Training plan

Yosser70
Yosser70 Posts: 18
edited April 2017 in Cyclocross
Hi all. I'm just putting together a cyclocross bike with the view to doing a bit of racing this winter. I ride road and MTB 3-4 times a week and I'm wondering what sort of thing I should be looking to be doing to help me when racing starts. Should I for instance work on 1 hour max efforts or base miles ect. I know there's the skills side of things to get the hang of as well as so wondering if anyone has suggestions for the best way to approach all this?

Comments

  • cyclingsheep
    cyclingsheep Posts: 640
    Look on GCN for CX videos, that'll give you a good starting point. There's a great one from Sven Nyes where you climb a steep hill from a standing start that helps with power, starts and clipping in. Ultimately it's a little early to be working on 1hr max efforts. Work back 12 weeks from start of September and I'd be working on base and technique till then.......well that's what I'd love to do anyway if I had the time :)
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    As it's your first year racing I'd start introducing rides on my CX bike with a bit of technical skills such as dismount/mount practice and running with the bike.
    Make sure you are doing some high intensity work in the weeks leading up to the racing.
    Try and check out any local clubs that do cx training and try and join in.
    See how it goes. You'll get a better idea when the racing starts as it's an unknown quantity for you other than knowing it's going to be a a bl00dy hard effort for an hour.
    Obviously a coach can help take out the guesswork with this, based on your level of fitness, experience, time available etc.
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    A lot depends on the level of fitness you have now, and what your hopes/expectations are in terms of finishing positions. Most of the front runners will have come into the cross races off the back of a full road (or MTB) race season, while others just do it as a bit of fun, with no race fitness at all. Everyone else tends to fit somewhere in between.
  • Yosser70
    Yosser70 Posts: 18
    Thanks for the replies everyone. My goal at the moment is to try and not come last at first and go from there! lol I'm doing it largely as a fitness goal but it looks fun too. The 12 week out plan sounds like a good idea and I'll get out on the CX bike as much as I can. Went and had a look round a local spot on my MTB last night and recon it'll be perfect for training. Got plenty of rideable slopes as well as some that would need a dismount, even some steps and single track. I'll also just keep the base miles going on my road bike.
  • bluemoon17
    bluemoon17 Posts: 718
    Yosser70 wrote:
    Thanks for the replies everyone. My goal at the moment is to try and not come last at first and go from there! lol I'm doing it largely as a fitness goal but it looks fun too. The 12 week out plan sounds like a good idea and I'll get out on the CX bike as much as I can. Went and had a look round a local spot on my MTB last night and recon it'll be perfect for training. Got plenty of rideable slopes as well as some that would need a dismount, even some steps and single track. I'll also just keep the base miles going on my road bike.

    Seriously, you've pretty much nailed it there. Just keep consistent, and enjoy it!
  • Yosser70
    Yosser70 Posts: 18
    Bluemoon17 wrote:
    Yosser70 wrote:
    Thanks for the replies everyone. My goal at the moment is to try and not come last at first and go from there! lol I'm doing it largely as a fitness goal but it looks fun too. The 12 week out plan sounds like a good idea and I'll get out on the CX bike as much as I can. Went and had a look round a local spot on my MTB last night and recon it'll be perfect for training. Got plenty of rideable slopes as well as some that would need a dismount, even some steps and single track. I'll also just keep the base miles going on my road bike.

    Seriously, you've pretty much nailed it there. Just keep consistent, and enjoy it!

    Thanks mate, glad I'm on the right track :) Been to the local spot on the CX bike today and it'll be perfect for working on the technique side of things as well as fitness :)
  • bendertherobot
    bendertherobot Posts: 11,684
    I added two things last year. Well, three.

    The third was weight loss, which came from one and two.

    The others were more high intensity riding (of whatever type) and more running.

    It worked for me, may not work for everyone. But being able to run more easily on parts of the course and not be banjaxed after it was a real boon.
    My blog: http://www.roubaixcycling.cc (kit reviews and other musings)
    https://twitter.com/roubaixcc
    Facebook? No. Just say no.
  • Yosser70
    Yosser70 Posts: 18
    bendertherobot wrote:
    I added two things last year. Well, three.

