As a member of the Boulder Junior Cycling program, Jared Scott has had a great opportunity to learn from coach Pete Webber and Juniors such as Denzel Stephenson and Ross Ellwood. Scott has already established himself as one of the next Boulder Junior Cycling ’crossers to watch after scoring two podium finishes at U.S. Cyclocross Nationals, including a third-place finish in Asheville, during his Junior career.
Jared Scott finished in 8th place, and 2nd among the 15-year olds, at the snowy 2017 Cyclocross National Championships. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
Scott said he is looking forward to incorporating some of the drills—and running—he learned at Montana Cross Camp into his regular training as he eyes a trip to Euro Cross Camp for his future.
There will likely be more stadium stairs in Jared Scott’s future as he sets his eyes on racing in Europe in a few years. 2017 Montana Cross Camp © Cyclocross Magazine
In the latest of our ever-growing series of Montana Cross Camp athlete interviews, Cyclocross Magazine sat down with Jared to talk to him about his experience at the camp and plans for the coming cyclocross season.
Interview with Jared Scott at the 2017 Montana Cross Camp
Cyclocross Magazine: This is your first Cross Camp right?
Jared Scott: It is.
CXM: After four days of a super-busy schedule and all these crazy workouts, how are you feeling?
JS: I’m feeling pretty sore, honestly. It’s been a lot more non-stop than I’m used to and it’s a lot more intense training than I usually get.
CXM: Does that inspire you for the rest of the season?
JS: It does, and it shows me what I really need to work on.
CXM: What is that?
JS: Running, especially. The first day I got out running, and that day I was just so sore for the whole day. It made the riding so miserable.
CXM: And it doesn’t get any easier, right?
JS: Yeah, the next day you do more running.
CXM: So you basically just got more sore as it went on?
JS: Yeah. Today I’m feeling a little better.
CXM: You guys did some yoga today, was that a new thing for you?
JS: It was. I do some stretching and stuff and massages, but nothing that’s like yoga.
CXM: With all these specific workouts and these drills and yoga, any of these things going to be incorporated as a regular part of your training?
JS: I think so. A lot of the drills. They were talking a lot about Sven Hills and getting that power for Belgium racing. Preparing me because those are skills I don’t have right now.
CXM: You’re on Boulder Junior Cycling, right?
JS: Yes.
CXM: Coached by Pete Webber, obviously, one of the gurus of cyclocross. Coming back from this camp, will you go, “Hey Pete, here’s what I did at this camp, can we incorporate this or this into my training?”
JS: Yeah, I have a couple specific things that I really want to talk to him about and see what his opinion is, especially after seeing Denzel Stephenson’s performance in Belgium. They were talking about the differences between Americans and Europeans and how Americans don’t do super-well because they go super-hard the first 20 minutes of a race and then fizzle out and just try to hang on, where Europeans go hard and then go just below threshold and are able to recover there. And they do boxes like that where they go above threshold and then recover just below, so it’s a hard pace throughout the whole race. They were informing us of some ways to train like that. I think that would be kind of interesting to talk to Pete Webber about.
The gravel KOM climb is one of the Montana Cross Camp drills Jared Scott can bring back to his Boulder Junior Cycling teammates. 2017 Montana Cross Camp. © Cyclocross Magazine
CXM: How old are you?
JS: Racing age 16.
CXM: You have Pete Webber as a coach, you’re on one of the most successful Junior development teams, but do you train with a power meter?
JS: For road I train with the power meter, but not for cyclocross. I don’t even train with a Garmin for cyclocross.
CXM: What’s your goal for the cyclocross season?
JS: For this upcoming ’cross season, my goal is focused on Nats. I’d really like to win a national championship.
CXM: How did you do last year?
JS: I got eighth, I believe, in 15-16.
CXM: A lot of those guys age up, right?
JS: Yeah, a majority of them age up. I got second for my age group for 15-year olds.
CXM: That has to be confidence inspiring?
JS: A little bit, yeah. The guy who won was a 15-year old also, but it was not totally my course. It came a little unexpected how it froze over 30 minutes before the race, so it kind of threw me a little bit.
CXM: What about it wasn’t your course?
JS: The run-up right at the start, I didn’t really think about that repair, if it was going to be icy or not. When I pre-rode it that morning, it was totally dry and just kind of cold, but it wasn’t icy or slick or anything. I was just planning on riding the low line and then someone crashed on the low line, and I had to run up and I couldn’t get up the run-up. It kind of threw me to the back of the pack and I had to make my way up.
CXM: So you didn’t have toe spikes?
JS: I just wasn’t prepared for an icy race.
CXM: How would you describe Geoff Proctor?
JS: I’d describe Geoff Proctor as very focused. He’s very on-schedule with timing. He’s very set on his goals and sharing his wisdom with others. I’d describe him as focused.
CXM: What was the highlight of the camp for you?
JS: I really enjoyed just interacting with other peers. It was fun to meet a lot of them and actually get to know them instead of just saying “Hi” at races and competing with them in the KOMs and the mini-mock races.
CXM: What keeps you busy outside of ’cross?
JS: Mainly school, friends. Family. ’Cross is my main sport I focus on, but there are a lot of aspects of training that go into it, so you’re not always on the bike, which is nice.
CXM: It produces pretty well-rounded athletes, huh?
JS: Yeah.
CXM: Given you’ve had so many takeaways of things you’ve learned at this camp, would you still want to come back?
JS: I think I would.
CXM: Why?
JS: I just learned so much this year because I didn’t really prepare how I should have for this camp, I think. Coming more prepared next year will help me be able to compete and learn from Geoff Proctor and Tobin.
CXM: When we talked earlier tonight, I was encouraging you guys to go back and maybe give back and inspire some other ’crossers. Is there something you can tell your teammates or people who are curious about the sport that might inspire them?
JS: I’d probably recommend just motivating my teammates through what I learned and what Geoff Proctor taught us on how to perform against global competition, instead of just national-levels for my teammates. We’re very focused on Nationals and our type of racing, and they kind of expanded my mind to be prepared for what Europe’s going to be like, instead of the flat, dry American courses.
CXM: Sounds like you have a goal to work towards. Thanks so much for your time.
JS: Thank you.
View more photos from Montana Cross Camp and Cyclocross Nationals and see all our coverage from the 2017 Montana Cross Camp.
