ELITEWAVE NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Pendrel named Kamloops Female Athlete of the Year
April 16, 2007
Catharine continues her ride to
the top of the cycling world with a well deserved award. At a gala banquet on Saturday night, she was
awarded Kamloops Female Athlete of the Year.
This is an incredible compliment
to Pendrel who has only lived in Kamloops
since August. Kamloops is a well recognized sport community
who has played host to at least 4 National cycling championships in the last 5
years.
Pendrel finishes Norba
with 2 solid races.
April 2, 2007
Catharine Pendrel (Norco) started the season with some fine
performances in the first Norba event of 2007. Pendrel raced against some of the best riders
in North America this past weekend – finishing
9th in the short track event and 13th in the cross
country event. Catharine is still in
the early phases of her preparation for the season and showed that she is well
on track for this season’s demanding schedule.
Pendrel normally does Sea Otter as her first race of the year in
April. The Arizona race, nearly a month earlier, has
given Pendrel renewed confidence and motivation as she heads into the 2007
season. Pendrel will be contesting for
one of only 3 spots (selection spots were reduced from 6) for the World
Championships.
Andrew
Wilson Starts Season with Strong Performance at Devo Spring Series.
March 31, 2007
Elitewave’s newest rider, Andrew Wilson (Atomic) rode well in his first race
of the 2007 season – taking 10th place in the B Category this past
weekend. Andrew commented: “I didn't get to contest the sprint because there was a
nasty crash about 600 meters before the finish. I didn't crash, which was a
miracle as it happened all around me. 10 guys went down very hard. I had to move off the road onto the grass to
avoid going down. I unclipped and came
to a complete stand still.” Despite the
rough finish, Wilson
was inspired by his strong ride. He felt
that it was one of his best races ever.
Junior Cyclist Continue to Improve – Team
Coastal Update
March 20, 2007
Team Coastal junior riders
continue their accelerated progression into the world of track cycling. Since beginning the track program in January,
several juniors have continued to meet at the Burnaby Velodrome
each Monday for a 2 hour training sessions.
These riders are quick learners who have begun to full adapt to their
new sport. Riders have dropped an
average of 2-3 seconds from their flying 200m times (used mostly to gauge pedal
coordination and technique). They have
also begun to master the subtle art of paceline
riding and team trialling. Currently, they are developing skills in the
match sprint event. All of the athletes
are having fun and progressing well.
Coastal athletes will be racing at the BVC Summer Meet on May 5th,
2007.
Pendrel prepares for Norba
in Pheonix.
March 27, 2007
Catharine Pendrel (Norco)
will be kicking off her fifth season as an Elitewave
athlete with a Norba event in Pheonix, Arizona. Catharine is excited about the season ahead
and looking forward to an early season warm-up and test of her hew bike from Norco. Catharine will be competing in both the short
track and cross country events. She has
reported feeling very strong with improved wattage during compu-trainer
testing. She feels like she can already push herself to a higher level than
last season. Much of this improvement
has come from the Aerobic Power phase we pursued over the course of the past
month. It was the most intensive
interval training that Catharine has done to date. It will be interesting to see how this
influences her racing performance in the early season. Racing begins this Saturday!
Blizzard Bike Club -
Fort St. John, BC
March 25, 2007
Elitewave’s Geoff McDonald of Grande Prairie edged
out team mate Blaine Richter to win the first road race of the Blizzard Club's
25th season of racing, Sunday. Geoff came in all alone to win the 68 km Cecil Lake
road event with a time of 2:10:46. Blaine
was second at 2:11:35 and Gary Hilderman capped off
an excellent performance with a sprint for third place at 2:19:38, from Pat
Ferris and Bob Andrews.
Geoff has been a member of Elitewave
since January. He has trained very well
over the past few months and is confident that he will have a great season
ahead of him. Geoff completed his trip
from Grande Praire, Alberta with a couple of cold and snowy training days in
Jasper following the Fort
St. John race. Elitewave is proud
to have such a motivated and inspired rider on our team.
Impact Magazine
Features Coach Dan
March 1, 2007
Coach Dan is featured in Impact Magazine’s special focus on
running in the March issue. His
article features a workout for time strapped athletes looking to get the most
benefit from the least amount off time. You
can see the feature and a photo of Coach Dan working on track-side (page
39). Photos were shot at the Oak Bay
Track in Victoria, BC.
