PCC Athletes podium at Hatzic

Caleb Bender (centre) and Amiel Flett-Brown (right)

Two PCC athletes podiumed on Sunday at the Hatzic Valley Road Race in Mission, BC. Caleb Bender (Team California) won the elite race while Amiel Flett-Brown (Pathfinders Project) came third. The 116km race was ideal for fine tuning the athletes for the Canadian Road Nationals Championship later on this week Edmonton, Alberta.

Bender won the race with a final uphill push that gave him a one minute, 50 second lead from the main peloton. Flett-Brown was chasing the two leaders and was gaining time on them but ran out of the distance.

It was a long day for the two athletes and head coach Houshang Amiri, leaving PCC offices at Saanich Commonwealth Place at 5:45 am to take the ferry, returning at 8:30 pm. “But it was worth doing it,” said Amiri. “They both gained some good experience practicing their race skill tactics and dealing with challenging weather. It was very wet and raining and for first half and then sunny and warm for the second half of the race.”

Eight PCC coached riders are planning to race at the Canadian Road Nationals.

Two PCC athletes win Provincial Championships

Holly Simonson, Elite BC Road Race Champion. PCC photo.

Last weekend PCC coached cyclists competed in the BC Road Race and ITT Provincial Championships in Langley, BC. Two athletes came away with provincial crowns.

In the Junior Women category Kimberly Chen was 1st in the road race, following that up with a 3rd in the ITT. Holly Simonson won the Elite Women championship. Brenna Pauly was 4th.

In other results, in the U23 category, Caleb Bender was 2nd in the ITT and 8th in the road race. In the Elite Men Amiel Flett-Brown was 8th and Ethan Abbott, 16th in the road race.

Congratulations to everyone who raced.

 

Kimberly Chen, Junior BC Road Race Champion

Kimberly Chen wins National Title

Kimberly Chen – Junior National Champion. PCC photo.

PCC athlete Kimberly Chen recently competed at the 2023 Junior Track Championships in Bromont, Quebec achieving five podium finishes, including winning two gold medals.

The first day saw her coming third in the Keirin, a position she was very happy with as she admits she typically doesn’t do well in Keirin’s. The next day saw her set her best time that resulted in placing first in the sprint and being crowned national champion.

“At the sprint event I had a chance to rematch Alex Volstad, whom I was in the gold medal match-up with last year when I came second. To be able to put our abilities to the test again as we have both improved significantly in terms of tactics and power was fun for us both. She is one of the only other girls my age in Canada that can sprint well, and we have similar strengths so it’s always exciting racing against her. I managed to take the win this year, and I’m sure we will have more rematches in the future,” Kimberly said.

The team sprint was on day three and along with teammates Alex Volstad and Anabelle Thomas, had a strong ride beating Team Ontario by 0.111 seconds and setting a new Canadian record. Kimberly finished off the championships with third place finishes in the 500 metre TT and the Madison.

Team Sprint Champions. PCC photo.

She was very pleased with her overall performance in the championships. “Although my track-specific preparation time was relatively short, my goals were to be within sprint world standard times in the flying 200 and 500 metre TT and have a shot at going to the selection camp for worlds. I also wanted to see what I could achieve in terms of tactical ability and skill among the field. This trip was also still very much about learning and gaining experience since I am a first-year Junior. I did not quite hit the goal times in the 200 or 500, but they were both learning opportunities and I now know exactly what to work on for next year when I am a second-year Junior.”

Houshang Amiri has been coaching Kimberly since January since she joined the Victoria Hub program. “Kimberly showed her racing and competitive ability during the championship, showing a lot of potential, and she has a great future ahead of her.”

 

February camp held in cold conditions

PCC held its pre-season training camp last weekend in Victoria in unseasonably cold, wintery weather. But it proved to be perfect mental and physical preparation for the spring race season.

Snow arrived on the first day of the camp and so instead of an endurance ride, Coach Houshang Amiri changed it to a trainer session. “This was going to help us build our aerobic capacity, as well as our attacking intensity and sustained power that could closely simulate some of the energy systems we’ll be using in our spring opening races in March.” said PCC athlete Amiel Flett-Brown.

