Chann McRae Coaching, Inc. (CMCI) offers premier coaching services for cycling and multisport athletes. We take your training and racing seriously and offer packages suited to every individual whether they are a beginner, an age-group contender, or a top level professional.
Chann McRae is a premier professional cyclist, multisport athlete, coach, and currently a director with SlipStream-Chipolte Professional Cycling Team. CMCI offers a multi-talented staff with decades of racing as professionals at the top level of sport in the world. They bring the latest training methodologies and the latest technologies in a personalized service tailored to your schedule and goals.
Sunday 28 June 2009 McRae wins Tour de Beauce Directors’ Crit Prior to the Tour de Beauce crit last Thursday, the Directeur Sportifs got together to ‘race’ on the same course.
Birthday boy Steve Bauer (Planet Energy), Jonas Carney (Kelly Benefit), Gord Fraser (Team Type 1), Chann McRae (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin), Axel Merckx (Trek-Livestrong), Dominique Perras (Canadian National Team), Arvis Piziks (Latvian National Team) , Mike Sayers (BMC), Mathieu Toulouse (Equipe Quebec) and Henk Vogels (Fly V Australia), and did 3 laps in front of an appreciative crowd that included their riders.
 | Posted by admin on Sunday June 28 2009 - 10:51:48 |    |
Friday 01 May 2009 Velossimo riders Rock Hammerfest! Congrats Velossimo on a great performance at Fort Davis! Velossimo, sponsored and coached by Chann McRae Coaching, put 4 riders in the top 15 overall at the Hammerfest Stage race April, 2009. For more information and photos visit:
http://johnmcallister.blogspot.com/2009/04/fort-davis-2009.html
and
| Posted by admin on Friday May 01 2009 - 07:54:24 | |
Sunday 26 April 2009 McRae takes 3rd at Athens Twilight Two time winner of the Athens Twilight Criterium (1997, 2006) Jen McRae finished 3rd overall last night behind US National Road and Criterium Champion Brooke Miller (1st) and Tina Pic (2nd). Jen McRae is the winner of the USA Criterium Finals in Las Vegas last year and currently races for Team Type 1.
Jen is a founder and coach with Chann McRae coaching and is a regular at the Austin Driveway Series weekly crits. Jen and Chann both coach several elite and master athletes in Texas and around the nation.
Jen followed up Saturday's performance with another 3rd place finish at the Roswell Criterium on Sunday.
Nice job on the podium results Jen and Team Type 1!
| Posted by admin on Sunday April 26 2009 - 12:11:56 | |
Friday 09 January 2009 2009 Race Winter training camp 2009 Race Season Winter Training Camp
January 15th - 18th - Camp is free. Athletes,
The 2009 Chann McRae Coaching Training Camp is going to be the most fun one we have ever put on. I encourage you to book a room at Hotel Alsace or just come in for one or two days of great riding, fun times, and a bit of race simulation 
Castroville, Texas 78009
1:40 minutes from Austin
20 minutes west of San Antonio on HWY 90.
Dates:
Check In Thursday January 15.
Check Out Sunday January 18
Accommodations:
Hotel Alsace. Special Camp rate. $75 per room.
Continental breakfast included.
Call and book today 830.538.3200
http://www.thehotelalsace.com/
Reference you are coming for the bicycle training camp.
Training Plan: Thursday- 3hours/ 80k/ Z2/ 90-105 rpm, high rpm work on seated climbs @ 90-95 rpm Maps provided. Unstructured since it is check in day and people will be arriving throughout.
Friday- 4 hours/120km/ Z2-Z3/ 90 -95 rpm avg. Double Pace line, 10 min. pulls in Z3. Last 30 min. / 20km done in Z3-Z4 single pace line. Depart- 10am. Sag Supported. Drop off points for those wanting to cut the ride short and head back to town at about 2 hours.
