The Interim
Hello from HART Cycling!
May was a “slow month” for the team with only Englewood Open for major races. Otherwise the team spent time working their coaching and non-bike jobs, racing and riding in their local bike communities, and training hard for the big summer block.
Isabella has been at home training since Sea Otter and hitting up the local race scene in Arkansas.
“Being at home has allowed me to ride with some local juniors and girls here, which is always very fun and special! In training I’ve seen a lot of progress, and have been hitting numbers I’ve never been able to before! I’ve helped lead and promote the local gravel race- The Skirmish in Jonesboro, AR and attended a fundraiser ride for Pedal it forward, which gives bikes to kids who would otherwise not have access to cycling.”-I.R.
Isabella added to this years’ podium count at local XC race, The Ugly Gnome, where she won the overall.
Isabella got to hang out at Bentonville Bike Fest and was planning on racing all three of the events- short track, gravel, and enduro. It was a wet and rowdy weekend and the festival was forced to cancel short track and delay the enduro and gravel events. She suffered through several mechanicals in the gravel race and finished 6th in Pro Women. Then she fought through the wet and wild conditions on gnarly tracks to finish 6th in for Pro Women’s Enduro as well!
Isabella has been excited to mix it up with racing, jumping into different types of events to maximize learning.
“It’s been humbling, for sure, but I’m excited to be outside my comfort zone and training has been all about dialing in my rhythm, crushing numbers, and finding that bike, work, life balance!”-I.R.
This weekend, Isabella threw down in the Skirmish gravel race in Jonesboro, AR. 106 miles of rugged gravel roads on the rolling Arkansas hills. Very different from her focus in hour and a half XCO races, this six and a half hour battle against experienced pro gravel ladies was a crash course in tactics, pacing, drafting on gnarly terrain, and just straight up grit.
Isabella battled through the high pace, unfamiliar race environment, and a close brush with heat exhaustion to pull off a strong 3rd place in her first 100+ mile ride in two years!
In northern Colorado, Jeremy got the awesome opportunity to improve his coaching skill at TrainingPeaks University at their office in Louisville. There he was able to learn from the builders of the app as well as from excellent sports physiologists and other coaches from around the country. These coaches ranged from other experienced cycling coaches, to paddle-sports, to triathlon, to strength and conditioning coaches. Plenty of angles for Jeremy to learn from! TrainingPeaks University was a great foray back into the academic side of coaching in the midst of coaching Ciclismo Racing on the trails in Fort Collins.
After a quad strain took Jeremy out of Englewood Open, he went to Shawn Small at Adapt Sports Therapy to work things out and get back on the bike again. Adapt Sports Therapy is a performance focused, sport specific practice in Fort Collins. Shawn is a formidable cyclist himself, a regular instigator on Fort Collins group rides, and deeply understands what makes the body go fast and what makes it fall apart. Jeremy was back spinning easy after one session with Shawn and back to getting hard work in on the bike within a week. He will stick to his PT homework to only suffer in ways that make him go fast.
Start line jokes at the 2025 Louisville Criterium P1/2 race.
Following a solid trail ride with the Ciclismo athletes in the morning, Jeremy tested the race-pace waters with the Louisville Criterium in the afternoon, ironically around the Training Peaks office where he had been learning the preceding week. Work with Shawn paid off and he enjoyed finding the flow near the front of the P1/2 field while his friends prepared for road nationals. He narrowly dodged the lap sign on the final lap and ended up 23rd in the pack sprint. A good skinny tire tune up to the race senses!
The real test for the quad came at the Gunnison Growler with 40mi of fast, high desert trail. It was an excellent opportunity to shake out fitness and equipment and find all the little things that needed fixing before the next round of UCI races in June. The quad held up well and Jeremy had a blast camping, hanging out with new and old friends, and ended up on the podium in 3rd place.
“Gunnison Growler is such a classic Colorado XC race. Chill vibes with all the homies together in a small mountain town, incredible Colorado sunsets(and sunrise) at the campground, an ice cold river to soak in after the race. The race is on great trail with incredible views, a mix of rock rolls, steep climbs, and the most flowy descents you’ve ever ridden in your life.”-J.N.
In southern Utah, Samuel was busy packing in hours in the heat on trails alongside hours in in the hospital as a medical assistant.
In preparation for his biggest block of racing for 2025, Samuel is dialing in his fitness, skills, and nutrition for some strong races. Long desert gravel routes give Samuel deadly endurance to pair with skills honed on trails like the Zen Trail, a relentless loop of rock rolls and drops. When not in scrubs or hammering out rides on the trails solo, Samuel is teaching skills to the Accel Cycling athletes on their weekend group rides. We are excited to see how Samuel’s insight translates to the next races for the juniors!
For this blog, HART would like to highlight the fuel we’ve used in our training and racing. On the bike, we put out a LOT of power, that energy has to come from somewhere! As biology would have it, we source that energy from a ridiculous amount of sugar consumed in the form of liquids, gels, and chews, all balanced with all important electrolytes to ensure we are functioning and sweating properly.
Through The Feed, each HART athlete is able to find exactly the fuel they need to train, recover, and race to the best of their ability! Lots of Skratch Hydration, Skratch High Carb, and Carbs Fuel gels and drink mix!
Next up is The Big June Block for Samuel and Jeremy: Canmore Canada Cup, Missoula XC, and SoHo Bikefest all back to back! The boys are all in for these three UCI events and are looking to push limits and find podiums.
Next up for Isabella, a few local XC races before she heads up to Michigan for Marquette Trails Fest and coaching a junior MTB camp for a week!
HART is excited to share our June adventures with you soon enough! Please follow along on our social media and sign up for our newsletter to get the next update in your inbox.
Until then,
