XC Race Tactics

rbonegio

I'm quite new to xc racing and am interested to find out what tactics people can recommend - is it really just a case of getting as far up the field before the singletrack starts, and then sticking to the wheel in front until you get the chance to pass?

I've noticed in HRM training that, by going a bit easier on the climbs and then gunning it on the flat stuff, I can still get a comparable time to when I push on the climbs, but with much less effort (ie lower average/max heart rate). Could this work in a race? Everything I read though seems to indicate that races are won and lost on the climbs.

My average HR for a 1.5hr race is about 175bpm (about 95% of my max) - totally knackering! Though is this pretty normal? If I was to do a marathon of say 75-100km, should I be aiming for a similar average or considerably less?

Any thoughts much appreciated - many thanks!

breezer

Yes start near the front as its always carnage initially and even more so when you get into the 1 bike wide singletrack, worth pushing yourself a bit more than you want at the start then recover in the initial bottleneck.

Climbs are the place to gain places, especially the shorter steep ones, if you can power past someone and then keep on it when it goes flat you can pull a big gap

I average around 195bpm for my ~80 minute Gorrick races and im 32 but must have a small animals heart according to my friends, I normally max around 207 but have gone higher in the past but that normally results in blowing up!

stevieboy

Short sprints on fire-road sections always go down well. Especially if you do it sitting down.

After sitting behind 3-4 riders on some singletrack last week at the BMBS I gunned it past them without leaving the saddle once we hit the fire-road. I did hear one say something like "what the f**k". Although this only put 20-30 yards on them it was enough to make em think I was keeping a lot in reserve and therefore they didnt pass me, until my headset failed

Last year I kept doing this to my mate at the Midlands Championships. He was faster on the singletrack but on short climbs I kept putting in these short blasts. He admitted afterwards that I broke him mentally as towards the end he couldnt push as hard on the singletrack as he didnt or couldnt see the point.

Basically tricks of the mind work best. Try talking to riders around you too, works really well if they are blowing!

rbonegio

Thanks very much guys - most helpful. Like the Scott stevieboy - just bought a Scale 20, and am running it on the commute before racing starts in a couple of weeks - can't wait! I noticed the Racing Ralphs - what tyres do you use for the wet though? I've found the Nobby Nicks aren't all that grippy when its very wet, and also have a set of Bontrager Mud X's - fabulous grip, but heavy rolling resistance, so are really a bit slow for xc.

ride_whenever

Is there anything stating you can't do it on a cx bike?

That'd be a lot faster if it is dry...

SiLanc

I usually use Nobby Nic's front and back. I rode the Whinlatter Challenge a few weeks ago and despite the fireroads being muddy and the hills being covered in snow the trails were bone dry and covered in slate and my Bonty Mud X's were a disastrous move...I basically felt like I was working twice as hard to maintain the usual speed and the cornering was terrifying in the dry conditions!

rbonegio

Thanks SiLanc - I agree totally. The Mud Xs are like cycling on tractor tyres - my only decent result on them was a horridly wet and muddy race, where most of the field failed to finish and I got a top 10 place! - definitely only for extreme condidtions though. Any experience perhaps of the new Rocket Rons (which came with my bike)? They seem quite grippy, but a bit heavier in rolling resistance to the Ralphs and possibly also the Nics.

SiLanc

Sorry mate, never heard of them! Make sure to post up here though and let us know how you get on!

Other worthy tyres of note are Fat Albert and Smart Sam from Schwalbe. They're a cheaper variant to the Nobby Nic's\Racing Ralph's combination that a lot of racers go for. They are slightly heavier and a harder compound so you'll lose a slight amount of grip but they're an excellent tyre combo if you're watching the money. I may yet actually switch back to them as I couldn't tell the difference other than the Nobby's don't last as long.

cullen_bay

panaracer razor xc are lighter than racing ralphs, and a copy cat tread. You have the right idea about tactics, a very fast start is key, after that you can lay off a bit on the hills/or try and pull a bit of a gap out. the essential part is not getting stuck behind a slower rider!

