Belgians escape to the sun to make preparations for 2011
The Belgian Quick Step team will head to Calpe, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, this week for its first training camp to prepare for the 2011 season. The team will fly out to Spain tomorrow (December 14th), where riders and staff will begin training for next season as well as posing for their official team photographs.
There are also a number of recruits to the ProTeam for 2011 and those new riders, who include sprinters Gerard Ciolek and Francesco Chicchi, the chance to get to know their new teammates for the first time.
“The camp will also be an important moment for new riders to mix it up with last year’s Quick Step veterans, explained sports director Wilfried Peeters. “December’s camp is also the only time during the year in which the whole team is together.
“In addition to training sessions, there will be functional evaluation tests and individual and group meetings,” he added. “This is going to be an intense work week for us.”
Another new addition to the team for 2011 Team coach Tom Steels, although he spent his best years as a sprinter with the Mapei team, a prevous incarnation of Quick Step. He will be bringing his computer-based Powertec training method to the team, as well as his years of race experience.
“The team will be split into two groups,” Steels explained. “The goal is to develop aerobic capacity by working specifically on the riders’ pedalling economy, which will be combined with specific power tasks on the road and in the gym, and we’ll also focus on muscular elasticity.
“In this area the weather conditions are perfect for winter training,” he said of that part of Spain. “There are also various routes that allow us to take on seriously challenging climbs on the roads around the Calpe area. At the end of camp each athlete will receive a performance level evaluation and they’ll receive instructions for the upcoming weeks of work.”