The second day was in the saddle with a focus on endurance and climbing techniques. This was done on some of the hills at the Metchosin road race course. “We had a few steady laps, feeling the steeper gradients and working on pedaling technique as well as descending skills,” said Flett-Brown.

The last two days featured long endurance rides that included sprints and pace line work. “We maximized volume as well as touched on the energy systems that we’ll be leaning on come race day with a few two-up team time trials,” added Flett-Brown.

The cold weather offered up some challenges for the riders and with the intensity of the endurance rides it was important to be well fuelled. Sponsor Gruppo Nutrition provided some Ride formula for the camp which kept the riders’ energy levels topped up. “The 65 grams of carbohydrates coming from a mix of maltodextrin, fructose and dextrose gives us the perfect ratios for long days when we mix in intensity to our training. The formula also contains electrolytes and a small amount of protein to help us stay hydrated and hit our macronutrient goals throughout the day,” said Flett-Brown.

PCC athletes will be competing in some spring races starting with the Thunderbird Road Race on March 5 and the Wix Brown Circuit Race on March 11, both in Langley, BC. Five PCC athletes will also be racing in Tucson, AZ.

Registration open for Pre-season Training Camp

Pacific Cycling Centre will host a pre-season training camp from February 23 -26, 2023. The camp will be held in Victoria, BC and led by Head Coach Houshang Amiri.

The focus will be to prepare athletes for the upcoming season in a vibrant, stimulating group training setting. The camp will further identify athlete goals for the 2023 season and will include endurance rides where you will be evaluated on your aerobic base and power.

The four-day camp will feature daily rides from four-five hours in duration. The rides will include hill climbs and a time trial with a focus on technique and sharpening cycling skills. The camp will also include two training presentations.

All levels of riders are welcome from different cycling disciplines. Depending on the size of the camp riders will be divided into groups according to their level and ability.

Cost for the camp is $750+ GST. The deadline to apply is February 15.

Information and Registration

PCC January Camp a Success

 

Last weekend PCC completed its second pre-season camp in Victoria. The camp was planned and structured to provide on opportunity for benchmarking the participants current aerobic fitness in a group training setting. This enabled each athlete and the head coach to better prepare and plan the next block of training.

The first day on the road included speed assessments with 10 and 20 minute sprint efforts. That evening was an education session where coach Houshang Amiri talked about the major points of the Key Performance Factors based on season and race demands. This was followed by a group workshop, discussing the KPF topics.

Day two was a climbing day, with a focus on short 1 – 5 minute climbs around Victoria.

The third and final day was focused on technical skills including lead out and sprinting skills and speed. An easy 20 km was then followed by TTT and pace line skills.

Amiri was pleased with the camp results. “Based on the feedback from the athletes and my observation we achieved the camp goal and objectives.”

Amiel Flett-Brown attended the camp and concurred.

“This January’s camp was a perfect loading block for everyone who came out. With the racing season fast approaching, we all needed to get in a mix of climbing, speed, endurance and technical tune ups to get ready for the next phase of winter training. Coach Houshang’s expert guidance and planning helped us navigate 360 km of riding in 13.5 hours with a 3,133 m of elevation gain over the three days. The group’s morale was high and the positive energy kept us going through some challenging weather. Thanks to Coach Houshang’s expert planning and on road decision making, riders of all ability levels were performing at their best.”

The next camp will be from February 23 – 26. Registration will open in a few days.

Season’s Greetings

The best of the holiday season and wishing everyone a Happy New Year from the Pacific Cycling Centre.

 

Registration open for January camp

Pacific Cycling Centre will host its second training camp of the season from January 20 -22, 2023. The camp will be held in Victoria, BC and led by Head Coach Houshang Amiri.

The focus will be building on the skills and endurance learnt from the December camp in a vibrant, stimulating group training setting. The camp will further identify athlete goals for the 2023 season and the long rides will boost aerobic capacity for cycling disciplines such as road, track, MTB, and triathlon.

The three-day camp will feature daily rides from three-four hours in duration. The rides will include hill climbs and a time trial with a focus on technique and sharpening cycling skills. The camp will also include a training presentation.

