#LIFEDEATHCYCLOCROSS
I came into cyclocross as a mountain bike racer, having spent the majority of my time racing cross-country and downhill, skate parks and dirt jumps. So I brought the sessioning approach to cyclocross from the beginning, and always knew my purpose was to figure out how to ride faster and faster on race courses, without relying solely on increasing fitness to do so. I came from the skills-based riding, so I always tried to improve my skills. However, it took years to figure out how to do that well, for numerous reasons (and I’m still figuring it out). And my fitness certainly had to come around too.
Today it’s quite clear and obvious to me what steps riders can take if their objective is to ride cyclocross well and fast. A huge component is simply putting in time riding on non-smooth surfaces over summer to ensure the brain is accustomed to all that information in front of the bike. You do that, check. So then what?
Fundamentals
Ok, so you’re spending time riding rough surfaces. Now what? Next is constant work on the fundamentals, which really comes down to understanding the concept of minimum speed on the bike. This is the speed at which running is either equally fast/slow BUT more consistent, OR, running is faster than pedaling, period. That’s a little about getting over ego for some, as cyclocross is not MTB trials; the point is not to prove we can ride everything on a given course, but to ride laps as fast as we can.
Then there’s the specific skills, like dismounts and remounts, barriers, run-ups, and riding tape-to-tape (corner trajectories). That’s the basic stuff, and most gains will happens around/outside race days, not at the races. The time to try out skills for the first or fifth time isn’t at the races. It’s probably in summer.
Going outside for even a half hour and creating your own skills features might be easier than you think. This is called ‘sessioning,’ and it involves executing the same skill/movement pattern repeatedly, experimenting with subtle changes in body position, braking, pedaling, etc.
Sand is all over the place. It’s best ridden when damp, and figure-8s (as below) are great. So much to learn, every single time.
Putting Fundamentals into Action at the Races
Getting onto the course at races is how we can both experiment with some of the skills we’ve been honing, AND try to determine which tactics will leverage the skills we have to the greatest overall effect. This means trying different lines and making decisions about plan-a, plan-b, etc. Hopefully this process will help riders understand that trying to win the race in one turn won’t actually work, but thinking about how to use energy optimally across the whole lap for the greatest overall speed is the name of the game. It IS the game!
The Image on the right is an example of a steep climb that requires tactical decision making, layered on top of meaningful testing during practice / course inspection before the race and sessioning ‘power climbs’ during the week. If the climb is really slow to ride, but can be ridden successfully consistently, the questions become: ‘Am I at my minimum speed on the climb? If so, should I run it to gain a few seconds?”
The COOL thing about cyclocross is that scenarios like this involve gambling / risk-taking in ways that are generally not dangerous or potentially ‘embarrassing’ or ‘career limiting’. As in, this is an environment where we can try things out that might totally flop, with no real consequence. Contrast against work scenarios where ‘taking a risk’ could wind up being career limiting. Cyclocross is about playing around with things, seeing what happens. Maybe running that climb IS faster, but also too taxing to actually capitalize on; you might need to try to find out!
Experimentation also means doing some standing starts where the actual race-start is to determine what gear is most likely right, and practicing the fast clip in. The opposite side of this coin is examining the final metres to the finish line and making a judgement on how to handle the final turns if going to the line with a rival. These are just some of the opportunities we have at the races, which most people don’t take advantage of.
Try not to worry about falling down. If you fall, learn something, move forward. It’s ok. We all fall.
The Immersion Approach
There’s another step we can take to increase our enjoyment of cyclocross and leverage the opportunities race-days offer. I call this the ‘immersion approach. The immersion approach to how we spend time at local races: we take the time to really look at each course, how people are riding them, and we analyze those decisions. This ‘race-craft’ compliments our individual experimentation and decision-making process.
The immersion approach is also vital to taking on ‘real’ cx courses and having a chance at riding well. It draws far more from mountain bike racing than road racing, and in cases as above, where conditions push us to our physical limits, it’s important to take the opportunity to ride the ‘real cross’ conditions in front of us that we usually can’t access outside of the race context.
For 99% of the riders out there each race is an opportunity to learn, first, and perform, second. Only those who are super experienced and have very little left to learn (I know nobody who would qualify) should be focused on their performance as their top priority at local races. For Nationals, ok, sure. But not local races. These races are for immersion and experimenting, because that’s what supports actual development for each rider.
Focusing on fitness and using placings as a gauge progress is often folly. There is way, way more to be gained by focusing on all the processes/tasks/skills that truly masterful racers have learned and employ, because those are the things that take the longest to really hone, way longer than developing V02.
So CX isn’t really about smashing intervals as much as possible; it’s about long-term development of skills and race-craft.
Keep it fun and fresh, and cyclocross will be the gift that keeps on giving.
Pump track riding on a drop-bar bike (with tires larger than 33mm, when required) is a great way to push your brain to learn a whole lot of handling nuance. Pumping the bike is totally foreign to many riders. Photo: Chris Snow
