3 Peaks Cyclocross Race 2017

evo3ben

Cant seem to find a 3 Peaks Cyclocross 2017 thread on any forums so decided to start one here, hoping people will come on here for advice, kit choice, training etc.

This will be my first 3 Peaks race and has been a bucket race for me for a fair few years. Thankfully i got a place and now its time to get everything sorted.

Hot topic as always is tyres. Many seem to use Land Cruisers, but i think that now there is a vast choice of tubeless tyres available for cross bikes, tubeless is the way to go. In light of that, i think i have made made my decision and going to use Bontrager CX3 tubeless ready tyres and run around 40-50psi. Will do some testing and see how i get on.

Gearing, im going ot use an 11-36 cassette with a 34T Oval chainring. I usually us a 40T but think that might be a bit too high for the 3 Peaks lol.

Training, i live in Hertfordshire so definately not the best part of the country to train for the 3 Peaks as the hills arent really all that. Hills reps up the bigest hill in my area (Barton Hills) with bike on the back is my only option really but should at least help.

Would be really cool to hook up with anyone near to Hitchin or surrounding areas thats racing the 3 Peaks and have ride out a some point

TonyJams

I haven't done it but do you think 34x11 will be high enough for the road sections?

tgotb

TonyJams wrote:

I haven't done it but do you think 34x11 will be high enough for the road sections?

I did it with exactly those ratios last year, and was fine. 34x11 is ~86", which is good for 35mph+ on the track. I'd have missed the 34x36 a lot more than I would have missed the 34x11!

joey54321

In another thread someone was saying they used the Bontrager CX3 but are going for the CX0 this year as the tread was more than was needed. Just passing on some information as I have neither done the 3 peaks nor used either of the tyres above.

devhads

I started reading your thread and had to check it wasn't one of mine from last year!

First time 3 Peaks - check
Bontrager CX3 - check
11-36 cassette - check
Live in Hitchin - check

To answer your questions. CX3 tubeless were great last year but as joey54321 said I'll use CX0 this year if I get a place from the reserve list. I had 36t front and 11-36 rear and didn't struggle on the road. I was going about 26-27mph which was about my limit. I'll be using a 34t oval this year too if I get in.

The hills around Barton/Pegsdon/Offley are your best bet for training. I did hill repeats of Chalk Hill on the bike to try and replicate PYG, similar sort of surface. The valley walls at Pegsdon are a similar steepness as Simon Fell so I did some reps of those carrying the bike. Otherwise I just used a small wall in my garden and did 200 steps on and off with the bike on my shoulder.

We may have crossed paths before if you do Eastern, Central and MSG. I do all of those too. I've not got a place but will still be training, mainly just loops around the areas just mentioned for now with more specifics nearer the time.

kevinharley

evo3ben wrote:

Cant seem to find a 3 Peaks Cyclocross 2017 thread on any forums so decided to start one here, hoping people will come on here for advice, kit choice, training etc.

Erm ... only this one, started a few days earlier ...

viewtopic.php?f=40114&t=13082216

My first time too.

Saracen Hack (Heavy!)
Probably Landcruisers (cheap and tough), possibly Conti CX although think they will be too fragile.
11-34 cassette, (although I anticipate possibly needing to replace the drivetrain by then, in which case, likely to go 11-36), 34/50 chainset
Still undecided about hydration pack / water bottles
Fuel/Hydration - water & zero tabs (to help combat the cramp). Gels / Shot-Bloks

I'm also undecided about what pump to carry - have a Mountain Morph which is excellent for getting in volume and pressure, but is a bit bulky and heavy to carry.

Have dabbled in a bit of bike-shouldering practise but need to get out onto some steeper and longer steps / slopes and do some prolonged reps. I think its also worth seeking out rougher and steeper descending terrain than you would usually attempt on a CX bike if you can, so I'm looking out for trails that would be a challenge on my HT and which I would usually bypass on my CX.

Some advice from a couple of mates who have done it before:

- treat the first year as a kind of recce
- tough tyres at an uncomfortable pressure
- good fell legs for the climbs
- good riding legs for the roads
- an off-switch for your brain for the descents

joey54321

Interesting that some 'first timers' got in and some people that have done it before didn't, I thought they prioritized entry of people who had done it previously (makes the whole 'are they safe/experienced enough' bit easier if they've done it before).

