Letter from the Director

Friends,

As summer draws to a close and we enter the melee of returning to school and our fall cycling seasons, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all and to celebrate some successes despite a very challenging year. 

As you are aware, COVID-19 mitigation efforts and related safety measures truncated our Spring/Summer 2020 programming and postponed many of our events. Despite that, we were able to have some semblance of our Road and MTB cycling seasons thanks to our dedicated volunteer coaches and hard-working CCAP staff. We would not have been able to do any of this without your support, advice, and availability. On behalf of the CCAP staff and Board, we thank you.

Throughout the past six months, I have spoken with staff at USA Cycling and several peer youth cycling programs to share and learn about best practices for program and event safety in the era of COVID-19. One major takeaway from these discussions is that our CCAP community is among those leading the way. Our riders, families, and coaches continue to set the standard we’re known for and we’re quite proud of that.

Upon Governor Lamont’s announcement of Connecticut’s reopening plans in late June, we shifted into gear and pivoted to develop a plan that allowed us to execute four evening road criterium races safely and effectively at Rentschler Field. Our riders and families who attended adhered to the COVID-19 safety protocols with little argument and we had a great, albeit short, run of events at our summer home on Tuesday nights. We adapted this plan for our August cyclocross camp, attended by 25 young riders, and again for our annual Rocky Hill Cyclocross Series, which begins next week. Many of our MTB teams continued riding together throughout the Summer and plan to ride well through the Fall. 

As we open registration for a limited number of Fall Cyclocross teams, we ask you to continue your vigilance, both at our practices and events.  Your support will help the CCAP continue to operate safely. We’re one of very few youth cycling programs currently operating in the USA and that’s 100% thanks to all of you staying within our guidelines and keeping both our kids and community safe. 

Ride safe,

Jed S. Kornbluh
CCAP, Executive Director