Background and Coaching Philosophy:

Gary Hoffman is a former full-time amateur cyclist who raced throughout the continental United States and Canada in the mid 1970s.. In 1976 he was the Virginia State Rd. champion, qualified for the United States Olympic trials (Road race), and competed in the prestigious Red Zinger Classic Stage Race. After he began a career in financial services and started a family he returned to racing as a master in his 30s, 40s and now 50s. Gary has over 35 career wins including the Fitchburg/Longsjo Classic, the New England road championships and six Virginia state championship titles over a 30 year period including the 2007 Virginia State 50+ road champion and 6 wins in 2008. He is USA Cycling category 2 road licensed.

As a small business owner and father of five children Gary knows first hand about getting results while juggling family and business on a busy schedule with limited hours to train and an often reduced racing schedule. He became an early advocate of using a periodized approach to training and is a strong advocate of utilizing team tactics in amateur racing clubs. His specialty is road sprinting and believes that every cyclist can and should improve their sprint. While his competitive strength is on the road and especially criteriums, he also enjoys racing cyclocross and track racing on the velodrome. In 2007 Gary finished eighth the US Masters Nationals points race at the Trexeltown Pennsylvania velodrome.

Gary began training with power in the 2006 racing season after personally observing coached athletes of Hunter Allen and the Peaks Coaching Group motoring away from the field! After experiencing the benefits of using a personal coach using power and WKO+ software, in 2007 he began to utilize his knowledge and experience in bicycle racing as a USA certified cycling coach with Hunter Allen and the Peaks Coaching Group.

Gary's strengths as a coach are in 1) racing tactics and strategies, 2) training on limited time, 3) using power and power analysis including developing a customized and periodized plan to reach goals 4) how to best work with teammates to achieve wins and team success.

As a rider he is just as often in a team support role as being a designated sprinter and enjoys both. Those experiences are transferable and can be quite useful in the communication process and the development of the athlete who wants to advance more quickly.

Positive Bicycle Racing Team Achievements:

• Schwinn/BC Wheelers: in the mid-19 70s Gary was one of three teammates to qualify for the US road Olympic trials. He and his teammates traveled and raced to many top three in top five road qualifying events through out the US.
• New England masters racing team: in the late 80's and early 90's, the NEMRT became the #1 Masters team in New England in 35+ events with 10-15+ race wins spread out over 5-6 riders per year including the New England road and criterium championships and one masters national criterion champion, Mark Hagen.
• 3. Richbrau/ Contes masters team: in 1999-2000 more than 10+ wins were spread out over 4-5 racers with Gary winning the Masters Omni 40+ then Bar 40+ in this time period.
• 4. CRC/Extreme masters racing: numerous wins were achieved in the 50 plus category including 59-year-old John Hackett who won the Amphibious Assault criterium, the last race win of his career in a breakaway sprint finish.
• DC Velo: numerous wins were achieved in the 50 plus squad which became the number one ranked team in the mid Atlantic region. Extensive racing strategy was employed in support of two 50+ Bar champs in 2005 and 2006.
• Team Natures Path/3Sports: in 2007 numerous wins were spread amongst four racers in the 50 plus category including two road titles, two criterium titles and some brilliant riding in support of Virginia BAR and Omni Champion Dennis Raineer.
• In 2008 Gary rode in support of his teams’ new 50+ criterium champion David Clarke while the team won the overall team BAR championship and the 50+ squad achieved x number of mass start wins.

Gary believes in setting specific written goals and the power of the mind in athletic achievement. "Mental preparation is equally as important as physical preparation and you have to get yourself into a position to win i.e. you can't start your sprint from 10 positions back at 200 m and expect to pass everyone at the line! Also you can't win if you get dropped from the field, or on a hill or after crashing on a corner. You must learn how to ride in a pack, conserve your energy, and how and when to attack. Above all you must 'believed to achieve', and truly know that you can win in order to win. "

In working with his athletes Gary believes in the importance of using successful race strategy. Analyze races both before and after the competition to determine weaknesses and opportunities is recommended. Careful race analysis will enable the athlete to prepare better both physically and mentally for upcoming competition and speed up the learning process.

Also Gary believes, particularly in amateur racing, that you must "share the wealth"; that is "give your teammates the opportunity to win at least as often as you would like them to give you an opportunity to win".

Client Comments:

In a few short months I started working with you I turned consistent pack finishes into consistent podium finishes and I quickly upgraded to category III. I especially appreciate the detailed analysis and discussions we had over power data - that is stuff I couldn't have gotten out of a book. You pointed me down the right track by recognizing my strengths and teaching me to exploit them… in over 20 years of riding a bicycle, it took you as my coach to make me realize that I was a sprinter! Additionally anyone can benefit from the training efficiency your coaching provides-with a full-time job and family commitments, I got the most out of my limited training time. Most importantly, I want to say thanks for taking the time to meet with Susie and me personally to ride Jefferson cup race course. That interaction met a lot… and we went on to nail down husband-and-wife podium finishes in our respective races.

Gary, Thank you so much for your time and patience working with me. You took me on as a client when I was a textbook example of lots of hard work with no direction. You explained and applied important concepts for me. Things like periodization, rest and recovery, time management in working toward goals and showed tremendous patience as I am sure I was a pain in the ass to teach. Additionally you helped me identify technical weaknesses and how to go about improving them. It is really quite remarkable that I have any sprint at all, and while I'm not winning sprints, I am no longer embarrassed, as I used to be, by how truly bad at them I was. Additionally you talked me through the labyrinth of charts, data and power tap info that was completely overwhelming to me. Lastly I would like to say how much I appreciated the support and encouragement you readily gave when I was frustrated and disappointed. Even when I didn't believe in myself, I think you genuinely did. And now, for at least a year, I'm part of a Masters National Champion Team Pursuit team and hold the National record for 60-64 men. Thanks!

Hey Gary, You are a genius. It (the state cyclocross championships) was the best race I have had even though I just got second place. I got there early, rode the course several times then had a good warm up on the trainer. It was 21 degrees but I felt warm. I thought of the race in 3 parts. I started as hard as I could and found myself leading the entire field of about 50 riders. After half a lap I overcooked a turn and crashed. I got back up and was able to keep passing people like crazy. I could see the good guys in my age group but crashed again. This time my computer fell off. I just had to rely on my training drills of accelerating as hard as I could out of each corner. I made progress again until the last lap. I caught my team sprinter and the strongest guy. I was bumping shoulders with the leader but could not get around him in the tight turns. We went over the final barriers pretty close. It was a true sprint finish. I beat my teammate by half a wheel to get second. I was pretty nauseous after the race but I feel better today. What a good year! 2 state champs and a podium. Thanks for the great coaching.