The photos were taken by Simon Desrochers.
"Teen
Coastal" gets started at the Burnaby Velodrome
Jan 21, 2007
- Courtesy Team Coastal
January 12th, 19th and 26th mark the
evenings the TeenCoastal group hits The Track
for the Learn-to-Ride (LTR). Several young, new members of Coastal were out
learning to ride the "fixies" (with no
brakes I might add!). Taking them through the paces were some Burnaby Velodrome instructors along with our own coaches Elmar and Dan.
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'Becca on the track!
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"Theory" session
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Coach Dan
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If you
know some kids who would be interested in joining TeenCoastal
email Todd todd.hansen@teamcoastalcycling.com
Penticton Camp Fills in 30
minutes
The 2007 Edition of the Penticton Training Camp is now full.
Thank you to all athletes who expressed an interest in the camp.
If you would like to be added to the wait list, please email Dan@elitewave.com
PinkBike.com Shares the Christmas Spirit.
Radek Burkat of www.Pinkbike.com spread the
Christmas spirit to 100 needy families in the lower mainland this week. Burjat, owner of Pinkbike, bought 100 new Norco
kid’s bikes for needy families in the Vancouver
region. Burkat
and friends built up the bikes and distributed them to the families over the
weekend. The kids enjoyed their first
pedal strokes on brand new bikes in their choice of color. This is a great story and a great way to
share the love of cycling with kids who may have not been able to ride a bike
this year. Congratulations to Radek and the generous folks at Pinkbike.
Race
Organizers Form Grass Roots Mountain Bike Association of British Columbia
Squamish
mountain bike race organizers have taken the next step to support grass roots
mountain bike activities in British
Columbia by forming the Grass Roots Mountain Bike
Association of British Columbia (GRMBA). The not-for-profit association is
designed to fill a void in recreational grass roots mountain bike event
sanctioning.
The void was created when the official provincial sanctioning body, Cycling BC,
began to move toward supporting higher level competitive events, and away from
their past support of recreational mountain biking. Newly created sanctioning
policies led to the need for GRMBA, which is spearheaded by Test of Metal and GearJammer race directors Cliff Miller and Curtis Roberts.
The purpose of the newly formed Association is to provide insurance to grass
roots mountain bike clubs and race events that concentrate on providing race
experiences to recreational racers. One goal of the Association is to encourage
recreational clubs to hold events where members of other clubs are welcome to
attend. See full article HERE…
Elitewave Sponsors Coaching Development Series with Sungod
Swim Club
The Delta Sungod
Swim Club, under the guidance of Head Coach Michelle Wilson, has recruited
Coach Dan to provide a series of cycling specific workshops for the Sungod coaching staff.
Wilson
has been an active supporter of swimming, waterpolo
and triathlon for years. In 2007 their
program is planning to do a major expansion into the world of junior
triathlon. The Sungod
coaches have started their training early with the first of several clinics being
held on December 3, 2006. 4 coaches took
part in the event which focused on skill development for junior cyclists and triathletes. In
addition to safety and route planning concepts, the coaches were also exposed
to their first taste of skill development through a series of drills and games
designed specifically for young riders.
For Elitewave, this is an exciting group to be
involved with. In comparison to
swimming, the sport of competitive cycling is relatively simple. By taking Level 2 and 3 swim coaches and
showing them how to teach cycling, it is easy to see that they will be
successful. These coaches will be able
to break the sport down and make it accessible to a wide audience. They already have professional coaching
experience which is the most important elements in the development of young
athletes. These clinics will allow the Sungod coaches to hone their coaching skills in cycling at
an accelerated rate.
Coach
Dan Shares His Coaching Experience with Team Coastal
Coach Dan met with Team Coastal
President Kerry Kunzli to discuss the development of a junior cycling program
in the White Rock/Sout Surrey region. Team Coastal is already one of the largest
teams in the lower mainland. Their
latest initiative will put a substantial junior program into an area that
encompasses many different riding areas and a host of young families who will
benefit from exposure to the sport. Kunzel outlined their approach to the development of the
program and also spoke with Coach Dan about his experience with the development
of Junior programs at the Olympic Oval National Cycling Center and Pacificsport. This
was a great opportunity to pass on the knowledge gained through the successful
development of some of Canada’s
best young riders. Currently there are 4
riders, developed through the Junior program that Dan created, riding for Canada at the
Senior National Team level. These
riders were brand new to cycling when they began their immersion in the sport
in Calgary
nearly 10 years ago. Passing along tips
on program structure, costs, facilities and outlining an approach to long term
athlete development should help Coastal get off on the right foot as they begin
to work to develop the sport. It is
great to see a strong club like Coastal take pride in contributing to the sport
at the junior level. Through this
initiative, Coastal will demonstrate leadership and a commitment to growing the
sport in the future.