I wonder how they choose entries, lottery?

kevinharley

joey54321 wrote:

Interesting that some 'first timers' got in and some people that have done it before didn't, I thought they prioritized entry of people who had done it previously (makes the whole 'are they safe/experienced enough' bit easier if they've done it before).

I wonder how they choose entries, lottery?

I don't know how they do it ... Suspect they look at prospective riders' 'eligibility' based on experience, decide whether or not they meet the experience/eligibility criteria and then perhaps it's a lottery from there? First-timers aren't necessarily inexperienced; I've run the 3 peaks fell race several times in the past, done the Dirty Reiver the past 2 years, and generally do a lot of trail running and riding my MTB and CX!

devhads

kevinharley wrote:

joey54321 wrote:

Interesting that some 'first timers' got in and some people that have done it before didn't, I thought they prioritized entry of people who had done it previously (makes the whole 'are they safe/experienced enough' bit easier if they've done it before).

I wonder how they choose entries, lottery?

I don't know how they do it ... Suspect they look at prospective riders' 'eligibility' based on experience, decide whether or not they meet the experience/eligibility criteria and then perhaps it's a lottery from there? First-timers aren't necessarily inexperienced; I've run the 3 peaks fell race several times in the past, done the Dirty Reiver the past 2 years, and generally do a lot of trail running and riding my MTB and CX!

Yes, it's exactly that. Meet entry requirements through sufficient experience and then a ballot.

Running the 3 Peaks Fell race probably counts more in terms of experience than only ever haven done local CX races around a school playing field.

A team mate who had previously raced three times didn't get in on the first ballot last year so amount of times raced has no bearing on the ballot, although I suspect some people are guaranteed entry based on past performances, i.e past winners and those who've raced 15-20 times.

evo3ben

TonyJams wrote:

I haven't done it but do you think 34x11 will be high enough for the road sections?

As far as i can tell from all the stories and blogs, the road sections are your only chance to eat and drink so wont be going hammer and tong. Save that for the off road and up bits of which a 34 x11-36 will be very welcome. If im honest, i would have prefered to run 40 x11-42 but i would need to change rear deraileur as well as new cassette and it all starts getting a bit expensive on top of everything else.

evo3ben

devhads wrote:

I started reading your thread and had to check it wasn't one of mine from last year!

First time 3 Peaks - check
Bontrager CX3 - check
11-36 cassette - check
Live in Hitchin - check

To answer your questions. CX3 tubeless were great last year but as joey54321 said I'll use CX0 this year if I get a place from the reserve list. I had 36t front and 11-36 rear and didn't struggle on the road. I was going about 26-27mph which was about my limit. I'll be using a 34t oval this year too if I get in.

The hills around Barton/Pegsdon/Offley are your best bet for training. I did hill repeats of Chalk Hill on the bike to try and replicate PYG, similar sort of surface. The valley walls at Pegsdon are a similar steepness as Simon Fell so I did some reps of those carrying the bike. Otherwise I just used a small wall in my garden and did 200 steps on and off with the bike on my shoulder.

We may have crossed paths before if you do Eastern, Central and MSG. I do all of those too. I've not got a place but will still be training, mainly just loops around the areas just mentioned for now with more specifics nearer the time.

The chances of that lol. Im sure we would have crossed paths at some point especially at MSG.
Im going to go with the 34T oval ring and play it safe. At the end of the day, this is my first attempt and looking to survive it rather than race it. Dont get me wrong though, Im still looking for a good finish time

Will stick with teh CX3's purely because i got a pair new given to me and then see how i get on.

I did a recce over Barton/Pegsdon last week to size up which hill to use for bike carry repeats and found the best one to be nearer Barton, think its the near the nature reserve, a deep valley leading to a stream at the bottom.

Are you on Strava?

evo3ben

'Kevinharley' first time for both of us then! I too am a little undecided about the fluid situation. Hydration pack is the simplest and bottles would make it easier with carrying less weight. I wont have any helpers, totally solo so would have to stash bottles before the race and then collect empties afterwards. Not sure i can be bothered to go that far on my first attempt and will only add to the stress lol

devhads

evo3ben wrote:

devhads wrote:

I started reading your thread and had to check it wasn't one of mine from last year!

