It has been a great couple of weeks with a lot going on around Fincycling. As I am writing this, the team is heading for Otepää, Estonia for the second training camp this spring. The first training camp was held in Tikkurila between March 21st and 22nd. Another important event, a press conference, was held on Monday March 30th. A new team and new sponsors were introduced and the event was well noticed by the Finnish press. In this article you can read about the first training camp, the Fincycling 2015 team, the schedule for 2015 and about the Fincycling press conference. 

Fincycling Training Camp - Tikkurila

The first training camp of the year was held in Tikkurila, Vantaa. It was the first time the team was together after the kick-off in Tampere in October last year. The weekend was about getting to know each other, riding together and learning useful basic things such as how to operate next to the team car, receiving orders and fetching bottles.

Important was also to go through what it means to be a part of the Fincycling team, your responsibilities as a rider and a team mate to others. As has been said before, cycling is a team sport and it is important that you can work together as a team, not only in the saddle but off the saddle as well.

Team Fincycling 2015

As last year, the core team include 9 riders aged 16-18 and to every race a team of 6 boys will be selected. The 2015 Fincycling team consist of riders from across the country, from Helsinki to Oulu.

The core Fincycling cyclists for 2015:

• Erik Relanto, TuUL
• Jesse Uusiperhe, TuUL
• Jaakko Hänninen, Tainionkosken Tähti
• Ville Hirvenoja, CCH
• Jonne Itkonen, CCH
• Simo Terävä, Jyväskylän Pyöräilyseura
• Joel Bergman, Hyvinkään Pyöräilijät
• Aku Keloneva, Oulun Triathlon & Cycling
• Jonas Nordström, Porvoon Akilles

A more detailed team introduction will be done during spring where you will be able to learn more about the boys and who they are. 

The riders will represent their own clubs outside the Fincycling and the Finnish national team racing calendar. Also a rider will always represent his home club if the selected race is organized by the home club. It is important to notice that the Fincycling project is co-operating with the national clubs helping develop our juniors.

Fincycling 2015 Schedule

The main objective again is to race against other juniors in Europe including UCI races and the European Road Championships, meaning that Fincycling will in 2015 also officially take care of the U19 Finnish National Team. The main target for the 2015 season is the European Road Championships held in Tartu, Estonia, August 6-8th 2015.

The complete 2015 schedule:

• 21-22.3.2015 - Training Camp, Tikkurila, Finland
• 2-6.4.2015 - Training Camp, Otepää, Estonia
• 19.4.2015 - Lattomeriajo, Pori
• 25-26.4.2015 - SK-Muistoajo and TS-Kortteliajot, Turku, Finland
• 30.4-3.5.2015 - UCI 2.1 La Coupe du Président de la Ville Grudziad, Poland
• 17.5.2015 - 35. Rosendahl GP Tampere, Finland
• 22-24.5.2015 - UCI 2.1 De 34e Internationale Juniorendriedaagse van Axel, Netherlands
• 5-7.6.2015 - UCI Ncup Trofeo Karlsberg, Germany (Finnish National Team)
• 3-6.7.2015 - UCI 2.1 Sint-Martinusprijs Kontich, Belgium
• 11-12.7.2015 - UCI Ncup GP Général Patton, Luxembourg (Finnish National Team)
• 17-19.7.2015 - UCI 2.1 Öberösterreich Juniorenrundfahr, Austria
• 1.8.2015 - Filtter Cup ITT, Tallin, Estonia
• 2.8.2015 - Lauri Aus Memorial, Tallinn, Estonia 
• 6-8.8.2015 - European Road Championships (ITT & Road), Tartu, Estonia

Fincycling Press Conference

The Fincycling press conference was held on Monday March 30th in Technopolis, Vantaa. Fincycling was represented by Juho Suikkari, Kjell Carlström, Charly Wegelius, Toomas Kirsipuu, Pera Linna and Kati Õunap.

Toomas Kirsipuu is a new member in the Fincycling 2015 staff. Toomas has a strong background in road cycling both as a cyclist and a manager, and he knows what it takes to become a professional. He will be acting as a DS in some races and assisting the team during training camps throughout the season.

Many of the Fincycling-partners from 2014 will continue with the project. Fincycling also has new partners for the 2015 season. Among these are Technopolis, Terveystalo Sport and Pelican Self Storage. Fincycling will also be riding KTM road bikes in 2015.

"Being active plays a key role in the prevention and treatment of diseases that endanger or impair working and functional capacity. There is a clear link between employees who regularly exercise and decreased absence rates and healthcare expenses, increased efficiency and longer careers. People need sports and physical exercise to stay healthy and lively." - Technopolis Press release

The press conference and Fincycling got a lot of attention in the media, especially by being an exceptional phenomenon in the Finnish sports scene. That's true, things are done professionally and the people behind the project are committed. 

Links to articles:

• HS.fi
• Kestävyysurheilu.fi
• Yle Sporten

It is only a couple of weeks until the first race takes place in Pori. It will be interesting to see how the guys will perform and if the learning curve is as steep as last year. To be sure you have all the latest news and interesting stories, follow Fincycling on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Fincycling.com. I will of course be reporting along the road as well. 

Let the season begin!