Elitewave Partners with Spoke n’ Motion to Provide Velodrome
Training Clinics.
The Burnaby velodrome
was the site of Coach Dan’s most recent track training seminar with the
athletes of Spoke
n’ Motion who work under the guidance of Level 3 Coach and former
National Team rider Judy Latoski.
Coach Dan shared his track coaching experience with Latoski’s
athletes during the first of several two hour workshops. Five riders took part – ranging from Elite
women like Moriah MacGregor
and Heather Lamson to experienced Cat 2 and 3
men. During the clinic athletes focused
on riding proper lines for maximum speed on the Burnaby velodrome. Athletes also had a lot of time to talk about
the finer details involved in successful bunch racing on the track. It was great to work with Latoski’s
riders who are all very competent and fit.
Most of the Spoke n’ Motion riders use the track as a way to train for
their road season. Adding some of the
detail to their track program will really compliment the great work that
Latoski is already doing with them. In
addition to the athletes benefiting, it was also a great chance for Coach Dan
and Coach Latoski to compare notes on training, bike fit and the current state
of cycling in BC. It was great to work
with another cycling coach in a collaborative setting. This type of colleagial
atmosphere is rarely seen in the sport of cycling. It was a nice chance to share and learn for
all coaches and athletes involved. More
clinics with Spoke n’ Motion are planned for the New Year.
Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel
Earns Pan American Cycling Championships Silver Medal
Canada Wins Silver at Pan American Championships
Courtesy CCA
Catherine Pendrel (BC) won the silver medal in the elite women's 2006 Mountain
Bike cross-country Pan American Championships competition in Camboriu, Brazil, on Sunday (October 15th).
American Mary McConneloug
took the gold medal and Argentina's
Jimena Florit finished
third.
The Penticton, BC rider, who was aiming for a top-five finish (which she had
captured in the 2005 Pan Am Championships in Mexico), was full of joy after her
race: "I worked my way up and in the second lap already found myself in
third position. I rode consistently and was feeling really good. Conditions
were way better than the training conditions over the past few days, with lots
of sunshine and the course much drier. Before the race, I said to Michel
(Leblanc, CCA mountain bike coach): I'm going to medal today!"
"It's so exciting, when you imagine that Catherine just learned one week
prior to the event that she was selected to replace Alison Sydor
(who could not make it to Brazil from the Roc d'Azur in France ñ which she won
- in such a short period of time)," added Michel Leblanc, Canadian
National Team mountain bike coach.
October,
2006
Sparling
signs with Giga-Bike for 2007
Courtesy
Giga-Bike
October 11, 2006 (Victoria,
B.C.) – In an ongoing bid to snap up Canada’s
best talent for the 2007 cycling season, Giga-Bike Cycling Team signed Jamie
Sparling, who rode with Bicisport – Alberta in ‘06. Jamie had a great year with
a 2nd place finish at Canadian Track National Championshps
in Dieppe, NB and had some early season wins in BC’s
Spring Series on the lower mainland.
“I am really excited to be racing with the 2007 Giga-Bike
race team. The team has so much talent and so many good people involved with
it. I was more than impressed with how things turned out last year; everything
was well planned and there was a real professional feel to it. I am confident
the team will make another giant leap in ’07 and turn a lot of heads,"
said Sparling.
“Jamie is a great all ‘round rider. He first caught our eye
in a great performance at BC Cup #1, where he played a big role in driving the
winning break. He is a great athlete to have on the Giga-Bike Cycling Team.
Jamie will bring a tremendous amount of horse power that will see him stick it
out with the best of them," said Director, Calvin Straathof,
Giga-Bike Cycling Team.
Giga-Bike Junior-Espoir
Development Cycling Team is Vancouver Island’s only cycling trade team
dedicated to the development of Junior and Espoir
cyclists and is based out of Victoria,
BC. Giga-Bike Junior-Espoir Development Cycling Team participates year round in
road racing events in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia
and the North West Coast.
