First held 20 years ago, the annual cyclo-cross camp at the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland, again attracted young talents from all over the world for a week of practical and classroom sessions.
In 2004, the first such camp was attended by four athletes, who were coached by a certain Adrie Van der Poel, 1996 UCI World Champion in the discipline and father of Mathieu Van der Poel, multiple UCI World Champion in cyclo-cross, without mentioning road, and gravel….
Since then, the camp has established an international reputation with the number of applications outweighing the number of places available.
This year, 23 athletes from 11 countries on four continents were selected to train their endurance, skills and techniques under the watchful eye of four coaches: Ed Collins (IRL), Eva Lechner (ITA), Matt Ellis (GBR) and, as an observer, five-time Japanese Cyclo-cross National Champion Yu Takenouchi.
Multi-discipline rider Eva Lechner first coached at the camp in 2022 and has come back each year since. The multiple Italian Champion in cyclo-cross and mountain bike (she also has a national title on the road), and silver-medallist at the 2014 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, says the young athletes remind her of her own beginnings in the sport.
“They’re young and motivated and they’re having fun. You can really see their fire and their motivation to learn,” she says. Having just completed her last competitive mountain bike season, and embarking on her final cyclo-cross season, the Italian would love to work with athletes in her post-competitive career.
“When I came here (to the UCI WCC) the first time, it was super nice. You can really see how they improve in one week, especially those who have never done technical training before. They all learn different things. It depends on the athlete. For some it’s cornering, for some the off-cambers, or just handling the bike better.
“What I like most is seeing the athletes happy when they learn something. Their happiness makes me happy!”
She enjoys following the progress of former camp participants such as Italian Stefano Viezzi, who was crowned Junior 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion in Tábor, Czechia. All athletes on the camp have the coaches’ contacts so they can get in touch for advice once they are back in their home countries.
Quite apart from riding their bikes, the participants in this week’s camp have attended classroom sessions on a variety of topics including social media, anti-doping, integrity, race preparation, course analysis and preparing for a major race. Their camp will conclude on Sunday with participation in the Omnium Romand de Cyclo-cross in Aigle, in and around the grounds of the UCI WCC.