AAVC JUNIORS
About Us
The Ann Arbor Velo Club Juniors programs has a rich history and tradition. Started in the 90's, the program was a key contributor to the AAVC winning USA Cycling's Club of the Year award. Additionally, we were one of the first Clubs to sponsor a Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic Race. Our program was a model followed by many other bike clubs, and several graduates of this program went on to do very well in competitive cycling.
Our mission is to expose young people to bicycle racing in the safest, most fun and positive manner possible. Besides teaching young riders the skills necessary to become successful bicycle racers, we also emphasize that we expect our racers to be responsible citizens. Homework, volunteering, and cycling must co-exist for AAVC Junior team members.
For more information, contact the Junior’s Coach, Laurens de Jong.
Membership
The AAVC offers two membership options.
Individual membership ($30).
Family membership ($50); covers all riders in the family!
The club benefits for juniors (under 18).
All the practices, workouts, field trips and road trips organized by the team.
If you race, the AAVC provides you with a team kit.
If you race at least four times in a calendar year, the AAVC reimburses your USA Cycling license.
Meet Our Team
The Members
The members of our juniors team each bring something unique and fun to the group. We are always looking to add new members, and sometimes our riders do “age out” or move on to different interests.
Our Coach
It just so happens that the juniors team coach is also the president of AAVC! Laurens de Jong is a USA Cycling certified coach, and also brings an entire lifetime of cycling experience to the club. He has two children, Ansel and Amalia, who ride and race with the juniors team.
Our Juniors Training
SafeSport
The AAVC Juniors programs strictly adheres to a SafeSport framework, meaning that the club provides its members with an environment that is emotionally and physically safe. We encourage parents and guardians to read over the SafeSport information and the accompanying SafeSport Parent Toolkit for more information.
Our Weekly Practices
The types of coached bike training we offer our juniors include road, track, and cyclocross. Our juniors race according to interest and ability. These different styles of biking vary by season, and may require different types of bicycles and equipment. If there are any questions or concerns about bikes and equipment, please contact the junior’s coach, Laurens de Jong. Members will be able to sign up for email notifications about the junior’s training schedule throughout the year, but we do follow a consistent schedule.
Racing with the Juniors Team
Our juniors race according to interest and ability. Riders, parents, and coach make a joint decision about what races fit for the junior racers. The following are examples of the kind of racing the juniors do.
Road Racing
From about April until October, most of our racing is on the road. Some of the racing is on closed, short circuits where we do many laps. tThese are called criterium races or crits. Other road races are a long loop on open roads, around 15-20 miles. Finally, we sometimes race time trials, where the racer rides one or several long loops on open roads individually, and their time is compared to that of other individual racers.
An active junior racer can be expected to race seven or eight criteriums in a single season, two or three time trials, and two or three true road races. All these races are within a few hours drive of Ann Arbor, in Michigan or Ohio.
Cyclocross Racing
After road racing season, from October through November, we dedicate all our racing efforts to racing in the mud and grass, which is called cyclocross. This type of racing is done on a closed course, about 1.5 miles in length. Most courses feature grass, sand, mud, hills, steps, and other barriers. Racers ride for 30 or 40 minutes. Critical for cyclocross is being able to dismount, carry your bike, and remount quickly. We practice these skills all year. An active junior racer can be expected to race seven or eight cyclocross races in a single season.