Cycling Champion Read Free

lower gear to bike up the hill. Even at the lower gear, pedaling was more difficult. By the time he reached the top, Austin’s legs were burning from the effort and he was breathing heavily.
    Before he knew it, he was at the River City Community Center. A group of teenagers, all wearing colorful biking gear, were standing around outside when Austin rode up. An older man, who Austin assumed was the coach, stood in the middle of the group.

    Dylan spotted Austin right away and waved him over. “Hey, you made it!” Dylan said. “I’m glad you came. Let me introduce you to Coach Brady and the rest of the team.”
    Dylan turned to the rest of the group. “Everybody, this is Austin,” he said.
    â€œHey, everyone,” Austin said nervously, waving at the group. Most of bikers smiled back. They seemed friendly.
    â€œAustin just got a new racing bike, so I invited him to train with us,” Dylan explained to the other cyclists. “He’s racing in the River City Criterium too.”
    Just then the coach stepped to the front of the group. He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. The group quickly quieted down.
    â€œOkay, listen up, everybody,” Coach Brady called. “The River City Criterium is less than a month away, so starting today we’ll be focusing on training for that. A criterium is a race that includes a lot of pack riding and sprints, so we’ll be working on building leg muscles, endurance exercises, and sprint training.”
    Coach Brady leaned over and picked up a stack of papers. He held them up for the group to see. “These are maps of the race route,” he told them. “Everyone take one and pass it on. You should study this over the next few weeks. Get used to the course. In the meantime, let’s get down to business.”

CHAPTER 5
MASTERING THE MACHINE
    â€œOne of the most important things for all cyclists to remember is stretching,” Coach Brady told the team. “Most of you already know that, but since we have a new rider with us today, let’s go over a couple of the basics. Who can tell me why it’s so important to stretch before and after you ride?”
    Dylan raised his hand. “Go ahead, Dylan,” Coach Brady said.
    â€œBecause cycling is so repetitive,” Dylan said. “You have to stretch so you have flexibility and balance in the muscle groups you use over and over, like your hamstrings, hip flexors, and chest. If you don’t stretch, those muscles tighten up, and then you can’t ride as well.”
    â€œVery good,” the coach said. “Let’s go through some basic stretches before we get on our bikes.”
    Coach Brady walked the team through a standing quad stretch, a standing calf stretch, a hamstring stretch, and a hip flexor stretch. Then he had them do a couple of basic shoulder stretches.
    â€œWhy do we have to stretch our shoulders?” Austin whispered to Dylan. “Our legs are doing all the work.”

    â€œYeah, but think about how much time cyclists spend hunched over the handlebars,” Dylan whispered back. “You have to keep your chest and shoulder muscles loose.”
    Austin nodded. That makes sense , he thought. But he was starting to realize there was way more to cycling than just pedaling fast.
    After they’d finished stretching, Austin and the cycling team spent the rest of the practice training. They did set after set of lifts, squats, and leg presses, all designed to build leg muscles.
    Dylan explained that they needed to do plenty of aerobic exercises before the race. “You have to know you can at least ride for the full length of the race before you move on to the details,” Dylan told Austin.
    They also did sprint training. Coach Brady instructed them to ride as hard as they could for intervals of 30 to 90 seconds. Then they’d break for 90 seconds before sprinting again. By the time they finished, Austin was