While the workload was heavy, the campers had fun throughout the week.(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Each day of the camp starts at 6:30 with an hour of stretching and conditioning(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
The campers would then work on each technique after the demonstrations(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Riding the run-ups, where possible, was also a fun exercise(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
After a short break and lunch, the campers would head out in the afternoon for a training ride on the roads around Helena, MT.(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
One day pro mountain bikers Sam Schultz (Subaru-Trek) and Andy Schultz (Kenda) joined the campers for the afternoon ride.(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
The dirt roads around Helena are some of the most scenic and car-free roads around(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
The roads offered plenty of opportunity for climbing(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Sam Schultz and coach Scott Herzig leading the group towards Park Lake(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
After dinner each night there was a two-hour classroom session with Coach Proctor breaking down 'cross races from Europe and pointing out different techniques that were successful(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Shouldering and run-ups were discussed at length one day with Coach Proctor demonstrating each one(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
This also included bunny hopping, both small and large (40 cm) barriers(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
There was barrier work each day where the different techniques were discussed and put into practice(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Resistance training was a fun part of the conditioning(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
The camp was based at a local college which offered access to the stadium steps(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
After conditioning and a quick breakfast the campers jumped on their bikes to head up for specific cyclo-cross training(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Coach Proctor provided instruction on a 'cross course and would break down different sections and the various techniques that would be most effective(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
One of the fun activities for the campers were the "start drills"(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Racing 4 to 5 at a time, trying to hit the hole shot first(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
There was always plenty of time for Coach Proctor to offer individual advice throughout the camp(Image credit: tomrobertsonphoto.com)
Although the Olympics are less than a year away, US cyclo-cross aficionados will also have one eye on the 2013 Worlds which take place on home soil, in Louisville, Kentucky.
With that in mind, Geoff Proctor – organiser of the US 'cross camp that takes place in Belgium each winter – and USA Cycling teamed up to give 16 aspiring athletes a chance to participate in an inaugural summer training camp in Helena, Montana, last month.
“I found out late that I could do it and USA cycling gave me the green light for something that I’d been advocating for, for years,” Proctor told Cyclingnews.
The camp, spread over four days, mimicked the Belgian 'cross camps that occur during the summer.
“It all came together in my home town in Montana,” added Proctor.
“I know all the training rides, facilities and equipment. There was no guess work and everything was tightly planned and structured. I went down and tried to find results from nationals for guys between 15 and 17 years old, so the guys that will be making the Worlds team in the next couple of years and obviously we want to be doing well in Louisville in 2013.”
Each morning the 16 young hopefuls would have strength conditioning exercises in order to improve their core fitness. They would then undergo specific cyclo-cross training on a race course, practicing dismounts, run-ups and pit practice. In the afternoons they would have typical training rides, while the evenings would be taken up by video analysis of Europe’s top professionals.
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Proctor will organise his winter camp in Belgium for the 9th time this year but is hoping to have a summer camp next year and include female athletes as well.
Camp Roster
CX Summer Camp Roster Helena, Montana July 25-29, 2011
1994 - Hometown Drew Dillman - Fairdale, KY Zane Godby - Louisville, CO Luke Haley - Louisville, KY Cypress Gorry - Payson, AZ Sam O’Keefe - Baltimore, MD Tyler Coplea - Fountain Hills, AZ Travis Monroe - Coeur d’Alene, ID
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
