On the weekend of May 15, ten American Junior Bike Racers stepped into the Apeldoorn Velodrome in Holland to compete in the Omnisport Interland Track Event. The Interland Series is a set of bicycle track races held throughout Europe to host the world's best junior cyclists when it comes to hard core track
racing. This leg of the series saw representation from Great Britain, Scotland, Holland, Belgium, Czech Republic, and the United States. Now, though most of these countries hold this as just another tab in their normal program towards the development of their junior riders,
this is still a fairly new feature for American junior scene.
Last year, Danny Heeley, Iggy Silva, USAC Coach Clay Worthington, and
I made our way to an Interland series passing through Ghent, Belgium,
after we competed in the Hasselt 3 Day earlier that week. We entered
the velodrome wearing mismatched this and that. And to say the least,
we were intimidated by the completely matching, track suit wearing,
fully staffed, Belgian team. Our fitness was not at the top, and our
mindset still adjusting to this new style of racing...we came home
empty-handed, no hardware in hand. But, as in any racing scenario, we
took the optimistic approach in understanding that we learned heaping
amounts of information that would ultimately benefit us in the long run.
This year, with my nine American co-racers in tow towards the Apeldoorn
Velodrome for the first time, I had a surge of adrenaline. I looked
around, seeing everyone fully matching, fit and ready for battle. I, as
well as my other experienced teammates, took on leadership to help
guide and inform our other teammates on what was ahead. You see, when
it comes to track racing, especially junior track racing, the pedaling
part is only half of it. There is such a huge mind game of
intimidation, professionalism and dominance. A race can already
be won in the parking lot. We stepped outside of the van, saw the
Czech and the Belgians...waiting...looking. Every single USA rider
proudly held their own. You must hold a confident, almost cocky,
attitude around these racers. They can smell fear from a mile away. And when they do, they'll use it against you in the infield and starting line.
racing. This leg of the series saw representation from Great Britain, Scotland, Holland, Belgium, Czech Republic, and the United States. Now, though most of these countries hold this as just another tab in their normal program towards the development of their junior riders,
this is still a fairly new feature for American junior scene.
Last year, Danny Heeley, Iggy Silva, USAC Coach Clay Worthington, and
I made our way to an Interland series passing through Ghent, Belgium,
after we competed in the Hasselt 3 Day earlier that week. We entered
the velodrome wearing mismatched this and that. And to say the least,
we were intimidated by the completely matching, track suit wearing,
fully staffed, Belgian team. Our fitness was not at the top, and our
mindset still adjusting to this new style of racing...we came home
empty-handed, no hardware in hand. But, as in any racing scenario, we
took the optimistic approach in understanding that we learned heaping
amounts of information that would ultimately benefit us in the long run.
This year, with my nine American co-racers in tow towards the Apeldoorn
Velodrome for the first time, I had a surge of adrenaline. I looked
around, seeing everyone fully matching, fit and ready for battle. I, as
well as my other experienced teammates, took on leadership to help
guide and inform our other teammates on what was ahead. You see, when
it comes to track racing, especially junior track racing, the pedaling
part is only half of it. There is such a huge mind game of
intimidation, professionalism and dominance. A race can already
be won in the parking lot. We stepped outside of the van, saw the
Czech and the Belgians...waiting...looking. Every single USA riderproudly held their own. You must hold a confident, almost cocky,
attitude around these racers. They can smell fear from a mile away. And when they do, they'll use it against you in the infield and starting line.
Our USA Cycling staff of Missy Thompson and Andrew Hawkes helped us unload our collection of bicycle equipment. We strutted our way to the velodrome infield...American bike racers and proud. 
After taking the Friday open training session to do some openers, standing starts, and team pursuit work, team USA headed to the velodrome's cafe' for some dinner. We were overwhelmed with hospitality, as well as an enthusiastic character, Peter, the velodrome manager. He was one of your higher energy personnel, with a loud voice, and jolly belly to back it up. He got a huge kick out of us, and even played "Born in USA" as we inhaled our calories to carry over the next day. I thought he was going to start dancing on the bar, instead he started to wear Coryn Rivera's neon yellow glasses, pranced around, and told jokes.
Funny guy.