SiLanc

A good tactic I have used in the past when I have a guy on my back wheel is getting past a slower rider you are catching immediately before you go into singletrack...the slower rider will hold up whoever is on your tail at the point where it's most difficult to pass. You have to hope the guy on your rear wheel doesn't see it coming though.

320DMsport

At the welsh Merida on Sunday i was doing abit of tyre watching, saw quite a few with a rocket ron on the front and ralph on the rear.

And the classic nobby nic front and ralph rear.

Si lanc are you doing the lee quarry sunday?

I am, see what its like!

My first XC type race as i tend to do enduro's and finish stronget towards the end so this fast business could be a shock to my system!

rbonegio

Thanks very much - I'll let you know how I get on with the rocket rons. Any advice for tackling wet, gnarly root sections? These tend to be my nemesis in fast xc races.

SiLanc

320DMSport...I'll be there on Sunday....jut look for the guy in the loud yellow and black team colours ;-)

rbonegio - Hit the roots square on, at 90 degrees, so if you imagine a T you are the upright and the root is the bar across the top of the T...also unweighting the front will help...be careful of clipping the roots with your rear wheel too as this can lead to the back end slipping out or you losing traction and hitting the handlebar with your knee.

Most of all enjoy! I think it's going to be a cracking series...it's also brand new...they seem very well organised though.

320DMsport

What team colours are they Si lanc?

I'll be in green and white Wheelbase.co.uk top.

I'll keep my eyes peeled, rode it tonight, can't decide if i'll be faster on my full susser than Carbon HT.

cullen_bay

tackling the wet roots, weight back as far as possible, and go for the base of the roots.

JxL

To whoever is racing on sunday in Lee Quarry, my Team colours will be a Mac OSX T-Shirt and some dirty shorts Most likely I will be the "slow rider" who everybody is dreading to be stuck behind



See you there!

SiLanc

320DMsport wrote:

What team colours are they Si lanc?

I'll be in green and white Wheelbase.co.uk top.

I'll keep my eyes peeled, rode it tonight, can't decide if i'll be faster on my full susser than Carbon HT.

Sorry matey, I missed this post before the race...maybe we can meet up at one of the other races. Are you at the Wiggle enduro this weekend?

320DMsport

SiLanc wrote:

320DMsport wrote:

What team colours are they Si lanc?

I'll be in green and white Wheelbase.co.uk top.

I'll keep my eyes peeled, rode it tonight, can't decide if i'll be faster on my full susser than Carbon HT.

Sorry matey, I missed this post before the race...maybe we can meet up at one of the other races. Are you at the Wiggle enduro this weekend?

Hi Silanc, got my daughter over this weekend but i'll be at the Brownbacks R2 on the 4th so now i know who you are i'll give you a shout if your there.

All depends on what is on to what i can do, daughter over every other weekend so limits the racing abit.

Goodluck this weekend mate.

SiLanc

Thanks for the support, it must have worked as I had probably my best race performance to date. I set myself a target of beating last years 6 laps in 6h 40+m and riding for the full 6 hours with only 1 minute between laps to refill my bottle. I also wanted to finish in the top 40%.

I did two lap stints for the first 6 laps and then went onto single laps. I stuck to my "not stopping for longer than 1 minute" rule and tried to monitor my pace, based on how my legs were feeling and (more crucially for me) how aerobic I still was (I usually finish with good legs, but aerobically shot). I ended up doing 10 laps in 6h 18m 6s, which put me in the top 39%....just!

Aside from all of this monitoring of progress it was an excellent event, the course was a lot of fun - even on lap ten and the sun shone on our backs all day

My bike is in dire need of a service now though so I will be working on that this weekend rather than attending round 2 of the Brownbacks series but I have no doubts our paths will cross again fairly soon. All the events I'm thinking of doing are on my website...

http://xcenduro.co.uk/racing/races.asp

Good luck on Sunday at R2 of Brownbacks. If I can find a way to get there to help marshal then I'll pop along. Currently it's not looking likely though