Cyclocross training

Triathlon Forum
1

after much deliberation, i have decided to put my triathlon training on hold, as well as my focus on most forms of bike racing. it’s just too important for me to do well in my first year of grad school, and while i’ll still be racing mtb and crits, i won’t have the time to drive to good trails or to improve my acceleration.

i am not the type of guy who can go very long without competing, though, and it occurs to me that cyclocross is the best choice for me - races last an hour at most, my technical skills (or lack thereof) won’t hurt me as much in cross as in mountain biking, and the race is way more steady-state than crits.

so far, i haven’t found any good resources online or in books for how to train for a cyclocross race. does anyone have any experience in this?

2

Do TT training with jumps and sprints in the middle. A cylcocross race is one big fat TT with some sprints tossed in. If your HR isn’t pegged, your not going to be in the hunt.

Great racing, lots of fun and very tough. Skip the long endurance rides and start doing up to 1 hour efforts at LT and beyond.

3

I second what Russell says. Also, do everything with no/minimum braking. Momentum is everything is cross. Practice cornering with no brakes (do this off road on soft grass). Don’t be afraid to crash while learning. No brakes!

4

I agree with the other two replies. But you’re dead wrong if you think cross is “way more steady state than a crit.” If you just want to finish it, then it could be true. But if you want to be competitive, then you’ve got to be able to go all out, then recover at steady state, then repeat many many times. The best book is “Cyclocross” by Simon Burney.

5

I guess it is all point of view, but some aspects of cross are more difficult to me than mtb racing. I seem to have problems on off camber muddy turns. I can’t bunny hop the barriers, and all that has to be done way past redline. I think you are right though, it is easy, time wise to train for cross. I go to the parks after dark and train under the lights sometimes. You don’t need a 3-4 hour block to train, and if the weather is ugly the cross is more fun. I train 90% of the time on my singlespeed cross bike, cause it is so easy to keep clean.

6

The Burney book is a good start if you need some reading material. Get your hands on some video. (World Cycling Productions should have Worlds) A crit is a Sunday roll in comparison. My avg hr is 175+ with spikes into the 190s during a cross race. If you aren’t braking for a corner, you are accelarating(sprinting) for one hour. Good luck. Cyclocross is the most fun one can have on a bike, while being anaerobic, and giggling!

If you live in the SF Bay Area, our team puts on a few clinics as the season gets closer. Check out www.Sycip.com for dates in September-ish. I think other teams in Portland, Seattle, Boston and the other cross areas do the same.

check out www.cyclocrossworld.com for: TRANSITION: AN AMERICAN CYCLOCROSS SEASON DVD

June 8, 2005
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