Nick, briefly tell us about yourself, who you are and what your sport is?
My name is Nick Kleban. I’m a third year Physiology student at McGill university and a cyclist for the Ride with Rendall elite cycling team.
What were your original objectives this spring?
This April I was looking to compete in my first UCI America tour event as an elite cyclist, the Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I was also aiming to compete in all the rounds of the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) for the McGill Cycling Team.
Wow! That was quite a season planned. You must be bummed, what are you doing now?
After spending 3 weeks riding in warm weather, it was tough to start training full-time indoors again. My training as of now has been shifted to nearly 100% indoors on Zwift in the “pain cave” (it’s like a man cave but with spin bikes) of my basement apartment in Montreal.
And what about later on in your season?
As of now, many of the major events I was targeting this season has been either cancelled or postponed. At this point, only time will tell what things will look like for what’s left remainder of the season.
So what does that mean for your current training content?
My training, for the most, part has been unaffected. I’ve reduced the weekly training volume I’m doing on the bike due to the shift to indoor riding but there’s been a definite increase of intense workouts to compensate. The silver-lining is the volume reduction has opened more time for schoolwork now that McGill has shifted to remote learning.
How are you staying motivated?
Linking up to train with my roommates as well as others virtually on Zwift has been great for me! It’s really refreshing to have that “group ride” atmosphere during all this.
Bonus question: any new hobbies you have picked up with all this extra time at home?
I have been enjoying baking/ cooking new recipes with my girlfriend, Katie. Check out my Instagram stories regularly for what we make next!
I will do! It seems like a lot of folks are getting (re)acquainted with the kitchen, which is great to hear. Thanks for sharing your story with us!
Nick on Strava