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Gallery: Rally Cycling team launch and California training camp

Not all the kilometres ridden where under sunny skies

Rally Cycling gathered in California recently for the teams official 2017 launch and the annual training camp in Oxnard. It is the tenth year the team has come together to the seaside town to put in all-important pre-season kilometres over the course of two weeks. On January 30, the team had its launch party ahead of its 11th season.

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Over the off-season, Rally made some additions to the squad which included bringing on Canadians Matteo Dal-Cin the overall winner of the 2015 Redlands Bicycle Classic, Olympic bronze medalist Alison Beveridge and Sara Bergen. They join the squad that already includes Canadians Kirsti Lay who won an Olympic bronze medal in Rio, Katharine Maine, Sara Poidevin, Rob Britton, Adam de Vos and Pierrick Naud. Other new team members include Tour of Alberta stage winner Colin Joyce and junior world time trial champion Brandon McNulty.

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The teams 2016 successes included the men’s king of the mountains title at the Tour of California, fifth overall at the Tour of Utah, a sixth consecutive win at the North Star Grand Prix, third overall at the Tour of Alberta and Tour of the Gila. Now retired team member Tom Zirbel broke the American hour record covering 53.037 km.

“For a lot of the riders, the camp is the first time they can put in a block of miles with intensity in fairly good weather,” said performance manager Jonas Carney. The team also gathered in December for a training camp in Colorado. “All the riders have done their base miles but now it’s time to really increase the intensity. Camp is structured to prepare our riders for the early season races. Later this month the men’s team will race the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal against numerous world tour teams and the Volta ao Alentejo in Spain. We need them to be fast and have a bit of extra strength in the legs.”

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Americans Curtis and Emma White who were resting after a demanding cyclocross season were absent from the camp as were Allison Beveridge who is still recovering from off-season surgery while Kelly Catlin and Monica Volk were busy at school pursuing their undergraduate degrees.

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