cyclocross....

bigdawg

so what do I need to know??

Ive been racing mtbs xc for 10 years, I ride road (approx 200 miles a week), what different training should I be looking at other than running??

olr1

It's faster than you think.

Much, much faster.

Think about being chased by big dogs with a taste for your testicles, how fast would you run/ride?

It's faster than that.

bigdawg

:shock: bugger :shock:

so about3 months of interval training then

andrewgturnbull

bigdawg wrote:

so what do I need to know??

Ive been racing mtbs xc for 10 years, I ride road (approx 200 miles a week), what different training should I be looking at other than running??

Hi there.

You need to get your mount, dismount and barrier hurdling technique dialed, as well as running up steps. This really just takes practice. I've got a wee circuit in the woods near my house that takes about 5 minutes a lap going flat out. This includes a set of 50 steps and a set of double logs to hurdle on every lap. 10 laps of this and I fell like I've done 10 rounds with Tyson...

Other than that, the constant sharp accelerations and technical skills you get from mtb racing should stand you in good stead.

Cheers, Andy

ps General run training won't really gain you any benefit (except for weight loss). Short uphil sprints are really the only thing you need to practice off the bike.

pps I'll second the fast thing. I thought it would be like a criterium, but there's no sitting in the bunch to recover...

DavidBelcher

Agree with the last post - technique is as much a part of training as physical fitness; personally I found the dismount-and-shoulder the easiest of the lot to get the hang of. Thank goodness for off-road clipless pedals, though!

David