Filed under “News about a Tête de la Course Cycling coached athlete in another sport that I also do” I got a text from Braxton Thornley a few days ago that he had placed 6th in the classic sprint race at USSS Junior Nationals being held this week in Cable, Wisconsin. Braxton lives in Anchorage, Alaska and was on the Junior 15-16 trip to Belgium that I led last summer. I have been coaching Braxton – in cycling, not skiing – for almost a year now. I also ski and have participated in some ski races myself over the years, most recently this past Sunday in the 40 km Tour of Anchorage. During my stay there Braxton’s father John set me up with a place to stay and a vehicle to drive – a vehicle which was available because he and his wife are in France where they caught a few stages of Paris-Nice and were able to see Luke Lamperti win Stage 1. John is also the proud owner of one of Matteo Jorgenson’s Jumbo-Visma team bikes that his wife won in an auction. And, just like Braxton, both Matteo and Luke were on nieuwelingen race blocks in Belgium that I was directing. So a lot of cross over, which is pretty cool.
Similar to Braxton I got involved in both cycling and cross country skiing in my early teens. During his ski season Braxton works with an Anchorage based Nordic ski coach who has been coaching for a very long time. I know from personal experience that cycling and Nordic skiing are great compliments to each other not only from a cross training perspective but also due to the fact that your brain gets a break from specializing in only one sport. Doing multiple sports is particularly important for young athletes. Once Braxton gets back from USSS Junior Nationals next week we will start with some on the bike time. That said, winter is still in full swing in Anchorage as I saw last week so there will still be plenty of ski time to be had as well.