Radomsky
and Trew sign with Giant Canada
Giant Canada Sponsors
Elite Women's Team for 2007
Team Release:
In keeping with Giant Canada's mandate to support cycling in B.C., seven riders
will compose the Giant Canada Elite women's team. Chelsea Bilsbarrow,
Claire Cameron, Jenelle Cassidy, Leah Guloien, Alena Radomsky, Katherine Short, and Jenny Trew
will join forces for the 2007 season. This seven-person team boasts top
credentials with a strong focus on development as well.
Katherine Short (16) and Chelsea Bilsbarrow (19) are
two of the most exciting young prospects in cycling on the BC scene. Katherine
wins just about everything in her age group and is a strong contender even at
the elite level in mountain biking while Chelsea stormed onto the scene in 2006
taking the BC Jr. road championships and 7th at Nationals in her first season.
Claire Cameron (24) is an elite track and road racer and a National Paralympic team member having raced in 2004 at Athens as a blind tandem
pilot. Leah Guloien (25) is a very strong local road
racer who is rarely off the podium in any event she enters. Jenny Trew (25) is
a track and criterium specialist having won multiple
medals at Track Nationals. Alena Radomsky (24) is a seasoned rider, and
excellent team player with experience racing internationally. Jenelle Cassidy (29),while relatively new to road racing,
made a quick ascent up the ranks in 2006 and brings a wealth of experience from
being a National team downhill racer.
Giant Canada's
Elite women's team riders possess skills that will complement each other,
giving the team a deep and balanced attack for 2007. The tentative race
calendar for the Giant Canada Elite Women's Team will be comprised of local BC
and NW road, track, and mountain bike races including the BC Cup Road/Off road
Series, BC Superweek, and the National Road/Track/Off
Road Championships.
Giant Canada's
operations manager Wayne Bleakley says, "The
formation of our elite women's team was a logical step towards our vision. Our
women will be a dominant force on the Northwest cycling scene. Giant Canada
looks forward to supporting women's cycling and specifically Leah, Jenelle, Claire, Jenny, Alena, Chelsea, and Katherine in
pursuit of their goals and is very excited to have the opportunity to develop a
women's team."
Pan Am
Cycling Championships for Pendrel
Catharine Pendrel was recently notified that she
will be heading to Brazil on
Monday to represent Canada
at the Pan American Cycling Championships.
Pendrel, who competed at the Championships for the first time last year,
will represet Canada in the Cross Country
Mountain Biking Race. This race falls
during Cathatrine’s normal off-season training
program, so she will be calling up all of her energy reserves and experience to
challenge for a medal in this competition.
Stewart
Wins Bayside Cross Classic
Sarah
Stewart (Wedgewood Cycling Club) took the top spot on
the podium at the Bayside Cross Classic in Crescent Beach. Jenny Trew (Giant) was second in the
event. Elitewave’s
Tom Skinner suffered through the race with a badly cut knee after crashing into
the barriers after lap 1 of the elite men’s race which was won by Sugoi’s Andrew Kyle.
Radomsky
and Stewart Take on Starcrossed
Alena
Radomsky and Sarah Stewart battled some of North America’s
best riders at the Star Crossed cyclocross race at
Marymoor velodrome.
Both riders competed in a top notch field under the stadium lights near Seattle. The race featured an intricate course that
included stairs, sand, veldorome sections, grass
sections and a large wooden ramp constructed specifically for the event. Both riders competed strongly and completed
the pro women’s event which was won by Kona’s Wendy
Simms. See Complete Results Here
West Point Grey Cyclocross – Third for Stewart
Kelly Jones (Sugoi) was the winner of the first annual West Point Grey cyclocross
race hosted by Escape Velocity. Jones
raced hard over the European style course which featured substantial amounts of
climbing in each lap. Victoria’s
Lisa Ludwig (Oak Bay Bikes) was second in the race with a
very strong performance throughout the event.
Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood Cycling Club) took
third place.
Stewart
Second at Fort Langley Cyclocross
Battling
over the Aldor Farm course for a second year in a
row, Sarah Stewart claimed second place on the Podium to Kelly Jones (Sugoi) in the first stop of the Giant BC Cup Cyclcross Competition.
