Cyclocross Magazine contributor Corey Coogan Cisek is excited to announce an upcoming Women’s Cyclocross Clinic in Minnesota.
This all-day clinic will take place in Mendota Heights, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis) on August 24.
The clinic is the first initiative of Coogan Cisek’s new privateer team, “Triple C Racing.” While Triple C Racing’s current focus is supporting Coogan Cisek’s 2019–2020 European campaign, she’s established the Triple C brand to support her eventual transition out of racing.
“My days as an Elite are numbered and I have created Triple C to prepare for a future career in coaching and leading camps and clinics. I’m doing a bit of personal coaching now and loving it. Right now, it’s all about balance. I’m primarily focusing on racing, but doing some coaching and teaching takes me out of the self-centered athlete world. It’s fulfilling to share the sport I love!”
Triple C Racing is Corey Coogan Cisek’s new cyclocross program
Readers likely recognize Coogan Cisek’s name via her “The Cyclocross Apprenticeship” column in which she details her experiences racing professional cyclocross in Belgium. Given her extensive racing experience, as well as the mentorship she’s received in Europe, Coogan Cisek brings breadth and depth of knowledge.
However, Coogan Cisek points to her experiences in the States as providing useful knowledge she would like to share:
“Honestly, it’s all about the mistakes I’ve made. There were so many years that I spent relatively undersupported, flying around the country and learning by doing. When it comes to advising new riders, knowing how to descend De Kuil at Zonhoven is totally irrelevant.“
“Rather, it’s more about answering: How do you pack for a day of racing? How do you stay dry and warm between pre-rides? How do you approach a course feature that scares you? How do you train around a fulltime job in the decreasing daylight of cyclocross season?“
Corey Coogan Cisek has raced extensively in Europe the past two seasons. 2019 Brussels Universities Cyclocross. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine
Clinic Details
The Triple C clinic will take place on Saturday, August 24 at Friendly Hills Park in Mendota Heights. The morning session starts at 9 a.m. and the afternoon session is at 1 p.m.
Early reg for the full day is $30 and the afternoon session is $20.
Click here to register for the clinic
For more info, you can also e-mail tripleccoach [at[ gmail [dot] com.
Clinic Background
While Coogan Cisek has taken a few years off from coaching to focus on racing, her history includes extensive work as a junior coach. A former elite Nordic ski racer, she started coaching high school and Junior high skiers while she was in college. She continued that work for eight years. Early in her cycling career, she also coached road and cyclocross for a local development team, Minnesota Junior Cycling.
This is Minnesota’s first-ever all-day women’s clinic, and Coogan Cisek hopes to make it an annual event.
“We’ve had some great clinics in the past. Jonathan Page did one with The Fix Studio several years ago. Personally, I got my start at the Ridley Factory Team clinics Paul Schoening held in Minnesota ten plus years ago. At this point, Minneapolis/St. Paul has a strong culture of midweek cyclocross practices, but we are lacking intensive clinics. I want this to be an event that transitions women from ‘newbie’ to race-competent and supports the development of intermediate competitors. After the clinic, a rider can attend cyclocross practices knowing exactly what she needs to work on.“
“I’m also excited to host a women’s event. It’s an opportunity to build our cycling culture and create an environment where women share knowledge and build skills together.”
The clinic takes place in three parts. The August 24th morning session covers the basics and is designed both for new riders and more experienced riders alike.
“Everyone has knowledge gaps and will learn something new. It’s also a great way for experienced riders to commit a block of time to review and practice,” says Coogan Cisek.
Part 2, the afternoon session, builds upon what was learned in the morning. For example, the morning will cover cyclocross starts, but in the afternoon riders will practice starting after a missed pedal. More experienced riders may elect to attend for just the afternoon.
The third part of the clinic occurs as part of the Minnesota cyclocross season-opener, the All-City Intercontinental Cyclocross Championships, at Wirth Park in Minneapolis on September 7. Coogan Cisek will be on hand to support clinic participants in the women’s category 4–5 race. She will pre-ride with them, help with tire pressure and answer questions.
Since All-City Cycles is offering femme/trans/women free entry to the Intercontinental Championships, FTW should feel supported in doing their first race!
Coogan Cisek points out that Minneapolis is within easy driving distance of cyclocross hotspots Chicago, Madison and Iowa City. She is happy to help out of town riders to secure host housing if they reach out.
Coogan Cisek is a USA Cycling Level 2 coach and the clinic is USA Cycling permitted. Full clinic information can be found at usacycling.org.
