Would you like to improve your criterium racing this summer?
If you answered yes then join a 6 week Criterium Training program, starting on Monday 21st October.
The Canberra Cycling Club runs the biggest criterium series of the year the Raine & Horne Commercial Canberra Summer Criterium Series. To help riders prepare for and improve their criterium racing we are offering free or discounted participation in a 6 week criterium training program. The program will consist of six 1-hour training sessions, each held at the Stromlo Forest park criterium track from 6am-7am. The program has exclusive use of the track during each session so that you can practice using all parts of the circuit and in both directions.
Coaching for this program will be provided by Jason Mahoney of Argonaut Cycle Coaching. Jason is a NCAS Level 2 qualified road and track coach and he has coached some of Canberra’s best road riders over the last few years.
Program Details
The Criterium Training Program session will commence on Monday 21st October (the day after the Crit Racing Masterclass session) and run every Monday for 6 weeks, concluding on 25th November, perfectly timed to have you in good form for the famous Carts Xmas Crits (aka the real club championships).
Each session with be 1hr long and we will have exclusive use of the Stromlo Forest Park criterium track so that we can use the track in both directions as well as practicing with the shortcut sections that will be used in a number of Wednesday night criteriums this season.
The training sessions will include:
- A range of criterium specific intervals,
- Sprinting drills, including sprint technique, gearing, cadence and leadouts.
- Bunch skills
- Cornering skills, especially through ‘collarbone’ corner and the shortcuts.
- Race tactics for the Stromlo track.
The program is open to all members of CA affiliated cycling clubs and the ACT Vets cycling club. Canberra Cycling Club members are eligible to this program at half price ($22.50) and new CCC members are offered this program free of charge (Usually $45).
How to register for the program
To register for the 6 week criterium training program simply provide your details in the registration form on the 6 week criterium training program page of the Argonaut website.
Rider Requirements
To ensure the success of this program there will be a minimum number of riders required for these sessions to go ahead. There are also a few simple requirements that participants need to meet to be able to participate. These are:
- All riders must be a member of a Cycling Australia affiliated club or the ACT Vets cycling club
- Riders must provide their own bikes. *1
- All participant must have good bike handling skills. Race specific skills are not necessary however the ability to quickly acquire new skills will be a bonus*2
- Juniors in the U15 age category and above are welcome, but they must already have riding experience. *3
*1 – Bikes: Riders will need to use a standard road bike with traditional drop handlebars. No mountain bikes or flat bar road bikes. Bike must have two working brakes and gearing, i.e. no fixies or single speeds.
*2 – Bike handling skills: While this program is a development program it is not suitable for complete novice riders as a large amount of bunch work will be included. A mimumum bike handling skill level will be required and if necessary an applicant for the program may require a separate assessment from the coach to confirm their suitability for the program.
*3 – Junior riding skills: Junior riders in the U15 category and above are eligible to apply for the training program however as they will be participating with other, more mature riders, it is important that they have an acceptable level of experience to ensure they are able to safely integrate into the larger group, especially as they will need to use restricted gearing.