Track Racing

OK, enough MTB stuff. Time for some blog from my real bike racing roots! The velodrome!

Track racing is my real bike racing passion. Track and crit racing both, really. I have raced on and off for years, but I always keep coming back to the 'drome. When I moved to Colorado I joined a cycling team here that has since disbanded. But during the two or three years I was active on that team, I became involved with the racing at the 7-Eleven Olympic Velodrome in Colorado Springs. I love the people that race the track, I love the high level of intensity, I love the simplicity, and most of all, I really love the track-specific training. Its something I am half-way good at and its just plain fun! Track is not as popular as road or MTB, so all tracks around the country have a sort of small, intimate social community, and Colorado has some great track racers. And in Colorado, we really do have the best track! ;)

I am fortunate enough to ride the Hammer/TVG Racing Team...the best Masters track team in the USA. I have been heading up the new rider development clinics and classes at the track now for a few years, and last year I was voted onto the Board of Directors of the Colorado Velodrome Association,which is the USACycling Local Association for Colorado. I really enjoy teaching the clinics, and as a longtime racer and coach, it is my own goal to attract as many good cyclists as I can to our track, so they can enjoy racing like I have for so long. In the three years I have taught the clinics, we have had much success - so many of the class participants have gone on to race at the higher skill levels now at our track and in fact, two of them have now won National Champion jerseys!

This year, one of the local road racers that came down to the track to try it out was Megan Hottman. Megan and her husband Rob were already very accomplished road racers here in Denver, and Rob had raced the track before. Megan came down about mid season and tried it out, and picked it up pretty fast, and then just began to crush the womens field. She has done so well, that she is off to Elite Natz in LA next week! I spoke with a couple of the sprint coaches at the 'drome recently who have been helping her with her training, and they feel that Megan has a terriffic chance of doing very well in LA.

Another friend of mine, also on Hammer, is Randy McLain...he is also going to Elit Natz for the second time, as well a several other local fast peeps! I wish them all the best of luck in LaLa Land.

My friend and track coach Rich Voss knows an absolute boatload about how to make a bike go fast on the track. Rich is a multi-time UCI World Champion in the Sprint and really really knows his stuff. I have learned a ton from working with Rich the last few years, and Im fortunate to have met him. Rich and I, and several of the other sprinters on the team all do our training with power meters. Training with Power has become the 'only' way to train for us, and as we all learn more about it, I cant imagine anyone NOT using a power meter! All of the roadies I coach are on power meters. It is critical in my opinion for the competitive bike racer. Kill your TV? Kill your HRM!!!

More later...its time for a Friday night beer. I get serious about 2008 in 12 hours!

Thanks for reading.