SIMPSON BAY--If Nicole Erato hasn’t been seen on the road bike or on the island that often, that’s because she’s been training overseas, in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, USA, to be precise. That was an intensive two-week training course that took place from April 13 to25.
“It was an incredible experience and I left with an immense amount of knowledge and as a stronger, more confident cyclist,” Nicole told The Daily Herald. “I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. While at the camp, the head coaches were very impressed with my abilities. By the end of the camp, I was out-sprinting many of the top male athletes there. “And its thanks to the St. Maarten government, specifically the Department of Sports, that made it possible,” she emphasised. “I applied for funding independently last year and it was approved. I used the funding to fly to the US where I attended the training camp.” Her training continues. On June 4 she will be racing in Costa Rica at the World Championship series in Gran Fonda. “It is a race of 128km and considered a training race for the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, which I will be attending in the beginning of August 2023,” she explained.
“After Costa Rica, I will fly back to the US for more training in North Carolina from June 8 to 22. I will spend two weeks with my personal coach, Paul Ozier. While there we will cycle around 900km with lots of elevation and up to 20hrs per week. “Paul is convinced he can get my power to world class level and we’ve been working very hard together as a team to reach that. I’ve dropped 15lbs since starting and continuously working on increasing my power to weight ratio.” Nicole has a packed schedule this year and that includes the 2023 Caribbean Championships in Guadeloupe. “I feel very prepared to take on the Caribbean Championships. With my current fitness and power numbers, I have a huge chance of standing on the podium or winning overall in both the road and Time Trial (TT) race. And we still have time for more improvement as the race is in September/October.”
She discloses she is in the process of getting a new bike and Tri Sport has been very helpful in making this happen. “A big thank you goes to Susy, Mark (mechanic) and my Tri Sport family. I’ve been riding the same bike since 2015 and so this will definitely be a huge game changer as far as performance is concerned.” Nicole is currently looking for sponsorship to help with all of the expenses required to reach these goals: races, travel, coaching, equipment and accommodations. Anyone interested can contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. “My goal is simple,” she concludes. “I want to demonstrate to the athletes of our island that it is possible to go further in their chosen sport, that we are good enough to represent Sint Maarten on an international and worldwide level. We do not need to limit our goals and dreams."
