If you're new to cyclocross, you need attend one of the THREE clinics on offer at SpectaCross! A clinic in August is invaluable because it gives you five or six weeks to practice what you’ve learned, and correct your mistakes, before being thrown to the wolves in one of those 100 rider novice races in the Fall.
Our Premier clinic is Friday's "Boot Camp". Five-and-a-half hours of intense cyclocross instruction and preparation for the upcoming season. On Saturday, we have two shorter, overview clinics that will also help you prepare for the day's races on the unique SpectaCross track. One of our Saturday clinics is a special Women's-only clinic, complete with a female coach, so women racers can learn the sport without having to deal with the machismo of amped-up novice guys who know even less than they think they do.
Leading the clinics will be Al Donahue, Cycle Smart coach and winner of last year’s Chip Baker Trophy that goes annually to the winner of the main event at the New Jersey State Fair SpectaCross. Donahue, a UCI cyclocross race winner and former mountain bike National Champion, majored in Biology at Bates College and interned in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. He understands personally what it's like to balance work or school with racing, as well as how to train and compete as a pro.
Frances Morrisonwill be running the women’s-only clinic and assisting in the Boot Camp. She is an elite road and cyclocross racer on the Wheelhouse Racing Team. She cut her teeth in the eastern collegiate cycling scene; and from there migrated naturally into the dirt, mud and ridiculousness that is cyclocross. She enjoys cooking strange foods and will no doubt be on the prowl in for new ingredients in the Fair’s exhibition areas throughout the weekend.
Like Frances, Jeremy Durrin is a native of Fitchburg MA, home of the Fitchburg-Longsjo stage race. Jeremy is an Elite level cyclocross racer who also competes as a Cat 1 on the road and in Elite level cyclocross rider. As a Cycle-Smart client he was encouraged to try his luck at CX, where he quickly moved up to the Elite Level. Jeremy is the assistant coach for the UMass bike racing team and has served as that program’s director for the past two years.
Our fourth coach is Beth Mason, whom some of you will remember as one of last year's Race Directors. Talk about balancing training with real life! Beth is an Elite Level racer, mother of two and a Major (and Physical Therapist) in the U.S. Army who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, where she pushed the limits of cyclocross tire technology. Beth is also a certified Reteul bike fitter.
Whether you are completely new to cyclocross, or still learning, these are some of the best camps available all year. And they're at the perfect time of year to get you, literally, up to speed come fall. Spots are limited, so sign-up today on the SpectaCross BikeReg page.