    The third was weight loss, which came from one and two.

    The others were more high intensity riding (of whatever type) and more running.

    It worked for me, may not work for everyone. But being able to run more easily on parts of the course and not be banjaxed after it was a real boon.

    I'm almost down as low as I want to so weight wise, just a case of muscling up a bit. Going to do some high intensity stuff but build that up from 12 weeks out like someone suggested. The running bit is difficult as I've got a bit of a ropey back and running doesn't do it much good. The little course I'll be training on has a good few dismounts and inclined runs, so that'll have to do for now :)
  • bendertherobot
    bendertherobot Posts: 11,684
    It's not just running off the bike. It's running through quagmires, off cambers, slippy stuff. It's actually worth doing a bit of that too. Fitness is key, it doesn't have to be running, you can just be at the top of your road/mtb game, just helped me have that lung capacity across a range of things.
    My blog: http://www.roubaixcycling.cc (kit reviews and other musings)
    https://twitter.com/roubaixcc
    Facebook? No. Just say no.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    bendertherobot wrote:
    It's not just running off the bike. It's running through quagmires, off cambers, slippy stuff
    This. You're not going to be running unless it's unrideable, so there's not a lot of benefit in being able to run a few fast miles on a paved surface with fresh legs. I'd split running into two categories:
    Short run-ups, sandpits etc. You're not going to gain/lose a lot of time here, but it's quite easy to burn matches. Very easy to train for, just make sure you do it on tired legs. In the race itself, think about whether this is the best place to burn those precious matches (it may be, but make sure you've consciously made that decision).
    Long, muddy plods. In last year's Nationals, for instance, there was a long section, 3 sides of a football pitch, which was too muddy to ride. You can potentially gain quite a lot of ground here, but only if you've replicated it in training (heavy ground, muddy bike on shoulder, tired legs). You may only get one or two of these a season, and (in the South, at least) they seem to be quite rare at local league level.
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • Yosser70
    Yosser70 Posts: 18
    I guess getting out and training in all conditions would help from what you guys are saying. Wouldn't be good turning up to a race where it's tipping down and it being the first time I'd ridden in those conditions! Bit of rain and there plenty of muddy trails near me to work on that side of thing :)
  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    You'd really have to love trudging around in mud to put in the kind of training significant enough to make a difference in that one muddy race in January. Last season I can't remember running more than 20 yards, and I doubt it was much more than that in previous seasons.

    I'd invest your time in sprint intervals and skill drills. Preferably with others who have some experience of cross. This will really short circuit your learning curve. People piss away stacks of speed through poor cornering, or not knowing where to burn matches and where to recover.

    Stumbling around on a muddy bridleway will not give you any idea about what a muddy cross course feels like, or how to go fast, or even what fast is.
  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    Haha, editor just corrected p**s to wee wee. Brilliant.
  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    VamP wrote:
    Stumbling around on a muddy bridleway will not give you any idea about what a muddy cross course feels like, or how to go fast, or even what fast is.
    This is very true. It's actually quite hard to find conditions that replicate a muddy cross course, other than on a muddy cross course...
    Pannier, 120rpm.
  • VamP
    VamP Posts: 674
    TGOTB wrote:
    VamP wrote:
    Stumbling around on a muddy bridleway will not give you any idea about what a muddy cross course feels like, or how to go fast, or even what fast is.
    This is very true. It's actually quite hard to find conditions that replicate a muddy cross course, other than on a muddy cross course...

    It's a uniquely churned up mess :D

    And the courses that have really tough conditions, are the odd ones out, the Trophy and Champs courses, that were perhaps used for a league race the day before, or like the Nationals where there are three days of practice/racing.

    Getting with a club that has a good core of cross racers is the best way for beginners, and especially if they hold weekly training sessions, as multiple riders churning up the ground can get quite close to the real thing.
  • Yosser70
    Yosser70 Posts: 18
    Thanks for all the advice guys. Lots to think about and put into practice :)

Categories