SCOTT Sports India, the Indian arm of the globally recognized multisport company SCOTT Sports, recently organized the first ever three-day SCOTT Athlete Program for athletes in the field of cycling at the Rolling Academy Bike Park, Pune, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The aim was to encourage cyclists’ love and passion towards the sport and to ‘become world class players’. According to SCOTT Sports India, this has not been attempted by any other cycling brand in India to date.
The Scott Athlete program is positioned as an ‘honest attempt at supporting deserving athletes in sports like cycling, understanding their aspirations and goals, and helping them in reaching those.’ Scott Sports India has at its core a select group of athletes in varied disciplines such as cross country mountain biking, triathlon, downhill racing and a road cycling team.
The company held the first of its kind, 3 Day intensive training program, under the guidance of Nigel Smith, an avid road cyclist and a British level 1 certified coach. Organized at the Rolling Academy Bike Park, Pune, the camp focused on both physical and mental aspects, and the aim was to create customized training plans for each Scott athlete.
Scott Sports India aims to create this as an ongoing program ‘to develop world-class players out of worthy athletes who embody the SCOTT spirit of ‘No Shortcuts’, believe in the power of sport and encourage those around them to do the same.’
The program involved technical training with a scientific approach. Firstly, the athletes were classified as per segments – Amateur, Semi Pro Athlete, Pro Athlete, and then according to the equipment they used. Formulation of a customized training regime highlighting areas of improvement took place after understanding each athlete’s body, his or her heart rate and current performance.
The focus also was on planning as per the athletes’ race calendar, after looking at what was the most important race for each respective athlete. The program touched on different aspects on training, how to practice, the number of training sessions per week along with the number of hours per session – coupled with a personalized nutrition plan to align with individual athlete’s diet.
The SCOTT Athlete Program is about creating a platform where the athletes get information on current performance and areas of improvement through providing them access to certified and qualified SCOTT resources and the right equipment to compete at national and international races.
“We believe such camps can be useful for regular cyclists as well, as data from everyday rides shows us increasing levels of performance and the reasons behind them and this is where a coaching plan can come handy,” said Jaymin Shah, Country Manager, SCOTT Sports India.
“As a brand, SCOTT has always stood for doing what must be and should be done, and this camp too was a small step in the direction that our brand stands for – ‘No Shortcuts’.”
