At our meeting point in Fresno the twelve teammates were split into teams of three and they would compete all week long on a team and individual GC competition. Winners earned the privilege of selecting Specialized product (shorts, hats, glasses) at the end of the week. The competition included being on time, completed paperwork, grocery shopping within budget, bottle handups from the follow vehicle, peeing off the bike, wheel touching, scavenger hunt, tug of war, plank competition, and a cycling tactics game. Team and individual meetings filled the rest of the week (Who is Team Specialized?, Priority events, Long team athlete development; Goal setting, Training, USA Cycling Pathway, Preparedness and Professionalism, and the tactics talk as part of the cycling game.
The real teamwork came from the team rides and the cooking teams as we rotated through the kitchen preparing each of our meals, gaining a competitive edge as the week moved on and the boys tried to outdo each other. The team rides were sag supported and filled with sunny days and lots of climbing back to the cabin. Echelon riding all day helps teammates to get to know each other.
Thank you to the Maddux family for hosting the 2012 team camp and thank you to the team for giving it your best at our camp.
Saturday morning we split up and headed home, with the Nor Cal teammates meeting up with Freddie Rodriquez for a ride across the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin. Then on Sunday teammates Jon Christensen, Dean Haas and Marcus Smith tested their tired legs and raced up Mount San Bruno. Jon has shown great patience as a 14 year old riding with these two 17 year olds and did well in the 3's. Dean had a solid ride and placed 5th in the Pro/1/2 field. And, newly selected "Junior Team Captain" and six year teammate Marcus Smith took the teams FIRST win of 2012 by taking out the Juniors victory.
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