Anyone who has ever taken on, or watched a cyclocross race, has probably wondered what it would be like to race Belgium’s infamous Christmas period races. A little over a week, jam packed with raced nearly every other day. The biggest stars in the sport, the worst weather, and huge crowds of so many Dutch and Belgian fan’s all on vacation. This year, one small Victoria, B.C. team is taking Christmas period racing on, all on its own.
Broad Street Breakaway is a new team based on Vancouver Island. While the specific program is only in its first year, its developed out of Broad Street Cycles years of experience supporting local teams and, then, the Instafund La Prima women’s road team. After years of hearing the perpetual conversation about how there is little support in Canada about the lack of support for racers, Broad Street Breakaway formed to start building a space for local riders.
“We saw a gap in our local community between junior and elites that is hard to fill,” says Fabian Merino, one of the driving forces behind the team and a racer himself. “We wanted to provide the support needed to have a home for development so riders can keep growing after leaving the junior rankings.”
“I feel we had an ideal combination of experience between Renny, Fabian and I to launch such an endeavor,” adds Andrew Flowers, team mechanic and one of the driving forces behind the program. “Combining these made sense. Running our own team lets us focus on the needs of our racers best.”
Broad Street Breakaway: Structure is the support
The Breakaway structure is just in its first year and, as you might expect, the main benefit to racers isn’t financial. Instead, the focus is on leveling the playing field with pro racers in other ways.
“Having the mechanical support for every rider has been a game changer,” says Merino, with quick agreement from team rider Liam Sargent. “As a rider, it was so good to have my equipment looked at before, during and after a race.”
“A significant portion of the support we can offer is organizational,” Flowers adds. “Previously, we may provide a kit and a bike, but once the athlete got to the event they were on their own. In contrast, I have been at most of the races the team has done this season. We can fix problems as they have arise, rather than needing the athlete to seek outside support. We can be rebuilding bicycles overnight,…
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