Buildbase Honda trio on test
By Sean Lawless on 25th Nov 15
Buildbase Honda trio Kristian Whatley, Graeme Irwin and Lewis Trickett were put through their paces last week by leading fitness coach Alan Milway.
The pre-season training and assessment day was held at the University of Birmingham's High Performance Department where the riders' fitness and mobility was monitored.
"I work with a number of specialists at the university and they are always taken aback when we go through an injury history with a motocross rider,” explained Alan.
"It really shows the toughness of the riders to bounce back time and time again and be hungry to push themselves on the motocross bike.
"These injuries are often not rehabbed properly and can leave a deficiency in strength or flexibility around a joint so we test this to be clear.
"Following a number of movement and strength-based assessments I built up a picture of some areas we need to address.”
Alan, who's trained five downhill mountain bike world champions, will work with the Buildbase Honda team throughout 2016.
"I am not concerned about their maximum performance at this stage – I want to know where we are at today and base training from this.
"Far from having the attitude of just trying to flog an athlete each time they come to train, I take blood, oxygen, heart rate and wattage readings so I can set training levels and monitor their training throughout the course of the year.
"It's great to be working with one of the strongest teams in the British championship paddock and I'm looking forward to having the guys as best prepared as possible for next season.
"As we head in to December the hard work starts now...”