Saturday- 5 hours/ 150 km / last 50km race simulation all zones. First 100km done as Double Pace line, 10 min. pulls in Z3. Last 50 km use tactics, send guys off for small break aways, chase down breaks as team. Depart- 10am. Drop off points again for those wanting to cut the ride short
Sunday- 3 hours/ 80km/ Z2. Depart- 9am. Sag supported easy- no drop ride- preview Heart of Alsatian Country Omnium Road, TT, and Crit Course and preview State Time Trial Course to be held in August
Functions: Thursday Night- None, Check In Friday Night- Dinner at Old Alsatian. Team/CMCI athlete Introductions. Categories break off into their own respective teams and discuss the upcoming year, goals, etc. Board games! Team Building! Saturday Night- Dinner at Cora's Nacho House or Castroville Cafe. Sunday- Ride- farewell. |
2006 Winter Training Camp Photos:
   Our Amazing Camp Staff, Keith Williams of Williams Wheels & Joby  Team Advil-Chapstick Training Camp March 2008, Asheville, NC. Featured are the 'moms' of the team. 1999 "RIDE LIKE THE PROS" Cycling Clinic by Jen and Chann McRae, Austin TX, Veloway
 
| Posted by kkupecz on Friday January 09 2009 - 10:03:04 | |
Saturday 27 September 2008 USACRITS Final Win for CMCoaching Jen McRae and Hilton Clarke hit the jackpot under the Vegas lights at the Mandalay Bay resort.Posted Sep. 26, 2008 USA CRITS Finals: McRae solo'd for the last 9 laps. Photo: Rob O'Dea Las Vegas is a good place to put on a show.Jen McRae and Hilton Clarke — each of whom are looking for new teams next year — produced brilliant late season performances with wins at the USA CRITS Finals, held during the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas Thursday night.Clarke said the win under the lights at the Mandalay Bay Resort on the Vegas Strip will not be the end of his season. His Toyota-United team is expected to fold at the end of this season, or perhaps return with a much more modest program next year."I'm not finishing my season until I get a job ... all I can do is keep winning races until I get a job," he said.  USA CRITS Finals: Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) was a major animator in the first part of the race. Photo: Rob O'Dea McRae, whose Advil-Chaptick team is losing its sponsorship at the end of the season, likewise said a win in Las Vegas could be key to earning a spot on a team next year. McCrae said she has felt like a bridesmaid this season, with a series of third place finishes."I woke up this morning thinking, you know it just might come together here, and how great would that be, because this is quite the spectacle, all the sponsors are here: it's a good place to do it." A few thousand spectators, mostly bicycle industry members in town for the trade show, filled the resort's parking lot, which was made into a combination criterium course, beer tent and expo area.The one-kilometer course was flat as a board, featuring a series of fast turns and a short finish straight that had riders heading straight at Las Vegas' neon skyline, before dropping them into the first tight left-hander, the scene of many crashes during the evening.
Women's raceThe first half of the 40-lap women's race was fast as the Vanderkitten and Cheerwine teams sought to control the race for Cheerwine's Kelly Benjamin and Vanderkitten's Jennifer Wilson, who were in a tight race for first and second in the USA CRITS series. As the two teams tried to control the pace, opportunities arose for those with smaller teams and no series ambitions, including cyclocross star Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) and Aaron's Meredith Miller, who had no teammates in the race.  USA CRITS Finals: McRae on the attack. Photo: Rob O'Dea Miller and Compton were major animators in the first part of the race, but with 12 laps left, McCrae took off after a series of attacks and counter attacks. Christina Smith (Lonestarworks.com) — like McCrae an Austin, Texas-based rider — went with McRae and the two worked together to build a tenuous lead. Smith was unable to stay with McCrae, however, who went off on her own with nine laps to go and quickly built a nearly 45 second lead.McRae held the gap to the end, while Smith was absorbed by the pack. Perennial crit specialist Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) finished off her season by taking the field sprint for second.Benjamin finished sixth to Wilson's ninth to secure her overall USA CRITS title. | Posted by admin on Saturday September 27 2008 - 08:41:25 | |
PRO TOUR VICTORY  Chann, domestic director Garmin Chipolte, leads his team to the overall series win. Congrats on an awesome season!
