The young Sparkles Schultz from Track Cycling SA club attended a month long UCI training camp in Paarl during November.
Sparkles covered more distance than ever in the month. He was introduced to group training and also learned how it is to stay away from home for a substantial period.
Sparkles (3rd from right) with the UCI continental training group.
The camp set Sparkles up for the next three track events namely the Western Cape Grand Prix, the Eddie Kulsen GP and Paarl Boxing day.
12 new riders tried out track at a free session hosted by Track Cycling SA cycling club.
The event took place on Sunday, 24 Nov, at Bellville velodrome.
There were 7 riders ages between 14 to 17 and 2 under 10 riders. There were also 3 veterans who joined.
Here are some pictures of an enjoyable and fun skills session at the track.
The next track day is in Feb 2025 and will focus on girls and women’s participation.
Track cycling is the ideal cycling discipline to develop bunch riding skills, speed and power in a safe environment.
Some of the best professional riders in the world including past world champions have a track background.
Locally there are many success stories such as that of TrackCyclingSA club member, Sparkles Schultz. He started out on the track two years ago at Bellville velodrome. He was only 15 years old. He recently went on a training camp at the UCI centre in Paarl. He was chosen because of his performances at track cycling nationals and the Bellville velodrome league series.
Nikalau Volsteedt is also a rider who progressed rapidly after her track cycling introduction. She joined TrackCyclingSA on the velodrome as an under 17 rider. She won the national championship in the junior elimination race in March this year. She is from a MTB background, but quickly adapted to the velodrome with the support of the club.
The track bicycle is usually the barrier to entry for new riders since these are the only bikes allowed on the slopes of the Bellville velodrome. They have a fixed gear and no brakes. Riders slow down by pedaling slower. TrackCyclingSA club removes the barrier by providing free access to bikes for 13 to 17 year old scholars at our “Try out track” days.
The next session is on Sunday, 24 Nov. Pre-booking is essential to secure a bike. This is the last one for the year! Don’t miss out!
Our learn to ride session went very well on Tuesday, 5 Nov.
More sessions to follow soon focused on 11 to 17 year old riders at Bellville velodrome.
Guardian cleared, Uci level 1 and First aid level 2 on site at the sessions.
Contact: Mailto:jaco@trackcyclingsa.co.za
TrackCyclingSA cycling club will host a track introduction for scholars on Tuesday, 5 Nov from 6pm to 8pm at Bellville Velodrome . The session is open for Under 13 to junior riders.
The cost is R500 and includes club membership until end of this year, use of a bike and learning to ride.
The session is aimed at kids who already ride bmx, mtb or road bikes and would like to pursue track cycling. The goal of the club is to provide a platform to learn from now through to the South African champs taking place at the end of March.
Club membership will allow the use of a bike at club training sessions. This is a great opportunity for young cyclists do develop bike skills and race craft.
Pre-booking only. Closes at end October 2024. Please mail jaco@trackcyclingsa.co.za to book.
Vo2 max intervals may be beneficial to athletes who already have a solid aerobic endurance base and who have reached a power plateau. Vo2 max training may give a competitive advantage in events which require higher power demands such as track endurance events, hill climbs and criteriums.
The stimulus of VO2 max intervals can improve power. The VO2 max program below is ideal to help athletes to cycle at a higher power for longer within 4 weeks. It starts with short VO2 max intervals to boost power and then works up to longer intervals to sustain it.
4-week VO2 max power training plan
The above 4-week VO2 max power plan is ideal to be applied after an endurance cycle such as per any of the below two plans:
4-week aerobic endurance plan ( 5-6h per week)
4-week aerobic endurance plan (6h – 7.5h)
Aerobic fitness is key for cycling. Cycling events longer than a kilo on the track utilize aerobic energy. A well developed aerobic system will help a cyclist to ride at a higher intensity for longer.
The 4-week aerobic fitness programs in the links below can be used pre-season or at the start of a season. They can be applied to prepare for road, track, MTB and gravel disciplines.
6-7h per week aerobic fitness program
5-6h per week aerobic fitness program
Click here to view all programs by TrackCyclingSA coach, Jaco Scholtz.
The third round of the Western Province track league took place on Fri, 2 August, at Bellville velodrome. This event was back to back following the one on Friday, 26 July.
It was the second track event at Bellville velodrome under the new LED lights which replaced the existing 30-year old lights that that were at end of lifespan.
This upgrade solidified the Bellville velodrome as the top indoor cycling facility in Africa.
The program was fast and action packed. Racing started at 7pm and ended at 9.30pm. There was racing for category A to E and riders from under 11 up to 75 – 79 competed.
There were several highlights. Here is our top 5:
10km scooter scratch (30 laps scooter and 10 laps scratch) in 11min59s at 50kmh. Carl Bonthuys winning.
The Western Province elite team pursuit squad in action and closing in on 50kmh.
Imtiyaaz “Sparkles” Schultz first cat A win with a long sprint in the 8 laps scratch race.
The Cat D kids racing at 40kmh in their scooter scratch.
Cat E kids start list growing with 2 more riders joining in.
Here is the leader board:
The next event is planned for Friday, 30 August, 2024. Follow WP track on Whatsapp for event updates.
Follow TrackCyclingSA on Facebook for news and updates about track cycling in South Africa.
Photos courtesy of Marc Pentz photography.
by Jaco Scholtz
Hi everyone! Cape Town is experiencing one of its wettest and coldest spells, but we all know that the cycling season ramps up rapidly from September onwards. I’ve put together this program to help riders to boost their aerobic fitness before the season kicks off. The plan is on the TrainingPeaks app and includes a free TrainingPeaks basic account.
The Western Province (Wp) track league got off to a flying start on Friday, 31 May 2024, at Bellville velodrome.
The program had racing for all categories frum under 11 to veterans. The event evening saw scooter scratch races winding speeds up to over 50kmh. The purpose of this is to increase the average speed of local racing.
Each race category had 3 races for the evening.
Here are the Category A to C and team competition leaders:
Photos by Marc Pentz.
Category A to C points table:
The next events at Bellville velodrome are on:
26 Jul – Wp league 2
2 Aug – Wp league 3
30 Aug – Wp league 4
All events are on a Friday from 7 to 10pm.
