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Bruyneel brings Astana, Cycling Academy to Albuquerque
Belgian’s ProTour team and newly-renamed development program visit New Mexico
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Johan Bruyneel, the eight-time Tour de France winning directeur sportif, will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the end of the month with two of his new projects: Astana and the Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy.
Bruyneel will be running a team camp January 23 to February 4 with the ProTour Astana squad he signed with for 2008. Following on the heels of a December 10-18 camp in Jávea, Spain, this Astana gathering will include Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner as well as Tour de France champion Alberto Contador and German star Andreas Klöden, among others. But Bruyneel will also be in Albuquerque debuting his self-titled Cycling Academy, a junior development program that has been run for years by Bernard Moerman under the banner of The Cycling Center.
Moerman’s Cycling Center is based in Hertsberge, Belgium, where young, mostly American riders are given a taste for European road competition in a supportive environment. After passing a rigorous application process, most riders stay for a few months. Some stay for up to a year.
Three years ago, Moerman branched out, bringing an arm of the Cycling Center to the U.S. He found a willing partner in the city of Albuquerque.
“For a long time I have been looking for places to train in the winter,” Moerman said. “Albuquerque has high altitude — between 5 and 10,000 feet — with flat areas, mild weather, a supportive community and super medical facilities.”
Last year, in addition to Moerman’s Cycling Center riders, Albuquerque hosted the Navigators Insurance and Lipton team camps. The Cycling Center does not yet have a permanent facility, so riders stay in hotels.
So where does Bruyneel fit into all of this? He and Moerman go way back.
“Johan was born and raised 30km from where I live; that might have helped,” Moerman said. “But we have been working with Johan for several years on developing the cycling program.”
The name of the Cycling Center and team are now the Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy.
“The program teaches the Bruyneel philosophy: teamwork, commitment, loyalty,” Moerman said. “The entire program is based on that philosophy.”
Bruyneel did not respond to calls for comment.
In Albuquerque, businessman Charles Ovis is the training camp representative. The city, county and state are actively pursuing programs like Bruyneel’s and Moerman’s as part of economic development and public health awareness incentives, he said.
“Astana coming here is a confirmation of some of the best things this community has to offer,” Ovis said. “Besides the high altitude, mild winters and great roads, one of the things the cyclists who have enjoyed in the past [such as the Navigator and Lipton riders] have enjoyed is our great medical complex.”
Presbyterian Hospital and Tri-Core Laboratories have provided sponsorships for the riders, Ovis said, of “a suite of medical services that’s comparable to anywhere in the world.” That, along with the support of the county and state, combine to offer an attractive financial picture for the camp.
Look for coverage of the Astana camp on VeloNews.com at the end of the month.
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