First time 3 Peaks - check
Bontrager CX3 - check
11-36 cassette - check
Live in Hitchin - check

To answer your questions. CX3 tubeless were great last year but as joey54321 said I'll use CX0 this year if I get a place from the reserve list. I had 36t front and 11-36 rear and didn't struggle on the road. I was going about 26-27mph which was about my limit. I'll be using a 34t oval this year too if I get in.

The hills around Barton/Pegsdon/Offley are your best bet for training. I did hill repeats of Chalk Hill on the bike to try and replicate PYG, similar sort of surface. The valley walls at Pegsdon are a similar steepness as Simon Fell so I did some reps of those carrying the bike. Otherwise I just used a small wall in my garden and did 200 steps on and off with the bike on my shoulder.

We may have crossed paths before if you do Eastern, Central and MSG. I do all of those too. I've not got a place but will still be training, mainly just loops around the areas just mentioned for now with more specifics nearer the time.

The chances of that lol. Im sure we would have crossed paths at some point especially at MSG.
Im going to go with the 34T oval ring and play it safe. At the end of the day, this is my first attempt and looking to survive it rather than race it. Dont get me wrong though, Im still looking for a good finish time

Will stick with teh CX3's purely because i got a pair new given to me and then see how i get on.

I did a recce over Barton/Pegsdon last week to size up which hill to use for bike carry repeats and found the best one to be nearer Barton, think its the near the nature reserve, a deep valley leading to a stream at the bottom.

Are you on Strava?

I have a Strava account but generally ride without any gadgets these days, not uploaded an activity for months.

I know where you mean in Barton, might have to check it out. I've got a cheeky day off tomorrow so will head out somewhere in the morning.

cyclingsheep

kevinharley wrote:

evo3ben wrote:

Cant seem to find a 3 Peaks Cyclocross 2017 thread on any forums so decided to start one here, hoping people will come on here for advice, kit choice, training etc.

Erm ... only this one, started a few days earlier ...

viewtopic.php?f=40114&t=13082216

My first time too.

Saracen Hack (Heavy!)
Probably Landcruisers (cheap and tough), possibly Conti CX although think they will be too fragile.
11-34 cassette, (although I anticipate possibly needing to replace the drivetrain by then, in which case, likely to go 11-36), 34/50 chainset
Still undecided about hydration pack / water bottles
Fuel/Hydration - water & zero tabs (to help combat the cramp). Gels / Shot-Bloks

I'm also undecided about what pump to carry - have a Mountain Morph which is excellent for getting in volume and pressure, but is a bit bulky and heavy to carry.

Have dabbled in a bit of bike-shouldering practise but need to get out onto some steeper and longer steps / slopes and do some prolonged reps. I think its also worth seeking out rougher and steeper descending terrain than you would usually attempt on a CX bike if you can, so I'm looking out for trails that would be a challenge on my HT and which I would usually bypass on my CX.

Some advice from a couple of mates who have done it before:

- treat the first year as a kind of recce
- tough tyres at an uncomfortable pressure
- good fell legs for the climbs
- good riding legs for the roads
- an off-switch for your brain for the descents

My first time last year from the reserve list so very little time to prepare. I used Conti CX Kings and a camel pack for hydration. Advantage of the camel pack over bottles is twofold, firstly no cages to mess with shouldering and secondly the straps help cushion the shoulders. I didn't wrap my frame at all and had no aches in that department. One thing though, after the race we drove home to London and by the time we got back both tires were completely flat, maybe not the most robust choice of tire.

evo3ben

When i was out training yesterday i used my hyration pack and i definately helped with the shoulder and gave it that little bit extra padding. Also, with bottles you are limited as to when you can drink. With the hydration pack you can quickly stick the bit in your mouth and crack on with riding.

So my training session yesterday went ok. Legs feel ok today so going to up the hill reps on thursday. The hill is steep and had to balance myself a couple of times to stop falling backwards lol. Having the bike on your back for that type of climbing definately tests your balance! Each climb is roughly 4 minutes so will raise my reps to 8 which gives me just over 30min of climbing and then raise the reps each week. Come the week before the race i should be hitting about on hour of climbing. Its a long session with the hard riding before and after but hopefully will be a huge help come race day.

kevinharley

I've put some foam pipe cladding on the underneath of my top-tube and this has massively helped the shoulder-carrying.

