Hello Friends,

Welcome to one of the best times of the season, early August. (Seriously!) We’re on the eve of late summer and fall racing and there’s a lot coming up on the calendar, including a unique opportunity for a member of the Durata Family, Lawson Craddock.

Lawson's Win at the 2010 Tour of New Braunfels

Lawson is attempting a return to the podium at the Junior World Championships next week, aiming for the top spot in his last year as a junior athlete. Since his selection last year for the junior worlds team in Moscow, where he finished second in the time trial, Lawson has focused intently on the 2010 World Championships in Offida, Italy. Targeting a rainbow jersey this year has been a shaping experience for Lawson both on and off the bike.

I will be attending the Junior World Championships next week. If you would like to send a note of support to Lawson, please comment on this blog post and I’ll see that it gets to Lawson prior to his time trial start on Friday, August 6th. The road race is on Sunday, August 8th.

More information about the 2010 world championships can be found at the following link: http://www.offida2010.it/lang1/road_races.html. If you’d like to follow Lawson and his blog, it can be found here: http://lawsoncraddock.blogspot.com/

Please follow the Durata Twitter account (http://twitter.com/duratatraining) for updates on the events of the trip and as well as Lawson’s performances.

Let your friends know to watch for results on the Friday of Lawson’s race. I’ll try to be quick with updates, I’m sure the major cycling websites will have results up over the course of the day as well. Get a lot of rest on Wednesday night, hopefully we’re all up very early on the 6th to follow Lawson’s progress in the time trial. Take care and have a great weekend, welcome to August.

–
David Wenger

Durata Training Coach, Kelly Williamson has been working with National Special Olympian, Hugh Breen to prepare him for his upcoming speed walking competition. Fellow Hoosiers rejoice as Boone County, IN sends its first ever contender to the National Special Olympics. “He’s such a great kid … and we’ve been working on a structured training program for over three months,” says Kelly.

Speed walker goes to national Special Olympics
By Emily Atwood/Times Sentinel writer CNHI

This year, Boone County will send its first ever contender to the national Special Olympics.

From July 18 to July 23, Zionsville’s Hugh Breen, 22, will compete as a speed walker at the competition in Lincoln, Neb.

Tall and lean, Hugh’s mother, Melissa Breen, says he’s always been naturally fast.

“When he gets going he’s like a train,” she said.

Hugh was born with only one lung, but his parents decided to keep him active in sports to ensure that his one lung stay strong.

Representing Team Indiana and the Boone County Bombers, Hugh will be one of 114 Hoosiers going to the tournament.

“I’m very honored to be invited,” he said.

In order for Hugh to get where he is today, he had to make it through several steps.

But first, it all started as a dream of his.

Read More at the Times Sentinel

Beautiful Bend, Oregon hosted elite nationals in 2009 and again in 2010 with a venue well suited for a team vacation to the alpine desert town. The mix of amateur racers at elite road nationals ranges from full-time cyclists (perhaps working a part-time job to support themselves) to mid-level professionals and full-on executives. The difficulty of competition is designed to suit any Category 1 cyclist older than 23 who’s able to balance bike racing with professional and personal obligations in order to ride and race roughly eight to 15 hours per week. (Read: The founding members of Super Squadra.)

Wenger prepping for the challenge of the day.

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Buffalo Springs Lake is a special place for me. It is the venue where I qualified as an amateur for the 2007 Ironman World Championships. So, coming back this year, I knew the course, fondly remembered the canyons, warm water and steam rising from the asphalt…I knew this course and I loved it!

Durata Athlete: Jessica Jacobs

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Not all time trials are the same and not all riders are cut from the same cloth.

Durata athlete Lawson Craddock has been on a mission in 2010, winning no less than 10 races before coming into the Junior National Championships where he completed a rare sweep of the 17-18 men’s division.

The next mission: a rainbow jersey, specifically in the time trial at the World Junior Championship on August 6th in Offida, Italy.

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Whew; what a journey it has been. I am still in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, at the coffee shop that Derick and I have eaten lunch at now I believe approximately four times. We head back to Austin tomorrow, and the past week here has been incredible. I am not really sure I have fully ‘digested’ that my first Ironman has come and gone, but I will try to put the thoughts out on paper as best as I can only two days post.

The beginning of a really long day.

I came into this event still a ‘newbie’ at this distance, which is interesting because I am anything BUT a newbie to this sport. I started in 2001 and I turned pro in 2002. I knew I did not want to tackle an Ironman until I felt I could do WELL; I attempted this last year in Canada, but I dealt with some unforseen circumstances and was unable to finish (I stepped up to the start line knowing I would probably not finish). So, all things considered, this was truly the first one I knew I was ready and prepared for. I told a friend in transition race morning, as we walked to the swim start, “What a perfect day; we could not ask for any better conditions. I know now that if anything goes wrong, it is all my fault; nothing else to blame!” I like this kind of situation; I like holding myself accountable.

Read more at Kelly’s Blog

Want to learn how the pros approach a big block of racing, or find out what their roll is on a team? Do you crave top-notch training advice? Need to hone in your euro-pro cycling styles? Enjoy eating locally grown organic foods? If so, the 2010 USA Cycling South Central Regional Camp was put together with you in mind.

South Central Regional Development Camp

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