DENVER, CO (BRAIN)—Attendance jumped 25 to 30 percent at the second year of the Serotta International Cycling Institute Science Symposium and Expo, according to event organizer and Institute director Dr. Ray Browning.
This year’s event was held from Jan.27 to 30 at the Denver Renaissance Hotel, and hosted a mix of about 220 retailers, cycling coaches, academics and clinicians.
Browning linked the increased participation to more awareness in the event’s second year, as well as better marketing and more exhibitors at the expo.
About half of all the attendees were retailers, Browning said.
“I was pleased that a lot of retailers that had not had a great fourth quarter in sales were still willing to dedicate resources toward going,” Browning said.
The three-day symposium included 19 lectures and about a dozen retailer, coaching and clinical breakout sessions.
Most of the speakers came from the world of academia to present the latest research and science related to fit technique, cycling biomechanics and saddle design.
Jim Twigg, co-owner of Revolutions Cyclery in Melbourne, Florida, appreciated Dr. Jim Martin’s lecture on how to use a power meter to determine aerodynamic drag, thus achieving the same effect of a wind tunnel test without actually using a wind tunnel.
Twigg said he will try to offer that testing in the future to clients want to spend a day out on the rural roads.
“It’s going to help a lot of racers get better without having the expense of going to a wind tunnel,” Twigg said.
In a departure from science, Lori Richman, the director of human resources for Quality Bicycle Products, spoke to her audience about how to assess different personality types and communicate with people accordingly.
“That was an attempt by us to add some psychology to the program,” Browning said, adding that Richman’s address was well-received.
For more on this year’s Serotta Symposium read the March 1 issue of BRAIN.
— Nicole Formosa
