Turkey and Paraguay

Picking up where I left off on my last post, in late February I left my altitude camp in Colombia and headed home to the Netherlands. A few days later I went to a U.S. national team training camp in Sittard, in the Netherlands’ southern Limburg region. The camp focused on final preparations for the Konya, Turkey Nations Cup. For me, it also reintroduced me to the exacting discipline of the Team Pursuit.

It’s been 2.5 years since I’ve done any Team Pursuit (TP) work. In the TP, four cyclists race in tight formation on the track for sixteen laps, essentially against the clock – for about four total minutes. It’s arguably the marquee and most visually iconic event in track cycling. It’s also one of only three Olympic track cycling events, along with the Omnium and Madison, so it’s a serious focus for the U.S. national team. Once I arrived at the training camp, I hopped in the TP line and was pleasantly surprised with how well I integrated with the group. I’ll continue to add more TP focus in the coming three years. It’s been a great new project to commit and contribute to. I’m grateful to the team – athletes and coaches – for welcoming me, helping me with questions, and having patience with my mistakes. After one week in Sittard, and training at the Zolder Velodrome just over the border in Belgium, in mid-March we all headed to Konya, Turkey for the sole Nations Cup this year. 

Heat training post track session, a dry canal under construction, massage from the legend that is Luc de Wilde, and some exploring in Valkenburg. Credit Brendan Rhim.

Of all the places I’ve been in the world for cycling, Konya is the one that I knew least about. In fact, I didn’t even know Konya existed until the schedule was announced last fall. Whether that’s due to my ignorance or Konya’s obscurity is unclear. At customs in the Istanbul airport, an agent laughed at one of my teammates when he told her he was going to Konya. So our expectations were low. Located in the middle of Turkey with a population of 1.3 million, Konya sits in a high desert at 1000 meters elevation. This means low air density and high speeds. I was set to race the elimination and Madison. After returning from my February altitude camp in Colombia, I was curious and nervous to find out how I had adapted. Some days in pre-event training went extremely well, and others were terrible. The day before the elimination race, I completed my best-ever race preparation intervals – a session I typically do the day before a major race. After a warmup, the session is 5 x 2 minutes on, 30 seconds off. Although altitude-adapted, I forgot to adjust my power targets for the “middle” altitude in Konya, which was 1000 meters going up to 1,500 meters at the top of the road I was climbing. A general rule of thumb is a 1% decrease in power for every 300 meters above sea level due to the corresponding decrease in oxygen. So at a 5% decrease I finished my fourth interval in significant pain and then went absolutely cross-eyed, light-headed, and exploded like I never have in my life on the fifth interval. That aside, I had ridden the best-ever race preparation session of my life.

The view overlooking Konya, and the Selimiye Mosque which was built by the Ottomans in 1575. Our racing overlapped with Ramadan, and the call to prayer was broadcasted five times a day across the entire city.

The racing started with a scratch qualifier for the elimination; after taking a lap I was safely through. When I saw the average speed of 57.2 kph (35.5 mph in a qualifier!) I knew that conditions were ridiculously fast. The elimination final went well, and I finished 7th after an error made trying to box a competitor in and not noticing two riders coming over the top to squeeze me out. Next up was the Madison, which I raced with Graeme Frislie, a freshly minted American who previously raced for Australia. Graeme and I set a clear plan before the race and played an excellent waiting game. At 200 laps – roughly 50 minutes – the Madison is long. Doing too much too early can have bad consequences later in the race. For the first 120 laps, Graeme and I did absolutely nothing, just following wheels and staying hidden. With 80 laps to go, I sensed a good moment, and launched an attack. We got away cleanly, but the peloton rode hard behind, so it took us 25 taxing laps to make the lap, at which point we vaulted from zero points to second in the standing. We then endured a draining final 50 laps to finish 8th. At 60.020 kph, this was the second fastest Madison ever. I am proud of our plan and the progress, but there is still huge room for improvement. I’m excited to keep working on this Madison project over the coming years.

Some shots from the elimination, and Graeme and I mid lap take. Credit SWPix.

Travel back to the Netherlands from Konya was a bit of a mess, and some of my luggage was left there for another four days. I enjoyed the next ten days at home, going to a few concerts (including the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at the Concertgebouw!), training, and taking a breather after nearly two months on the road.

But, of course, I was soon off again, this time to the Pan American Championships in Asuncion, Paraguay. In Asuncion, I was set to start the Team Pursuit, Points Race, Omnium and Madison– five consecutive days of racing. While this is common on the road and in Six Day style winter track racing, it’s extreme for standard UCI track racing at a championship level. I set myself up carefully for a huge week, which included my first full team pursuit in a race since the 2022 World Cup in Cali, Colombia. The week was a huge success, with wins in the Team Pursuit with Anders Johnson, David Domonoske, Brendan Rhim and Sean Christian; Omnium; and Madison with Brendan Rhim (all three of the Olympic disciplines) and a 4th place in a tactically infuriating Points Race. Life is hard when you have a target on your back– every single rider in the field marked me.

The win in the TP! Credit ASU2025.

I was particularly proud of the Omnium, finishing second in the scratch, winning the tempo and elimination, and finishing with 186 points and a 28 point win over Clever Martinez of Venezuela. To put it bluntly, I dominated the Omnium. While the level at the Pan American Championships is far lower than a European C1, Nations Cup, or World Championships, I was still happy and proud of my week. Racing when your competitors race directly against you, in some cases to make you lose rather than make themselves win, makes for some maddeningly difficult tactical racing.

Lots of stray cats, the Palace of Government, some exploring, extreme flash flooding, heat training with Brendan, and an impressive electricity pole. Credit Brendan Rhim.

Some Omnium and Madison shots. Credit ASU2025 and Burke Selbst.

From Paraguay, I headed home to the Netherlands and finally took a proper breather and reset before starting some road racing in May.

More to come, including racing in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, a trip to the A2 wind tunnel in North Carolina, and some bikepacking!