{"id":2456475,"date":"2020-03-29T09:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/new-cycle-u-s-riders-face-another-year-of-training-for-tokyo-games\/"},"modified":"2020-03-29T09:12:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T15:12:00","slug":"new-cycle-u-s-riders-face-another-year-of-training-for-postponed-tokyo-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/new-cycle-u-s-riders-face-another-year-of-training-for-postponed-tokyo-games\/","title":{"rendered":"New cycle: U.S. riders face another year of training for postponed Tokyo Games"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.64522417154\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-323486-642\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/Germany_Track_Cycling_Worlds_33707-ed06c-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/Germany_Track_Cycling_Worlds_33707-ed06c-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | DPA | Chloe Dygert of the United States competes during the qualification race during the Cycling World Championship in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. (Sebastian Gollnow\/dpa via AP)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Chloe Dygert of the United States competes during the qualification race during the Cycling World Championship in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. (Sebastian Gollnow\/dpa via AP)<\/strong><br \/>AP | DPA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/Germany_Track_Cycling_Worlds_33707-ed06c-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Chloe Dygert of the United States competes during the qualification race during the Cycling World Championship in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. (Sebastian Gollnow\/dpa via AP)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/Germany_Track_Cycling_Worlds_33707-ed06c-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/Germany_Track_Cycling_Worlds_33707-ed06c-1-1024x717.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | DPA | The USA team, Lily Williams, from left, Emma White, Chloe Dygert, and Jennifer Valente celebrate winning the gold medal at the awards ceremony for the World Championship final of the Women Team Pursuit event in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (Sebastian Gollnow\/dpa via AP)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"3.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"18\">\n<p><strong>The USA team, Lily Williams, from left, Emma White, Chloe Dygert, and Jennifer Valente celebrate winning the gold medal at the awards ceremony for the World Championship final of the Women Team Pursuit event in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (Sebastian Gollnow\/dpa via AP)<\/strong><br \/>AP | DPA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/Germany_Track_Cycling_Worlds_33707-ed06c-1-1024x717.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"The USA team, Lily Williams, from left, Emma White, Chloe Dygert, and Jennifer Valente celebrate winning the gold medal at the awards ceremony for the World Championship final of the Women Team Pursuit event in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (Sebastian Gollnow\/dpa via AP)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/new-cycle-u-s-riders-face-another-year-of-training-for-tokyo-games\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/new-cycle-u-s-riders-face-another-year-of-training-for-tokyo-games\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic has left American cyclists with an abundance of mixed feelings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Relief that a move had been finally made. Disappointment that a lifetime ambition will be delayed. Frustration that months and even years of planning have been thrown in the blender. And still more uncertainty over when the Summer Games will take place, what the qualification criteria will look like and even if they will still be on the U.S. team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAs tough as the news is to hear when obviously the planning that goes into the four-year cycle of it all, and obviously now we\u2019re only a few months out and on the homestretch of that path, it does stink to hear,\u201d BMX rider and Olympic silver medalist Alise Willoughby said. \u201cBut at the same time, the plan doesn\u2019t necessarily change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI know there are some athletes that might not be in the same position,\u201d Willoughby continued, \u201cwhether it\u2019s physically or financially \u2014 hanging on another year could be difficult for some, and the qualifying processes are basically suspended and some have been finished. It\u2019s a mess of uncertainty for a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Not just cyclists, of course, but for swimmers and gymnasts and myriad other athletes for whom the Olympics is the once-every-four-year pinnacle of their sport. But those who ride bikes for a living are somewhat unique in that their schedules are often honed to the day, hour and minute. They adhere to strict diets, meticulously plan training rides, build strength at certain points of the season only to shift their workouts to those that build endurance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The idea is to peak for a handful of races each year, whether that\u2019s the Tour de France for a men\u2019s road cyclist or the world championships for a track cyclist. It\u2019s nearly impossible to maintain that finely tuned level of fitness beyond a few weeks, much less an entire year, which is when the Olympics are expected to finally begin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s still an unknown. We don\u2019t know how long this is going to last, what races will still be in play, what races are canceled,\u201d said Chloe Dygert, a gold medal-favorite in the women\u2019s team pursuit on the track and the time trial on the road. \u201cThe goal is still the Olympics, so even if we just take this year and focus on this year, and training for next year, that\u2019s what we are going to do. I\u2019m still training. Just kind of winter training, a little block work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Offseason training, in other words \u2014 even if it\u2019s an \u201coffseason\u201d that nobody has ever experienced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Riders like Willoughby and Dygert are fortunate, though. Both have won world championship and Olympic medals, and they have accomplished enough that they have big-time sponsors behind them. They have the ability to spend the next few weeks and months on training without having to worry about landing their next pay checks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But many other cyclists have part- and even full-time jobs off the bike. For them there are the very real fears of furloughs and layoffs that are affecting Americans in all walks of life. USA Cycling is trying to offer as much support as possible, but even the national governing body is feeling the pinch as the pandemic rages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Without races and recreational rides that are on indefinite hiatus, the organization doesn\u2019t take in its usual revenue. That in turn affects day-to-day operations, including USA Cycling\u2019s support for elite riders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re operating under the assumption that racing will remain canceled through April, May and June. We\u2019re planning for the worst and hopefully it either is or is less than that,\u201d chief executive Rob DeMartini said. \u201cAs it relates to the athletes, we had a two-hour conversation on how to make this team stronger, to show up in Tokyo next spring, next summer, with a team that does better than the team would have this year. Nine to 12 months is a chance to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That is how the vast majority of American riders are approaching this forced break.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Until tracks reopen and quarantines are lifted, Willoughby continues to work out in her home gym in Southern California with her husband, Australian BMX standout Sam Willoughby. Dygert continues to take long training rides around her base in Boise, Idaho, under the watchful eye of three-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Mountain bike World Cup champion Kate Courtney, another gold medal-favorite, is riding outside whenever the weather cooperates, all the while watching the news and waiting to hear when the Olympics will begin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a really tough time to be an athlete targeting the Olympics,\u201d Courtney said. \u201cBut that\u2019s just one example of the kind of loss and heartbreak happening right now, and I know there are so many stories of people experiencing that in all different ways, losing jobs or losing loved ones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI just hope we can get the Summer Games back on the calendar, and when that does happen, it will be a source of hope and inspiration for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/new-cycle-u-s-riders-face-another-year-of-training-for-tokyo-games\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chloe Dygert of the United States competes during the qualification race during the Cycling World Championship in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. (Sebastian Gollnow\/dpa via AP)AP | DPA The USA team, Lily Williams, from left, Emma White, Chloe Dygert, and Jennifer Valente celebrate winning the gold medal at the awards ceremony for the World [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 07:12:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}