"...coaching is a lot more than just writing a training plan..."
By: ALP Coach Patricia Schwager
Fall is coming and the 2017 road race season is ending soon. This blog post is about year 1 of our ALP Cycles racing team. Why did we decide to have a women's race team next to the coaching business? We wanted to do something that was different, something that no other coaching business can offer. Plus we like to share our knowledge/experience. The 4 ALP Cycles coaches together can offer a huge amount of experience! We believe that coaching is a lot more than just writing a training plan, looking at numbers and talking to an athlete every now and then. Riding with our athletes and teaching them is very important to us. Working with our team riders 1:1 on the bike during training riders or coaching them at races has helped all of them to become better riders and racers.
How did this year with the team exactly look like?
- Team rides: team rides happen twice every month. Each time, 2 of the ALP coaches are there to ride with the team and teach different things. Here are just a few examples: we worked on pace lines, skills, climbing, descending, TT's, sprints etc.
- Pre-riding different race courses as a team: We took the team to different race courses and pre-rode the circuits, looked at critical points of each race course, talked about different race scenarios/tactics and dialed in our team tactic for the races. We did that for: Boulder-Roubaix, Koppenberg, Hygience TT, stage 3 of Boulder stage race (Lyons-Nederland), Morgul Bismakr circuit race.
- Team Camp: We headed out to Grand Junction for a spring team camp in April. This was important for team bonding and working together as a team for a few days back to back.
- Sending a coach to team races: At the beginning of the year we marked 7 races as team races. The bonus of the team races is that one of the ALP coaches will be at the team races to coach the team riders. This includes: working out race tactics (team work, how to race together), pre-race and post race meetings with our team riders, plus we of course also watch the race and cheer for the team!
2017 was a good start for the team. It is nice to see what the team achieved and that our coaching/teaching is paying off. Although it isn't just about results. It is about understanding how to race as a team and how to use different skills and strengths of each team member in order to have success. The highlight was for sure that the team raced at the Colorado Classic against all the top US teams.
The team will continue in 2018 and we are very excited about season 2 of our ALP Cycles Racing Team. We are looking for new riders, in case you are interested, email Alison, don't forget to add your resume! Alison: [email protected]
Or join our ALP Cycles climbing ride in September 30th in Boulder to talk and ride with the 4 ALP Cycling coaches.
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ABOUT PATRICIA SCHWAGER
Patricia Schwager began cycling in 1998, racing as a junior. After racing on the domestic level and completing her Diploma as Pastry Chef, she got her first pro contract in 2006. 2015 will be here 10th year of professional racing. Patricia has a lot of experience racing in the European peloton. In 2013 she started working with Shawn Heidgen (Current ALP Cycles Coach) as her personal coach. In 2014 she changed her focus to racing in the US. Patricia is a 6 time national Swiss champion and has represented her home country, Switzerland, at the World Championships 12 times.
For 2015, Patricia will race for Team Tibco. Along with racing she’s looking to share and pass on her knowledge in her new role as an ALP Cycles Coach. Visit her online at https://primalblends.com/
About ALP Cycles Coaching
ALP Cycles Coaching is located in the mountains of Colorado, and is a cycling coaching company with over 25 years of professional sports experience. ALP Cycles Coaching is unique in that we have 4 coaches, Alison Powers, Jennifer Triplett, and Patricia Schwager who each brings her own coaching strengths and personal experiences. We work together to create a training plan that works for each and every person. Visit them online at https://primalblends.com/
