The months of October through December are usually considered “off-season” for competitive road cyclists. This generally means there is minimal, or no, racing on the calendar to disrupt preparations for the upcoming season.
But for Leo Bugtai (SoCalCycling.com Team), this “off-season” included the three-race CBR Resume Builder Series, as he was striving to move up from Category 2 to 1, in order to race at the highest level of the sport of road cycling.
The CBR Resume Builder Series was hotly contested, as riders from all over California were looking to use these winter races to earn their upgrades and propel them into 2018 at a higher level of competition.
With that said, and having won the overall title as well as earning his Category 1 upgrade, Leo is poised to live his dream of racing at the professional-level in 2018.
Following his Resume Builder Series success, Leo’s Coaches Brian and Joy McCulloch at Big Wheel Coaching caught up with Leo for a four-question interview in their BWC Athlete Profile.
Leo’s Athlete Bio:
Primary Sport/Discipline: Road Cycling
Average Hours of Training Per Week: 18-22hrs
Upcoming Goals: The 2018 Road Racing Season
Interview:
Question #1: Congratulations on winning the CBR Resume Builder Series, Leo! You raced aggressive throughout the series, and had some great results, what are a few of your highlights from the races?
Leo Bugtai: CBR’s are becoming the most competitive races here in SoCal. At any given race you will have many talented riders, in every category, bringing their “A-Game”.
Some of my highlights stem from not limiting myself to just 1-tactic, always going for the break-away, to learning how to best position myself properly for a sprint finish.
Some of my highlights stem from not limiting myself to just 1-tactic, always going for the break-away, to learning how to best position myself properly for a sprint finish.
This growth, being able to both attack and sprint, has been my most memorable highlight from the CBR Resume Builder Series.
After each race, I reflected upon how I could better execute my race strategy in a break-away situation as well as how I could better myself as a sprinter, should it be a “bunch finish”.
Although I did not win any of the races, I had consistent results, which earned me the series title.
The 2018 CBR Series returns this weekend. Visit SoCalCycling.com’s Event Calendars for upcoming Road Events, Mountain Bike Event & Gravel Grinders and Fun Rides & Gran Fondos throughout the season for great cycling events.
Top photo – Jeff Prinz, CBR
Race Photo – Christy Nicholson, EchelonDesignPhoto.com