I'm going to experiment with a hydration pack too - will spread the weight of the fluid across both shoulders. However, more complicated to top up on race day (I think I will have family who can hand out bottles etc at a couple of points on the route). Or I might see if anyone at the local running club has a bum/waist bag that carries bottles and experiment with this and get the fluid weigh onto the hips instead.

How many tubes do people intend to carry with them?

evo3ben

My hydration pack carries 2L of water. Im thinking that as long as im fully hydrated before the race and also have a bottle on the start line, i wont need to top up at any point during the race. Im going to put gels in a gel bottle so i dont have to faff about with gel wrappers too. Think 5 gels fit into a bottle so should cover it. Obviously will be taking energy bars/flap jacks too.
I didnt find the bike too uncomfortable on the shoulder with the hydration pack straps giving a bit of added padding. I will give the cladding option on the top tube a go but not keen on the idea. I may try and invent a way of attaching a piece of old camping roll matt to my hydration strap and see how that goes. Gorilla tape should do it lol.

joey54321

i'm in! Got an email yesterday in the second wave of places

Time to start training.

evo3ben

joey54321 wrote:

i'm in! Got an email yesterday in the second wave of places

Time to start training.

Nice one!! Let the pain begin lol. Have you raced it before?

joey54321

evo3ben wrote:

joey54321 wrote:

i'm in! Got an email yesterday in the second wave of places

Time to start training.

Nice one!! Let the pain begin lol. Have you raced it before?

Nope. I happened to be in the area with some friends last year, I managed to persuade them to go and watch "a bike race". When we got there we were all open-mouthed and amazed. They all said "this is insane", i said "I'm entering this next year".

We booked the same cottage in the area for that week anyway so I was always going to be either watching or competing and i'm hoping my friends will come along to support/feed me.

jon208

Hi all - another first timer here. I'm lucky enough to live close to the Yorkshire Dales. Have done a few training rides over similar(ish) terrain but almost impossible to replicate anything close to the actual course I think! Did 50 miles of Dales CX with 4500ft of climbing this week in the pouring rain to get me in the mood, signed up for the Hope Pre Peaks event which should be a good bit of extra practice. So far it seems like the descents are going to be as punishing as the climbs, you take a massive battering coming down that kind of terrain.

Bike set up will include some extra robust 34 spoke wheels, tyres are probably going to be Sammy Slicks but I'll see how they go on a few test rides and at the Pre Peaks.

Current gearing is 42 x 11-36. This seemed OKish the other day but does force me into a much lower cadence than I'd like on the steep stuff and makes it a bit easy to lose traction and spin the rear. Planning on going 36 x 10-40 and giving that a go.

Probably going to have some pipe lagging on the top tube and some club mates around the course to hand up bottles/spares etc.

Aside from CX rides in the Dales my training is my usual mix of TT specific turbo training with some stair climbing added along with some practice scrambling up a steep slope with the bike. I had started a bit of running but an experienced club mate has advised that this isn't really needed as at best the off the bike parts are a fast walk, more likely a long unrelenting trudge! I'm fortunate to have a number of very experienced club members I can ask for advice - one guy has done it around 25 times!

Good luck all.

Jon

kevinharley

jon208 wrote:

I had started a bit of running but an experienced club mate has advised that this isn't really needed as at best the off the bike parts are a fast walk, more likely a long unrelenting trudge!

I think you're right in that general running is not going to really give you that much benefit. I run fairly regularly anyway; I'm not doing any more in terms of frequency or distance for the 3PCX, but I am focussing on hill reps up steep hills and sets of steps locally as this kind of 'running' does use your leg muscles in a different way, and is relevant to the 3PCX.

Plus the same kinds of reps whilst shouldering the bike!

joey54321

I did a good session on Saturday with 11kg backpack, cycled out to a local steep hill and ran up it while shouldering the bike. Unfortunately, the longest hill we have round here is only ~3 1/2 mins or so (hence the weighted bag, to make it harder).

evo3ben

So, only 4 weeks to go!! How is everyone getting on?

Im set on my tyres but not on pressures. Somewhere between 40-50psi running tubeless.
I have done a fair amount of hill reps with the bike on my shoulder and have found a good position so may give the top tube padding a miss.
I have been training with a 40T single chainring and an 11-36 cassette but this will def need to be changed out for something easier on the legs for steeper climbing. Cheapest option is to change out the front ring to a 36T round or 34T oval. This may loose me speed on the roads though. More expensive option would be to change my set up completely to run 40T front with an 11-40T cassette. The extra cost is a lot higher (2x cassettes and new rear deraileur) but once done will be great for other races next year. Will make the bike a great all rounder.