Read the full story here!
Submitted by jmcrae | Posted by kkupecz on Saturday September 27 2008 - 08:22:38 | |
Monday 15 September 2008 Veins of Austin’s Blood What’s in the Veins of Austin’s Blood is something you can enjoy forever!
Commuter bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, the streets of Austin are popular with pedal-pushing enthusiasts. You see a lot of cyclists, maneuvering thru traffic and enjoying their escape in the wind and out of traffic. Sometimes they look serious, sometimes they look lost, and if you see them from the vantage point of the front seat of your car, they almost always look like they are having a much better time than you!
Beyond being a great cardio and strength training workout, cycling is mentally refreshing, an alternative to driving a car, and a non-impact lifetime sport. Unlike running, which is high-impact and thus more likely to produce injuries, cycling is a sport that your body can handle year after year after year. Cycling is easy on the joints and a necessary alternative to injured runners who want to continue exercising. Some weight bearing exercise is necessary for good bone density and bone health as we get older – but you can’t do weight-bearing exclusively – your joints just can’t handle it. That’s where cycling comes in as a great alternative. You can choose it as your main sport or as a supplement to your current regime. Balance and variety – the key to life long health and fitness.
Professional cyclists are a great example of a balanced fitness regime. They usually run, swim and/or lift weights in their off-season to address all of their imbalances from strictly cycling during the race season. The common complaint when they start running is joint problems. Even our local cycling champion, a 7-time Tour de France winner, likes to run during the off season but is limited by what his joints can handle. So even a world-class athlete is not exempt from the pains of running and is foot-strike limited – but he can hop on a bike and ride for what seems like forever.
If you’re not one of the many cyclists commuting or exercising around town, let’s assume it’s because you didn’t realize it had so many great benefits.
Benefits:
*Cycling can be done indoors and outdoors *Cycling is a social sport conducive to group workouts and thus more motivating when we need it to be *Cycling is non-impact and thus less injury-prone than impact sports *Cycling is something we all can do, it’s very natural to hop on a bike and pedal *Cycling strengthens lower body
Tips: How to maximize a workout on your bike, 3 things to remember::
1. Seek Resistance! - most riders tend to avoid resistance on the bike by either choosing easy gears and spinning a high cadence or by avoiding hills. Incorporate big gears and hills in to your rides to improve your strength and fitness. If you don’t have hills at your disposal, ride really big gears to simulate steep terrain.
2. Go Fast! – it’s very easy to go too easy when on your bike. When riding alone, you need to have some structure in mind so that you get a good workout. Riding a 30-min to hour bike ride without ever breathing hard is burning some calories but is not doing much to improve your cardiovascular fitness or metabolism. Example of Structure would be ten times 1 minute repeats of fast accelerations where you are breathing hard. Think of it as a finish to a race. Repeat 10 times after recovering. When riding with others, you need that same structure, and use each other to push one another. Use structure such as: 5 times 30 seconds all out. So pick a land mark and race each other to it. Repeat it 5 times.
3.Breathe EASY and HARD: Variety is key. When riding, your total ride time should be broken down as follows:
-25% or your ride time should include easy breathing (this is usually warm up, warm down, and time spent between going hard to recover) -25% hard breathing (anaerobic – not able to hold a conversation,) -50% hard breathing (aerobic – breathing hard but able to hold a conversation)
Tips: How to get started:
Riding Outdoors: If you’re somewhat intimidated by the busy roads in Austin, take your bike to the Veloway to get some practice.
Austin’s cycling club is great for newcomers to the sport and for experienced riders looking for new routes and groups to ride with. Their rides provide rider leaders and maps of the routes.
Fund-Raiser Rides such as Armadillo Classic, Hill Country Classic, and the Rosedale Ride are always fun. (The MS-150 is also fun but you must be prepared for very large crowds).
Texas Bicycle Association http://www.txbra.org Check out this site for information on local training rides and races.
