Kelly Cycle Coaching have recently been involved in two great camps at Bright, Victoria.

Bob and Helen were trainee coaches at a MTBA (mountain bike Australia) camp recently, with one of our KCC riders Lachlan Clarke attending the camp as an athlete. KCC then remained in Bright to run a junior KCC Road camp in the second week of the school holidays.  Some 35 athletes from around the east coast of Australia travelled to Bright to attend the MTB junior development camp.

Below are some great photos from the mountain bike camp.  Greg Meyland organised and ran the camp, along with the assistance from female coach and mountain biker, Jenni King. Alex Meyland was also in attendance as a coach along with BMX, mountain bike and downhill skills coach and mechanic, Shannon Rademaker.

KCC interviewed Lachlan Clarke about the camp.  Here is what he had to say:

How many athletes attended the recent MTBA development camp?

There were 35 athletes in attendance, under 15’s &17’s, both male and female, mostly from Victoria, with a few coming down from NSW and across from SA to join us.

What kind of athletes attended?  All XC riders or others?

The camp was mostly compromised of Cross Country riders, with a few downhill mountain bikers also in attendance, these riders also helped out some of the XC riders like myself, with downhill skills. Bikes used were both dual suspension and hardtails depending on the type of MTBing they preferred.

Where did you stay?  Who did you share a room with?

I stayed at the Bright Chalet (awesome food) with the other athletes, I shared a room with two other guys, one of whom I had met previously at road cycling comps (Isaac), and the other I got to know well (James.)

Was this the first mountain bike camp you’ve attended?

Yes, this was the first ever mountain bike camp that I have participated in – I’ve been to a couple of road camps before, but not MTB so it was a new experience.

What skills sessions did you do during the camp?

During the camp we did many skill sessions focusing on:

Technical Descending

Technical Ascending

Off-Camber Cornering

Bunny-Hopping

Manuals (useful wheelies, rather than “showing-off” wheelies!)

Switchback Cornering

And many more!

What did you learn during the camp?

I learned many things throughout the camp, relating to both my skills and the psychology of mountain biking. I learned how to correctly ride an off-camber corner to list an example, and I also learned about different recovery techniques such as hot-cold recovery and nutrition guidance both for training and race time.

What was the most fun session you did during the weekend?

The session I most enjoyed would have to be the Mystic Trail group racing that we did, where we were matched up against other riders of around our ability level, and we raced 1 lap of the Mystic trail circuit.  This was heaps of fun because we could race as fast as possible and compare ourselves to others.  My most memorable moment was when I heard that Bob Kelly lost concentration when talking to another coach and managed to have a spectacular crash!  He was not hurt so we could all have a laugh at him and admire his scars.

Would you recommend this camp to other athletes who do mountain biking?

Definitely!  I learned lots of useful skills and techniques and had great fun practicing new skills, and brushing up on old skills, and then putting it together in a race situation. I would definitely recommend this to any mountain biker that wants to improve, or to build a good base and start racing.