Greenville Team Camp Wrap-Up

We just wrapped up a 10 day training camp for the BMC-Hincapie Sportswear Cycling team here in my new home town of Greenville, South Carolina. The purpose of this training camp was to distribute equipment, work out bike positions and sizing changes, get pictures and press obligations done and then incorporate long training days in the saddle.

 

Outfitting the riders went smoothly. Our Head Soigneir, Jerimiah Renagar, had bags stuffed with brand new helmets, glasses, cycling and leisure clothes ready for everyone when they arrived in the hotel . Bikes had been distributed to most of the guys earlier in the month, but a couple riders were given their brand new BMC TeamMachine SLR01.

Our first two days were spent with the fantastic team of coaches from Carmichael Training Systems. Collin Izzard, Dean Golich and their expert team provided Retul bike fits and then did a great job of explaining the reasons for making subtle changes to the riders' positions. They also performed lactate threshold tests on each of the riders and provided them with feedback on definitive training zones for power based training.

 

The riding was spectacular, I got to try out my new desk, a Volkswagen Jetta TDI wagon, stickered, racked and loaded with bottles, Bonk Breaker bars, GU gels, Easton wheels and just enough Park Tools and spare parts to make it home in case of any mishaps. Each day we traveled in and out of North and South Carolina on super skinny back roads, riding over climbs like Skyuka, Ceasers Head and the Greenville Watershed, plus riding over the famous Paris Mountain climb right in our own back yard.

 

After our rides, we needed to feed this hungy bunch. Every night was either out to a local restaurant in downtown Greenville or was catered by our team chef, Helmut Flinte. He went above the call of duty fixing great food for our group at Rich's place and one night up at George's house overlooking both Downtown Greenville and Paris Mountain…quite a view.

My final impression for the week is that we have a great group of young guys that are fit, eager and ready for a long year of traveling and racing. Both George and Rich have assembled a great group of staff and sponsors to give these guys a great lead out to become better bike racers. It will be interesting to see who can stay on their wheel...

(See more images from the camp here.)

A Big Day in the Saddle

Everyone knew that Wednesday’s training ride was going to be tough. The night before, George tweeted, "Taking the @HincapieDevo team on my favorite ride tomorrow . Skyuca mt , 10000 feet of climbing for the day. Should be fun." 10,000 feet of climbing is tough any day, but when you add in 13 competitive U23 pros and George Hincapie, you know it's gonna be epic. Watch the video to see how the day went.

A Proper Foundation

As we begin our training camp and then the racing season, it’s important that the team starts with a good foundation. Our team partner, Carmichael Training Systems has been working with our riders over the past few days setting up their bike fits, reviewing their nutrition and measuring their fitness levels. We’ll use the work the CTS coaches have done to plan our rides for the rest of the camp and prepare for our upcoming races.

Watch the short video below to see our riders being tested and setup on their new BMC Team Machines.

Ty Magner Wins the Tour of the Bahamas

We started the final stage of the Tour of the Bahamas with Ty Magner on the top of the General Classification with a 5 second lead. The stage was five lap 75 mile circuit race with a dangerous cross winds. We knew that there was a good chance a group would get away, so it was important to stay attentive.

Half-way through the race, two attacks went out to form a 10 man group. Our riders AJ Meyer and Tanner Putt made it in the move, but so did danger men Frank Travieso, Luis Amaran and Brian Hill – all who were within 15 seconds of Ty on GC. Frank and Luis attacked the group and extended the gap to two minutes. It was time to bring it back together. Director Thomas Craven made the call at one lap to go and our boys went to the front of the peloton along with several guys from DC Velo Limited and shut down the break with 3K to go.

Luis Amaran put in one more attack in the finale, but Ty was right on his wheel covering the move. In the end, Ty finished 4th in the field sprint, holding on for the overall victory.

Starting the season off with a win is thrilling. But more importantly, it’s great to see the riders racing together as a team and executing a plan. We’re looking forward to the 2012 season and seeing what these talented young riders can accomplish together.