Riding Indoors – experience a group cycling class for the fun motivating atmosphere. You can achieve high heart rate levels when training with groups and good music. If you’re crunched for time, an indoor spin class is the ideal scenario – especially this time of year with the reduced day light time. You’ll get a great workout that is hard to achieve on your own.
Your local Bike Shops: Austin has many choices for different bike styles. Here’s a few that I like: Jack and Adams Bicycles: The best and most knowledgeable staff in Austin; tremendous service; great selection; THE place for anything triathlon Austin Bikes: Great used bikes and friendly atmosphere Bucks Bikes: Great family store Nelos, Cycle360, Southwest Cyclesport: great for upgrading your current ride
Jen McRae, Professional Cyclist Cycling Coach Cycling Instructor | Posted by kkupecz on Monday September 15 2008 - 08:18:32 | |
Sunday 14 September 2008 Tour of Missouri Garmin pulls off the win! | Posted by jmcrae on Sunday September 14 2008 - 16:40:02 | |
Wednesday 28 May 2008 Feeding the Future: Chann McRae Feeding The Future: Chann McRae Friday, March 28, 2008 1:40:43 AM PT
by Gordan Cameron
|
| | PEZ spoke with ex-pro racer Chann McRae about his role as director of the VMG/Felt under-23s, part of the Slipstream stable. We talked development, training, and how one day the young riders might get to enjoy gelati at the Giro - just like McRae did in his day. |
One of the big American names in Europe in the late 1990s, Chann McRae retired from racing at the end of 2003 after several successful seasons at the highest level, including stints with Mapei-Quick Step and US Postal. But he stayed close to the sport in a coaching capacity and 2007 found him in the role of director sportif for the VMG under-23 racing team. This year, VMG merged with Slipstream's juniors to form the VMG/Felt U23 Team and McRae continued in the director's role - and also with the responsibility of looking after the US side of Slipstream itself.
PEZ spoke to McRae recently, and wanted to know more about how the team came about and functions, who to watch alongside junior world time trial champion Taylor Phinney and three-time national US junior road champ Daniel Summerhill, and his role in guiding young riders to the next level.
McRae raced extensively in Europe, in a bunch of races big and small, with top twenty finishes in the Giro and Vuelta, two top ten placings at the World Champs, and finally victory at the US PRO championship. So it seemed like a good opportunity to hear a couple of old racing stories as well.
|
PEZ: What's the essential function of VMG/Felt?
McRae: It's the feeder team into the Slipstream pro team. That's our goal, and it also gives a lot of education for the younger guys, having training camps with the pro team and so on. As well, we sent a mixed team to race in the Bahamas at the start of the year - under 23 and pro riders.
The young guys got a lot out of that because they have riders like Christian Vande Velde teaching them, 'eat this, eat that', 'train a little bit more'; they're role models to the younger guys.
PEZ: It's obviously a good system. Are there more options like this today for young riders coming up than when you were trying to move into the pro ranks?
McRae: There's far more options. This is a direct system. When they're ready, they'll get a pro contract. But, it's not enough just to do well in the US - they have to perform in Europe, against the best Europeans at a world level. Then we'll see how they're going and if they're ready to go pro.
PEZ: So one thing still hasn't changed: the riders still have to perform just like they've always had to?
McRae: Yeah, you still have to fight. But if you fight well, you will get rewarded. Back in my day, you would fight, fight, fight, but were still working the phone trying to get into, say, eight different pro teams.
PEZ: So now, if you ride well, you will get noticed?
McRae: We're watching them big time!
PEZ: You've got a lot of experience in the pro peloton from your riding days. Is it satisfying to be able to share that experience with the younger riders?
McRae: My favourite part of working with the under-23s is the teaching. I'm the director, but I'm also a teacher. If I can tell them what people didn't tell me when I was younger, we can speed up the process. Plus there's the methodology that I learned in my career that I can pass down.
PEZ: Are there any particular aspects that you like to focus on?
McRae: We've learned a lot with some of the results we've seen this year already with the team. It's a long season, but during the winter they're not doing high volume and are working in the gym. They start the new year stronger, and come into the training camp not at 100% but a little lower, but can then start building up.
