the Mutual Of Enumclaw Stage, BC Superweek, Nationals, and Tour de L’Abitibi as part of the UCI’s La Coupe des Nations Juniors tour. As always, thanks to Trek Red Truck Racing and Cycling BC’s generous sponsors that assist me in pursuing my dream.
One training tip I can offer is the importance of mixing it up. Cycling is an extremely demanding sport both mentally and physically. In order to avoid getting over-tired mentally and physically, I try to schedule other forms of physical activity like running or hiking into my training during the less critical blocks, as well as making sure I am having fun both on and off the bike.
– Joel Taylor, Cycling BC Road High Performance Team
To learn more about Joel and to stay up to date with his training and racing follow him on:
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