Fitness Exceeded Expectations. The Results Speak.

Hello there! 

My name is Nick Kleban. You may know me from my sliver of clout in Montreal (I’m coming for your follower count Titho) or more likely, you don’t. Here’s a little about myself. I’m a pro rider for UCI continental squad Team Skyline, a Physiology student at McGill University set to graduate in 2 months, the current president of the McGill cycling club and a recent coaching addition here at Toguri Training Systems.

Now I know you are all DYING to know, “Nick how did you become a coach?” Well, my friend who I met at university, Oliver Wockner, is 100% responsible. Oliver came to me approximately one year ago today and asked me if I would coach him. Oliver had started a new job and was finding less and less time to bike. I quickly hopped on the opportunity. Soon after, a few more members from Oliver’s team, Denivele CC, jumped on board and the “freshman class” was born. 

These guys all either work full-time jobs or go to school full-time. They work incredibly hard both on and off the bike and it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t take the chance to highlight everything they achieved this past season, rider by rider.  

Oliver Wockner

The original. As mentioned, Oliver was finding less and less time to ride after beginning a new job. My goal with Oliver was to create a customized training program around his work schedule so he’d be able to regularly train. Once Oliver got into regular training, the improvements were colossal. From his first test to where he is now, Oliver jumped from 300 watts for 20 minutes to now 360 watts for the same duration. Over 5 minutes, he went from 350 (less than what he can do for 20 minutes now) to now deep into the 400s. Most impressive to me is Oliver’s improvement over 1 minute which, if you ever ride Cote Polytechnique with him, you know is serious business. Oliver went from riding 446 watts for 1 minute to now well over 700!! A near 60% increase…. Incredible.

Adithya Lakshimarayan

Adithya is an interesting case. We saw huge improvements fast in the fall, but he had to take a prolonged leave off the bike for personal reasons in the new year. The setback didn’t slow him down and he embraced the challenge head on. This season Adithya went from 425 watts for 1 minute and 319 for 5 now and now he sits just shy of 600watts for 1 minute and nearly 350 watts for 5 minutes. He also recently knocked off a huge PR for 20 minutes last month. “Didi '' has got the taste for getting his elbows out too, having placed top ten at the final of the Mecredi Laval crits. 

John Sullivan 

Got married this year. Biggest win of all - congrats Johnny!

Felix Fournier

Fournier always was a natural puncheur, so his 1-2 minute power was already exceptional when we began. He came to me to improve his 5-20 minute power and he blew it out of the park. The first 20 minute effort he did he clocked in at 289 watts. Felix recently banged out 340 watts during a TT on the Voie Maritime. As for his 5 minute power, Felix improved from 337 watts to 421 watts (over 6/kg). The scary part is this is only the beginning… 

David Contini 

My man in Italy. David has years of cycling experience but he came to me this year to improve his zone 2 endurance in preparation for the Maratona dles Dolomites, one of the most famous and challenging Gran Fondos in the world. The course is 138km and features 4200 meters of climbing. David finished the fondo in a personal best time of 7 hours and 14 minutes (oufff). He also recently completed another famous fondo, the Nove Colli, with a finishing time of just over 9 hours in the saddle. Congrats David!

Jordan Miller 

Jordan came to me to ride faster, period. What better place to go fast than in a TT? Jordan was always a strong TT rider, but the specialist himself took off this summer at the bi-weekly Voie Maritime TT’s. Jordan improved each and every week, both in power and results, culminating with a 3rd place finish at the final race of the season. It’s too bad his coach is ALSO a TT specialist (if you know, you know) and took an emphatic win that day (shameless). He has since gotten fitted out on a real TT bike and I expect the days of his coach being able to beat him are numbered. 

Bryce Stephenson 

Bryce went for a ride with me when he was visiting Montreal this spring. I mentioned to him that I had begun coaching and he told me he really wanted to get into racing. The rest is history. Bryce stepped into the Grand Prix Redempteur that very next week and got a taste for racing. Bryce went down early, but picked himself back up and kept going. He walked away that day not only with some scrapes and bruises but also with PR power numbers from 5’ all the way to 90 minutes. That’s when I knew Bryce was the real deal. 

After battling a late season injury, Bryce showed that fighting spirit again. As we were managing the injury almost day to day in the lead up to Canadian National Championships, I’ll admit I was unsure if Bryce would be able to compete. Because of this I gave him a soft goal, “just get to the loops (which begin after 45 minutes of racing), anything after that is a huge success.” Bryce didn’t just get to the loops, he was able to hang in and ride for 3.5 hours with the best cyclists in the country. The following weekend, he placed second in his home race at the British GP in Aylmer QC. Unbelievable. 

Denivele Climbing Challenge
For the other anglophones reading this, Denivele is the French word for “elevation”. Fittingly, I wanted to challenge all of the athletes with an end of season opportunity to go for a PR up Camilien-Houde. I knew every athlete was fit, but the results blew me away. I’ll let them speak for themselves. These guys are incredible. 

Oliver Wockner: 

Former PR 4:43 → 4:08

Adithya Lakshimarayan: 

Former PR 5:04 → 4:21

Felix Fournier: 

Former PR 4:34 → 4:10

Jordan Miller:

Former PR 4:39 → 4:23

Bryce Stephenson: 

Former PR 5:53 → 4:21 

I can’t wait to work with this crew for another season! For any coaching inquiries, send us a message to info@toguritraining.com.  

-Nick