Assessing Mallorca Camp – Rik Verbrugghe «Digging into the details»

Having surveyed the roads of Mallorca, IAM Cycling riders ended their two week training camp and have returned home, ready to tackle the up-coming season.  And even if a sunny stay on a Balearic island sounds suspiciously like a vacation, IAM Cycling Sports Manager Rik Verbrugghe assures us that the riders did their jobs thoroughly.  

“We did a lot of things, actually, but we knew what we had to do.  Whether we were testing on the track, or training on the time trial bikes, we were preparing for the team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico with more or less the same riders.  For the climbers, we did a 15 minute test on a pretty hard climb to get an idea of their current level.  With the riders who will do the Classics, we did a bit more work on rhythm and pace just to help them get ready for early races like Qatar that are very fast.”

In the end, the team put in a lot of work in a very short time.  But Rik Verbrugghe is convinced that “we did a wide range of things, but we also managed to dig into the details.  We had time to do it all without compromising the training program for the riders.  We did the distances we needed to, we spent the hours we had to do on the bike, and we also focused on specific things without being a constraint.”

Now the main objective for the IAM Cycling riders is to be ready for their first races on the calendar. Verbrugghe is confident that there will be no problem there.  

“We realize that most are in the condition to face the first races of the year, but further preparation is always required.  Once they will meet their opponents for the first time, then we will see whether they are ready.  But I have no doubt they will be.”