The final round of the 2015 BDS series at Antur Stiniog saw the successful BDS Legends race go down in the history books. Event Director, Si Paton had the vision of, 'Legends making legends' so went one step further and filtered off all the Legends entry money and put it towards the BDS Academy. A training weekend that would invite the top flight young racers at the BDS who are tipped for the top. Giving them all the knowledge they need to progress towards their aims of being on the World Cup circuit and beyond.
The event took place at Martin Sands One Giant Leap Llangollen in the heart of Wales on a cold March weekend, a venue noted for its steep and challenging tracks and known as one of the favourite venues for the BDS.
Introductions took place as we all gathered inside an old cattle shed to shelter from the elements, bikes were set up on turbo trainers and the scene was set for the first ever BDS academy. Si Paton started proceedings with a presentation on how to get the best use out of social media with helpful tips and advice such as linking your accounts together. This covered the main players; Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as well as an introduction to Periscope and the live feed application.
This was quickly followed by an interview technique presentation aimed at installing confidence into the riders and helping them to deliver clear and concise answers. Other parts included interview Do's and Don't's showcasing rookie errors such as being interviewed with your helmet still on. Si said, “It’s all about making an impression, people will be watching you and some may be potential sponsors, especially here at the BDS with the likes of Will Longden, Nigel Page and Dan Brown in the wings.”
World Cup mechanic, Dave Garland has over 23 years experience with the tools and presented next. His resume includes being Danny Harts mechanic at Champery for the 2011 UCI World Championships. Dave is currently the Giant Factory Off-Road Racing team mechanic so certainly knows his onions. Dave was able to share his wisdom of bike set up with the BDS academy attendees and more importantly their parents. It was evident that the parents were in charge of bike set up and they were the ones that paid most attention. Dave came into his own with not just explaining what but also why which was most valuable. Some key points were the setting up of the front end with 99% of the riders bikes needing some adjustment, tyre pressures, suspension settings and number board installation. Dave predicted with the correct set up, riders could lose at least one second, if not more off each minute of race run time, which is huge in downhill racing terms.
Ben Plenge from MTB Strength Factory in Bristol then took the reigns and put the riders through a series of warm up exercises both on and off the turbo trainers. Explaining the importance of pre-race warm ups and warm downs in the pits and at the start line. This gave a great insight on the performance and recovery benefits of warm-ups. Parents were encouraged to take notes to ensure their riders follow MTB Strength Factory's guidelines at this year's races.
After a few sprints the riders were warmed up and ready to go on a track walk with mountain bike training coach Ian Warby from B1ke who many will be familiar with from his days at CTC and Aston Hill. Ian started with body positioning on the bike; dropped heels and wrists, outside foot down on corners, head position and where you should be positioned on the bike when on various terrain. Next came the analysis of the course; breaking the course down into segments, where to brake, where not to brake, how to work and a corner, test out new lines. One golden tip was when a course has multiple lines, ask the expert which is faster. Who might that be? The person stood there all day of course, the marshal!
With lunch provided, Adrian Walls, UCI/BC commissionaire volunteered his services to deliver a presentation on the relevant UCI and BC rules and regulations. This session highlighted that as volunteers they offer their services to ensure safety and fairness for all at events. Adrian also identified which were the most common rules broken and the consequences of such actions. We are all aware of Rachel Atherton receiving outside assistance from a marshal at a World Cup and subsequently being disqualified. This is the last thing we would want for one of our academy attendees. As Adrian said, "
You should all read through the rule book at least once a year."
Then it was time to ride! A paramedic was provided both days along with a couple of course, marshals with radios to ensure everyone's safety on the closed hill. After a few runs down the track, the racers had the opportunity to have open practise sections with Ian Warby from B1ke. Sections were filmed and footage analysed for the benefit of the riders.
To finish off the day bikes were washed and checked ready for the next day under the guidance of Dave Garland. Sunday morning started with a warm up on the turbo trainers with riders getting around ten runs in on the now famous Squirrel track. Riders were then encouraged to practice all the tips they were given from the previous day with the end of the day seeing the riders back on their turbo trainers cooling down.
“
I thought it was great to be riding with girls a similar speed to me when we're not racing because it's a lot less competitive. Coaching was great on all fronts, not just riding. I learnt a hell of a lot about racing, warm ups, rules and bike mechanics that I had no idea about before. All in all, a great weekend!” -
Ellen Flewitt "
Awesome. I never knew I could learn so much about mechanics, nutrition and fitness in just two days" –
Luke Birkett “
Really fun weekend learnt a lot and had loads of fun. Love to do it again” -
Rosy Monaghan“
It was very good to be fair, I learnt a lot about bike set up and warm ups etc. This will be good as I can use it to my advantage at races. Also, the photos were sick!!” -
Morgan Tyrell "
Had an awesome weekend. Learnt a lot of useful stuff to use throughout the seasons to come. Would love to do something like this again. Thank you very much for this amazing opportunity." -
Sumayyah GreenSpecial thanks to BDS team members; Tony, Steve and Olive Standish who provided hot drinks, warm food as well as marshalling on the hill. The BDS Team are now looking to organise a number of these academy days in the near future. Stay tuned to the
BDS Academy. BDS round one is at Ae Forest in Dumfries on the 3rd and 4th of April.
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