Cade Bickmore uses Combat Fitness Test as 2025 prep 'to make big things happen' at Project Echelon Racing

Cade Bickmore admitted there was "no more flying under the radar" after winning Sunny King Criterium in 2023. That's the year he moved from the Aevolo development team to Project Echelon Racing, winning stages at UCI-level races Tour of the Gila and Tour International de la Guadeloupe, and finished one spot off the podium at the US Pro Criterium Nationals.

Bickmore backed up his road results in 2024 by posting a second stage win and points classification title at Tour of the Gila and had a podium in Portugal at Volta ao Alentejo for the US-based squad. 

The new year brings a change of guard at Project Echelon Racing and a renewed fitness focus where Bickmore can seek more opportunities for the team and himself, beginning in Spain at Challenge Mallorca, five days of one-day races spanning January 29 to February 2. Project Echelon is the only US-based Continental on the start list of 25 teams, with eight of those at WorldTour level.

"You know, every opportunity that we have to go head-to-head against the WorldTour guys is a big deal," Bickmore told Cyclingnews. "I'm really excited for the Tour of Norway and starting in Mallorca and then a couple opportunities in Portugal and Spain. I love racing in Europe."

The 26-year-old begins his third season at the US-based Continental team this year, and says with the bulk of the team returning, the familiarity among riders and races gives them confidence. 

"We just keep stepping up a little bit every year. Last year I felt we made some massive jumps in terms of what races we were getting into, which was awesome," he reflected.

"We had a lot of growing pains from that, we had to learn a lot to adjust, to rise to the occasion. I think this year our schedule is going to be similar, but we have a much more dialed in approach to all of it. I think we have big opportunities to make big things happen at some of those races."

The squad is minus former team leader Tyler Stites, who accounted for half of the team's 16 victories in the past two seasons. Stites now races for Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and will face his former teammates in two weeks in Spain at Trofeo Calvià. Bickmore expects to be on the start with proven strongman Scott McGill, who was 10th at Trofeo Palma last year.

"I have good power to ride at the front and control races for guys. My opportunities are going to come in the more punchy sprint days. I really like the hard kind of rolling hills races where there aren't any massive climbs. When it's a hard day on the bike and it comes down to a sprint finish or reduced group finish, I like it."

Bickmore suffered a season-ending crash at the Tour of Britain last September, after being active in several breakaways. He suffered a broken collarbone and several cracked ribs, which sidelined him until late in the year with test rides in cyclocross.

"It's never how I want to end the season. I was putting myself in a position to get a result, and that's how the crash happened. It was actually my second crash of the day in Britain," he recounted. "The silver lining of it all, I guess, is that I didn't miss any more racing the rest of the season because it was the last race."

He made his return with a trio of cyclocross races by late November, finishing a surprising 10th overall for elite men in the US Cyclocross National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

"I was not technically cleared until a week and a half before Nationals. My doctors told me not to crash, to take it easy," he admitted with a chuckle, saying he had a "good crash" in pre-ride but survived for the top 10 with a small fall.

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Project Echelon Racing held a camp in Wisconsin in December, which included participation indoors for the Echelon Racing League and then outside, in the cold and snow, for a US Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test (CFT). 

The CFT assesses agility and muscular endurance using a set of physical challenges – 880-yard run (twice around a track), two-minutes of 30-pound overhead presses (simulating an ammunitions can), and completion of a special agility course simulating 'maneuver under fire'.

This portion of the camp, in particular, helped riders connect with the team's mission to foster relationships with military veterans.

"Yes, we all participated in the Marine Combat Fitness Test during our Wisconsin camp. We had to shovel the track [from snow]. I actually did pretty well with the test and made first class despite the snowy and frigid conditions," Bickmore said.

"I've been working really hard to get strength and balance back in my upper body since breaking my collarbone at the Tour of Britain in September, so it was a nice confirmation that I'm back!

"It was a really fun challenge for me and a good way to connect to our team's mission. I got a lot of messages before and after the event from veterans we work with, offering advice, support, and just general enthusiasm, as well as some smack talk. 

"So much of my relationship with our veteran community is offering my advice and support towards their journey in physical fitness and endurance sport, so it was cool to have a role reversal and jump into something that so many of them are familiar with but was new to us."

Also finishing with 'first class' status were teammate Brendan Rhim and team director Eric Hill. Racing a bike in the warm climate of Mallorca now appears to be a less complicated opportunity.