Zoltan was a long time coach in CRCA’s coaching program and is the 2008 Hungarian Cyclocross Champion. He has taught in sports institute universities in Hungary. Contact Zoltan for more info and inquire about discounts for CRCA members.
For the last 8 years, I ran a week-long training camp in Agoura,
California. This year my group will go out on March 11th. Same area
where many pro teams have been doing their training camps including
Toyota United in the past, and BMC this year.
There is still time to include anyone who would like to join us.
Most of the rides are going to be 3-4 hours. Based on your experience
and how many days you will ride, we can adjust your time on the bike
because the loops are within 30 minutes from the hotel. If you’re not
up for the full distance, you can easily return to the hotel.
The rides are mostly endurance/tempo steady pace in the first 2-3
hours on the flats. Then we will hit hilly sections and start climbing
with more power training. Most of
the hills are 30 to 50-minute climbs. They are nice steady ascents —
perfect for building power and endurance. These training rides are not
about riding all-out until you die. I design them to enable you to
build endurance, mixed high-intensity training. Most of the
high-intensity will be on the hills, but we will do some intervals on
the flats as well.
Do not worry about being dropped! We will wait for stragglers at the
top of every climb. We’ll also stop to get some drink and food.
Wherever we are, the hotel is at most a 30-35 minute ride way. I will
make changes as to which group is heading home and who
will ride longer.
If you are coming just for a long week end, try to come early so you can be part
of that days ride, and leave end of the day if you leave before the
last day of the camp. The hotel is 40-minute drive from LAX airport.
The first ride will be on Thursday, March 11. Our last will be on
Wednesday, March 17. Please let me know how does work for everyone
and, I can add 1 or 2 days to those days and include the following
week end, depending how many of you would like to stay.
Hampton Inn and Suites Address:
30255 Agoura Road
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
My fee is $120.
For more information, email me at zoltancoaching@gmail or call 917-459-6473
Just some advice for what to bring with you!
One of the most common things that can be a problem during a training
camp or stage races is a broken rear derailleur hanger. When you’re
shipping your bike or if you crash, you can get a rear derailleur or
other parts at any local shop, but it’s really hard to get a rear
derailleur hanger to fit your frame. You need a dealer who sells your
frame, and most of the time they don’t have an extra hanger in stock
and they won’t remove it from a new bike, because they only could make
$8-10 on that hanger, but can’t sell the bike until they replace it,
and that’s a pain for them.
So try to get an extra rear derailleur hanger because it will probably
be extremely hard to get when you need it; this will allow you to keep
ride during the training camp or save your race!
In the last 8 years, we had only 2 rainy days, but this could happen
anytime. One of the best things to have is a rain shoe cover with you
to keep your feet and shoes dry for a long time, even when the road is
wet. Also, a light wind vest and arm warmers are good to have in your
pocket, so that when you reach the top of a climb, you can have a
little protection during the chilly descents.
Knee warmers are also good things to have, and if you have knickers
and a long sleeve jersey, bring them, because it’s great to have them
if some days aren’t sunny.
Most of the mornings are pretty cloudy and chili, but around 9-10am
the clouds start to break up, and in the past we wanted to have a
little fun and keep it like a little vacation time, so we would go out
around 9:30am and most of the rides are going to be 3.5-4.5 hours.
Usually, we only do quick stops to get water and some food. Drink more
than you usually do because it is pretty dry there, and also pick up
some salty stuff too when we stop, and you need to replace the
electolytes during your ride!!!
Try to bring good, durable training tires so you won’t have to deal
with flats! If one does happen, and we are still down in the base
loop, you can fix it there and get back to the group, but 90% someone
is going to stop with you, to make sure, the tube will be change
quickly to get you back to the group fast. If it happens later,
someone will stop with you too, but the rest of the group will keep
moving and won’t stop. You are going to know, where the next stop is
going to be, so you can catch back.
Make sure that you know the hotel address, and always have some $ with you!!!
If you have a foldable tire, it’s not a bad idea to put it in your bag
and bring it over, but if you don’t, we have two bike shops near the
hotel.