If im honest, training sessions for the 3PCX are so tough and will be glad to see the back of them lol. Only one of my training sessions each week is 3PCX specific and i do dread it. Im up to 3hrs with 1150m of climbing of which half of that is trudging with bike on shoulders. Each week i up the climbing so the week before the event i should be up to 4hrs with 1500m of climbing of which just under 1000m will be trudging. I still think this will not be enough but im hoping it will get me over the first peak in good time and then just hang on for the rest.
I think my weakest area is going to be the descents. Nothing around me that can help prepare for that kind of descending so will just have to take it as it comes. I have raced mtb for past 7yrs so hoping my average descending skills with help :?

joey54321

My training has been peppered with weddings and stag weekends so i'm currently running a little heavy and undertrained (c'est la vie).

I have done a few shoulder carrying sessions and running up some local hills but being Cambridge based means short hills with lots of reps which isn't ideal. I am going to the Yorkshire Dales in a couple of weeks so hoping to get some long-climb practice at shouldering the bike.

Went to Thetford forest recently on the cross bike which was great fun and a total-body workout on some of the more difficult and technical trails that are really designed for mountian bikes. Hopefully I'll go again and will be good for the balance/concentration/bike handling aspect.

In terms of equipment, I am going for Schwalbe Land Cruisers. I attempted to set them up tubeless but there is daylight between the rim at the tyres so I am not sure they going to stick. I seem to be having some issues with tubeless on my other tubeless tyres (hold air, but not seating properly) though so maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Havevn't sorted my gearing out but going to look at it this coming weekend. Will be running 12-32 x 34 which isn't ideal but it's what I have.

joey54321

Got my 34T chainring on but not without a lot of faff. It's a Superstar component I/O chainring which I had lying around which I have mounted to a SRAM crankset. I had to remove the bash guard that was mounted on the frame and, because of the strange chainring bolts I was using had to mount it on the outer side of the crank leading to a worse chain line. I realised yesterday I will need to shorten to chain to as going from a 42 to 34 has been way too big a jump for the mech to take. The chain is starting to get to the 75% warn stage so not too much of an 'additional cost'.

And as an aside I am currently the heaviest I've been for 3 years by ~2kg so my idea to lose weight because there's a lot of up and down hasn't really panned out, I have enjoyed lots of cake though.


19 days to go!

evo3ben

I had a right mare finding a chainring for my 2017 Cannondale SuperX. Not many companies out there that make a single direct mount chainring for a Cannondale Hollowgram crank and Ai offset. I did get one from AbsoluteBlack which had to be a 34T Oval ring. Will be fitting it on sunday along with a new cheap(ish) 11spd chain. As you said Joey, running a 34T ring needs a few links taken out as would be too slack. Didnt want to chop my expensive chain so opted for cheaper one for running the 34T.

Got told off on Saturday for using my bike on a nature reserve near me (Barton Hills). Was told that there is strictly no cycling allowed! I was a little puzzled as i wasn't even riding my bike but just shouldering it for hill climbs. I explained this and the Warden still said that strictly no cyclists allowed. I then asked if i was allowed to walk my dog in the reserve too which he replied 'yes'. 'But you said i was strictly not allowed as i am a cyclist'??? I'm now banned and if seen he will call the police :roll: Training nearly finished now, only one session left so will take the risk lol. Gotta catch me first!

Still need to buy a whistle and survival bag and get my nutrition topped up and then should be good to go. Under 2 weeks now

joey54321

I was up in Yorkshire testing my set up this weekend just gone. I rode the bridleway section of Whernside twice and a few other local bridleways path and also ran up Whernside and Pen Y Ghent. And for authentic weather it was raining for pretty much all of it. Really good test of my set up (and my legs, which were found wanting). Really looking forward to it now.

benpatton

After reading all your posts I am now feeling woefully ill-prepared. I've barely been out on my cross bike and have still to purchase the obligatory Land Cruisers!

joey54321

I was visiting my parents who were staying in a place on the far side of Whernside so thought it would be a good opportunity to test the set up and get an idea of what it was going to be like.

cyclingsheep

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. Hope you all have an awesome day.