Alena Radomsky of Elitewave finished in 4th
overall. Tom Skinner, also of Elitewave, completed the elite men’s race in 11th
place. Complete results Here
Septemeber, 2006
Pendrel
Qualifies for CCA Carding
Funding
a world class mountain bike career just became a little easier for Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel
who was recently informed that she has met the criteria for carding from the
Canadian Cycling Association. This
funding will help Pendrel to travel and train throughout the year. While the carding money is modest in Canada, this
support will allow Catharine to pursue her ambitions without the hardship of
also having to work full-time.
Sparling
and Mackenzie earn Silver Medal in Madison at Track Nationals
Elitewave’s Jamie Sparling earned a silver medal with teammate Ryan
McKenzie in the Madison
event at the National Track Championships.
According to Sparling, “Ryan can really ride this race…he put me into
great position on every sprint and I could just ride into the points.” Both Mackenzie and Sparling used to be
teammates as Juniors in Calgary
where they both trained under the guidance of Elitewave
head coach – Dan Proulx.
Sparling
Earns Bronze Medal at National Track Cycling Championships
Jamie
Sparling is finishing off his season with a stong
campaign at the National Track Championships in Dieppe this weekend. Sparling started the weekend by earning a
Bronze Medal on the Team Pursuit with Matt Barlee and
Ryan McKenzie. Next, Sparling qualified
for the bonze medal final against Christian Meir – where he finished 4th
in a photo finish. After that, Sparling
took 8th place in the Points Race –scoring 23 points in total. The results so far have been great for Sparling who had only 2 weeks to prepare
for the Championships after an incredibly tough road season.
August,
2006
Pendrel
Completes Amazing Season at World Mountain Bike Championhips, New
Zealand
Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel
successfully represented Canada
for a 3rd consecutive year at the World Elite Mountain Bike
Championships in New Zealand. Pendrel felt strong throughout the event, with
some minor fading on the last lap – completing the event in 31st
place. The completion of the World
Championships ends an amazing year for Pendrel who had two top 10 finishes in Norba events and a very solid 4th place at the
National Mountain Bike Championships.
With the support of Norco
and fiancé Keith Wilson, Pendrel has had her best season to date.
Next
season will be an ambitious one for Pendrel who will strive to increase her
training load and commitment to the sport in the hope of qualifying for the
2008 Olympics in Bejing.
Stephanie
Mathieson Completes Ironman Canada
With
only 10 months of preparation, Stephanie Mathieson of Calgary completed the Ironman
Canada in late August. After 6 or 7
years away from endurance training, Stephanie returned to training and racing
to “knock this one off her list” of life ambitions. Combining training with her job as an
administrator at the National Coaching Institute, Calgary was always tough but somehow
Stephanie managed to fit all the training in.
Stephanie had some serious history
in sport as a young triathlete with the
Tri-Athletics Sport Club in Calgary
(where Dan coached her as a junior), but this race literally forced her to
return from “out of shape student” to Ironman in a
very short time span. Mathieson joins a
growing list of athletes who have completed the Ironman
on just one year of training with the help of Dan and Elitewave. In 2007, Stephanie will again be joining the Ironman fraternity to contest the 25th Anniversay edition of this challenging and prestigious
race.
July
31, 2006
Speed
Theory Presents: Triathlon Deconstructed
Seminar Series
Elitewave.com
has joined forces with Calgary
based Speed
Theory.ca to provide a series of training seminars and workshops
dedicated to aspiring triathletes. The first session
will be held August 14th at the Vancouver location. For details look Here.
August
7, 2006
Catharine Pendrel earns best ever Norba
Result
Elitewave’s Catharine Pendrel
earned her best Norba result ever with an 8th
place finish in Brian Head, Utah
this weekend. Pendrel is on a two week
road trip through the Norba circuit that will take
her to Colorado
next week. This weekend’s performance is
a nice result heading into Catharine’s final preparations for the World
Championships.
Angela
Naeth 12th overall in Bridgeport, Conneticut
ITU Triathlon
Angela
Naeth had a great race in Bridgeport
this past weekend at the Pan American ITU Championships. In Angela’s typical style, she came out of
the water near the very back of the field and was forced to ride and run her
way back into contention.
Angela’s
next race will be Kelowna on August 20th. In the meantime Angela will focus on her swim
in the hope of bringing her performances more in line with her world class
cycling and running prowess.
July
27, 2006
Pendrel
qualifies for the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM for a third consecutive year!!!!
Catharine Pendrel (Norco Factory T