All levels of riders are welcome from different cycling disciplines. Depending on the size of the camp riders will be divided into groups according to their level and ability.

Cost for the camp is $570 + GST. The deadline to apply is January 6. A 10% discount will be given if full payment is made by the deadline date.

Information and Registration

Registration open for December Camp

Pacific Cycling Centre will host a Base Endurance Camp as a kick-off to its 2022-2023 season in December.  The camp will be held from December 2 -4 in Victoria, BC and led by Head Coach Houshang Amiri.

The focus will be on building endurance and fitness in a vibrant, stimulating group training setting. The camp will identify athlete goals for the 2023 season and the long rides will boost aerobic capacity for cycling disciplines such as road, track, MTB, and triathlon.

The three-day camp will feature daily rides from three-four hours in duration. The rides will include hill climbs and a time trial with a focus on technique and sharpening cycling skills. The camp will also include a training presentation.

All levels of riders are welcome from different cycling disciplines. Depending on the size of the camp riders will be divided into groups according to their level and ability.

Cost for the camp is $570 + GST. The deadline to apply is November 22.

Register and more information

World Champion title for Renate Walton

On the podium. Photo: PCC

PCC Masters athlete Renate Walton recently won the Individual Pursuit at the 2022 World Championships in Los Angeles making her a new 70-74 age group World Champion. A few days later she won a silver medal in the 500m ITT. Here is her story.

My journey started four years ago when I froze doing the I.P.in L.A. Returning home, I got hit by a car getting a fractured collar bone and a dislocated AC joint. Then of course it was COVID. The comeback trail seemed to take forever. I told my coach Houshang Amiri that I wanted to try again. The road had a rocky start as I ended up with COVID earlier this year, then got Shingles. Once again Houshang had to keep changing training plans to accommodate my fitness.

The World Championships returned to Los Angeles, and we finally put our plan into place, and we drove to L.A. We arrived early for me to get accredited on the track so I could ride in “open track” sessions, which of course started early in the morning. Everything was going great until the one two second brain fog hit, and I apparently slowed down going around the corner and fell down the banking like a sack of potatoes – lol. My leg swelled up immediately. I landed on my left side and ended up with a fracture and torn rotator cuff and a black and blue swollen leg. Thankfully, I still had a few days to train for the IP and had to adapt to riding in the indoor velodrome. Again, Houshang had more adjusting to do.

When the day of the race came, I misjudged the timing in the gate and fell very gracefully, again on my sore shoulder. I felt good during the race, focusing on my lines and Houshang’s encouragement on each lap. Like everyone else I thought that maybe I could have gone just a bit faster. I found out after the race that my competitor Mary Ellen Allen was the current record holder for the IP which she got in August in Aguascaliente, Mexico. So, I was very excited when I won the Gold Medal and finally got my jersey that I have been dreaming of. The women that I competed against were lovely, funny, and competitive. I have made new friends.

After several more days of training, it was time for the 500m TT. I have to admit that my shoulder was sore and during the warmup I felt like I had re-injured it. Anyway, no excuses but I had a horrible start which cost me first place, but still managed a second-place finish.

It was nice to have athletes there that I knew like Heather and Eric Simonson, Keith Bruneur and John Mayer, to support and cheer me on as I did for them when they raced. There were also other Canadians that I met while we were there. It was a such a special feeling that I will cherish.

Finally, to the most important person who made all of this possible, my coach Houshang. A man who I truly respect and admire. Without his commitment and encouragement to my training and forever changing my plans, I would not be able to ride at this level. Just being at World’s is an accomplishment, but realizing all the hours he puts in, and forever ending encouragement and definitely a kick in the butt when I needed it, made me want to work a little bit harder despite my injuries. I cannot thank him enough for what he has done for me. I am looking forward to discussing my goals for next season.

Renate with Coach Houshang Amiri. Photo: PCC

 

Pacific Cycling Centre

Pacific Cycling Centre (PCC) provides coaching and training services for Elite, Masters, and Junior athletes in road, mountain bike, track, and cyclo-cross.

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