Some guys don't do enough strength work or core work over the winter. They start the season fast, but then it doesn't work out for them. We see a lot of that.
PEZ: So smarter training is the key?
McRae: Yes. Some riders end the season too early, in September, which I think is a mistake. There's time to race in September, such as racing in the Vuelta, then time to work on weight training and not get back on the bike too early.
In my day we used to race a lot, all through the season, and if you're going well then that's okay. There's no reason, even today, not to do 70 days of racing in a season.
|
PEZ: Cycling is going through a tough phase at the moment, at least in the mainstream media - although the crowds at races seem to be as supportive as ever. Is there a morale issues amongst the young riders; do they feel that maybe cycling is not a sport with a good future?
McRae: I can only speak for Slipstream, about what we're doing, and our anti-doping programme, for example. Our young riders are super motivated and they haven't seen many of those problems out there. They know about it, but they'll never have to experience anything like that. I don't think they ever second guess themselves as to the sport they picked.
PEZ: And what about the structure that Jonathan [Vaughters] has put together for Slipstream?
McRae: That's one of the main reasons I signed on, because of the whole movement JV is putting forward. It's new and fresh and it's motivating for me, too. Every day you wake up and you enjoy what you're doing.
PEZ: Did Jonathan initially approach you when you were at VMG - how did the whole merger come about?
McRae: We had some conversations back in August. VMG was a minor sponsor of Slipstream anyway, and now it's a much larger sponsor. We talked about a feeder team, and going forward thought it was the thing to do to develop some of the best under 23s in the country.
|
PEZ: You've got Taylor Phinney and Daniel Summerhill in the team, who are well known. Who else should we be looking out for?
McRae: They're all good; they're all going to shine. Certain names pop up in the media more than others. All of them will get their opportunity. We had a big talent pool, and had to narrow it down to just eight riders. They could all be good pros.
PEZ: So it really is 'watch this space'; we should be seeing these guys at the pro level in a few years?
McRae: Yes, definitely.
PEZ: I wanted to talk a little about your own racing career. An interview once recorded your enthusiasm for the Spanish mountain races, but it seems like most of your success came in the multi-day tours elsewhere. What were some of your favourite races?
McRae: My all-time favourites were the Giro and the World Championships, which I focused on, and the Vuelta. My body just flipped in May, and it flipped in September, so I did well in races like the Giro, the Vuelta, and the Worlds.
PEZ: The Giro and the World Championships are obviously two completely different races. How did you prepare for the different racing requirements?
McRae: For the Giro you didn't really prepare for it. We started in March at our training camp, then we'd go from there to the small five-day Spanish races, then the Giro del Trentino and onto the Tour of Romandie - it was pretty simple. You got better in each stage race. By the time you got to the Giro you had twenty or thirty races in your legs - you were going pretty well.
After that there'd be time off, but then there would be other races to build up to the Vuelta. With the Worlds being so late, you'd have to keep up with your riding, doing your long rides. You can't stop the Vuelta then take a week off the bike. You have to still do a few five-hour rides between the Vuelta and the Worlds. It's easy to carry form over if you're mentally focused, not drifting.
|
PEZ: Do you have a theory why the Giro is such a great race, and any particular memories from racing in it?
McRae: Everywhere you go in the Giro is great. There's so much culture. The hotels and restaurants are always almost 5-star. You can live it up and just enjoy every day of it.
There are definitely hard, cold, dark days but you remember the good moments, like riding around with the Italians and everyone's chattering and making jokes. You're going at 28 km/h then you come to some village and there's a stop. In '99 we stopped and Marco Pantani was next to me eating a gelato in the peloton, and I'm thinking 'this is kind of cool'. Then, boom, everyone takes off and you're at 55 km/h, single file into the first climb. That's the Giro!
PEZ would like to thank Chann for taking the time to talk with us and we will certainly be watching out for the riders on VMG/Felt, now and in the future. |
| Posted by kkupecz on Wednesday May 28 2008 - 19:17:50 | |
|
|