The next two days of track racing were reminiscent of a UCI world cup
schedule. Nine hours straight of being in the track, a schedule of
events absolutely packed to the rim, and more bikes and wheels than
you could ever imagine. Every event, for everyone, was a learning
experience. When to make the move, how to time your sprint, whether or
not to use an aero helmet. Simple questions like these, often over
looked, really helped in forming Team USA's results and repetitive top finishes. Coryn used here typical, yet amazing, power and endurance to propel her to win the women's derny race. Danny Heeley and I won the madison on the second day. In fact, we became the first ever full American junior team to ever win a European madison. Looking back to a year ago, when Danny and I were being completely thrashed by the dominant European madison teams like rag dolls, to now being consistently top 5 and even winning! I see progress. The rest of the team including: Ian Moir, Benny Sweedberg, Katie Antonneau, Jacob Rathe, Anna Young, Juan Carmona, and Kendall Ryan proved a true force to be reckoned with multiple top fives.
The weekend was without a doubt a success. Whether you want to
analyze the results or the different teachings bestowed upon us,
everyone took away something special...hands down. A great thank you
to Andrew Hawkes and Missy Thomspson for their selfless work effort,
as well as USA Cycling for creating this wonderful opportunity to race
our bikes.
It is a truly big world out there. For years now, I have been racking
up the miles traveling abroad, taking in as much as I can. Take note
though, this process does take time. Rome wasn't built overnight,
remember! It took many, many trips to make the things I now know
really stick, and I can't stress enough how imperative it is for
junior cyclists to take to it and throw themselves into the scene of
international bicycle racing. Whether you want to race with your National
Team, Trade Team, or even alone...just do it. If its one thing I have
learned, it's that if you want to be a great American bike racer, race in
America. If you want to be a great bike racer, race in Europe.
After taking the Friday open training session to do some openers, standing starts, and team pursuit work, team USA headed to the velodrome's cafe' for some dinner. We were overwhelmed with hospitality, as well as an enthusiastic character, Peter, the velodrome manager. He was one of your higher energy personnel, with a loud voice, and jolly belly to back it up. He got a huge kick out of us, and even played "Born in USA" as we inhaled our calories to carry over the next day. I thought he was going to start dancing on the bar, instead he started to wear Coryn Rivera's neon yellow glasses, pranced around, and told jokes.
Funny guy.
The next two days of track racing were reminiscent of a UCI world cup
schedule. Nine hours straight of being in the track, a schedule of
events absolutely packed to the rim, and more bikes and wheels than
you could ever imagine. Every event, for everyone, was a learning
experience. When to make the move, how to time your sprint, whether or
not to use an aero helmet. Simple questions like these, often over
looked, really helped in forming Team USA's results and repetitive top finishes. Coryn used here typical, yet amazing, power and endurance to propel her to win the women's derny race. Danny Heeley and I won the madison on the second day. In fact, we became the first ever full American junior team to ever win a European madison. Looking back to a year ago, when Danny and I were being completely thrashed by the dominant European madison teams like rag dolls, to now being consistently top 5 and even winning! I see progress. The rest of the team including: Ian Moir, Benny Sweedberg, Katie Antonneau, Jacob Rathe, Anna Young, Juan Carmona, and Kendall Ryan proved a true force to be reckoned with multiple top fives.
The weekend was without a doubt a success. Whether you want to
analyze the results or the different teachings bestowed upon us,
everyone took away something special...hands down. A great thank you
to Andrew Hawkes and Missy Thomspson for their selfless work effort,
as well as USA Cycling for creating this wonderful opportunity to race
our bikes.
It is a truly big world out there. For years now, I have been racking
up the miles traveling abroad, taking in as much as I can. Take note
though, this process does take time. Rome wasn't built overnight,
remember! It took many, many trips to make the things I now know
really stick, and I can't stress enough how imperative it is for
junior cyclists to take to it and throw themselves into the scene of
international bicycle racing. Whether you want to race with your National
Team, Trade Team, or even alone...just do it. If its one thing I have
learned, it's that if you want to be a great American bike racer, race in
America. If you want to be a great bike racer, race in Europe.
Cheers,
Kit Karzen
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