Great Britain youth team boss Neil Vatcher has praised the Northside set up after a three day training camp at the track for young hopefuls.
Around 25 stars of the future were in Workington for special coaching and advice on bike preparation on Monday, Tuesday and Wednersday.
Although the rain stopped the riders from getting on track on the third day, there were plenty of positives taken from the camp and each and every one of the riders, and the dads who were there, learnt a lot over the three days.
Vatcher said: “It was a fantastic start to the 2024 season for the riders who were able to attend, and the help and advice from the coaches will be invaluable to all who were involved.
“Workington is such a great venue, and we also had the privilege of attending the fantastic Xtreme fitness centre in Lillyhall which is just a couple miles away from the track.
“The riders and their fathers who were there learnt a lot from the coaches Scott Nicholls and Paul Hurry with Tom Brennan and Leon Flint also in attendance on the third day having just flown in from their trip to America.”
The first day was a full day on track, with drills being set out to improve the youngsters’ riding techniques and racing lines, as well as a couple of free riding sessions, as this was the first time riders had been back on track since the end of the 2023 season.
Day two was spent with the morning session in the Xtreme Fitness Gym in Lillyhall close to Workington, with fitness trainer James Luckman taking the session along with Scott Nicholls, and each and every rider were pushed to their own fitness levels, as well as a discussion on nutrition.
Tuesday afternoon was back to the track and more time spent with the riding coaches going through drills and riding techniques.
Day three was a full classroom session day discussing bike maintenance and technical information as well as detailed track walk and discussion on starting techniques.
The Workington management was especially pleased to welcome the young riders, and the experienced stars who did the coaching.
“When Neil first mentioned the prospect of a three day camp at Northside when he visited last year we were very keen to accommodate him. It was very interesting to see it in practice,” said promoter Andrew Bain.
