Things to practice for CX

[Too Tall]

Recently, many of us watched Mike Z. turn some fast CX lap times at Ballers. This, despite driving massive hours on no sleep. The boy is smooth as butter on the course and picks the fastest lines.

Talk to me. What are some things that I should work HARD on to prepare for CX this season?

[roseyscot]

ride a mountain bike so you can learn to drive on technical terrain. mike can drive an mtb even better than a cx bike

barrel races to practice fast corning and acceleration out of the corners

set up a few off camber turns in a field and practice taking faster and faster lines

[PGSmith]

Depending on where you live, take your bike to the beach. In some locales, sand can be a big factor and learning to drive through it is a serious skill.

[robin3mj]

Depending on where you live, take your bike to the beach. In some locales, sand can be a big factor and learning to drive through it is a serious skill.

This. Though the DC series doesn't have a ton of sand.
The Chicago scene is beach-filled and completely destroyed my confidence last year. I need to either work on it or find a new sport.

[Jonathan]

practice with your regurgitated breakfast in your mouth.

[WadePatton]

Depending on where you live, take your bike to the beach. In some locales, sand can be a big factor and learning to drive through it is a serious skill.

here we have sandy patches (of atb/jeep trails) up on the Cumberland Plateau (1800-2000') and i recommend them over salty sand. sandy mountains yo.

pretty easy with fat tires (and some speed). have to go back with them little knobs and try it.

[Chance Legstrong]

group hot laps
homemade PVC barriers
tight tree turns
and a sand volleyball pit near the finish
we take no more that 5 guys- not because we pre-select but because everyone else pusses out.
these are done as live fire speed
if bile is't burning the back of your throat- yup you're doing them wrong

[zank]

Ha. I'd been saving that two minutes worth of fitness from last fall just for my Baller's TT lap. #newdaddytrainingprogram

Boy, where to start? Maybe I can keep adding little posts as we go here. The first two things that come to mind are cornering approach and course tactics.

Let's take cornering approach first. The single most valuable lesson I have learned is to not touch my brakes in any way unless I am going in a straight line. Emergencies excluded, of course. This can be practiced out on the trail on your mountain bike or, as Rosey said, in a field on your cross bike. Go over to your favorite home improvement store and get some small flags to lay out some turns or, even better, a small course. Get creative. Use the slopes, both off and on camber. Do 90s, 120s, and 180s. Now, pick a couple of corners and just focus on those. The goal of the exercise is to adjust your speed, i.e. brake, before you get to the corner and then roll through with no brakes. Stick a flag in the straight section approaching a corner as a marker where you are going to have your speed adjustments done and let go of the brakes and hang on for the ride. As you figure out your max speed through the corner, move that flag either closer or further away from the corner. See how that affects entry and exit speed. We'll talk about line selection later on. That's a monster of a topic.

The other quick topic I can think of is course tactics. There was a gradual uphill drag in the Baller's course; it was probably about 15-20 seconds. If that had been in a typical cross race, you'd see a lot of different approaches to it through the course of a day's racing. Some would just ride up, but that is the perfect place to attack hard and either close gaps or create them. It was also a very strategic place on the Baller's course because it led to some technical turns. If you won the race to the top, you were likely to stay in front through that whole technical section. In the last lap of our little relay, I closed on Noah by the top of that little climb but couldn't get around. I was hoping to get around him and take a little time through the corners because I knew he was clearly more fit than me and would pull away once we were pedaling again. No dice on that day. But those are the kinds of things you need to look for in your pre-ride. Too many racers use the time on the course before their race as just a warm up. Your time is better spent really studying the course and then warming up on a trainer when the course is closed. Things like line choices, strategic points, areas that exploit your strengths and weaknesses. Those are the things you need to look for.

More later.

[Justin Spinelli]

practice not braking.

[davids]

Ha. I'd been saving that two minutes worth of fitness from last fall just for my Baller's TT lap. #newdaddytrainingprogram

Boy, where to start? Maybe I can keep adding little posts as we go here. The first two things that come to mind are cornering approach and course tactics.

Let's take cornering approach first...

The other quick topic I can think of is course tactics...

More later.

Why didn't you tell us this good stuff before the race?

[Too Tall]

Hmmmm, anyone near me have a desire to establish a regular CX practice night starting ASAP? I've got two of the most perfect grassy fields to pick from and a bag of soccer cones.

[Eddie]

Hmmmm, anyone near me have a desire to establish a regular CX practice night starting ASAP? I've got two of the most perfect grassy fields to pick from and a bag of soccer cones.

Yeah let's do this. Where you thinking? Up by you?

[Too Tall]

Yeah let's do this. Where you thinking? Up by you?

Yes. There are two good options. A field nearest me has lots of technical off camber and one at Viers Mill Rec. is dead flat and has two baseball diamonds which are perfect for sliding around. After this weekend mid-week yah?

[jimbo]

if bile is't burning the back of your throat- yup you're doing them wrong

indeed.
cross is a violent effort yo'

[Britishbane]

indeed.
cross is a violent effort yo'

Practice suffering. If you do have that club in your bag (US Open inspired pun!) all the smooth dismounts in the world wont help.

[Britishbane]

Hmmmm, anyone near me have a desire to establish a regular CX practice night starting ASAP? I've got two of the most perfect grassy fields to pick from and a bag of soccer cones.

You may be too far north for me, but I'm definitely interested. CX skills practice began this week. Still hop hopping my remount....

[thollandpe]

Zank, the line lesson was a revelation. The only other teaching I had on that was after being lapped by McCormacks and it never lasted more than a corner or two, so thanks.

In the early going, how do you take that wide entry line and keep those on your wheel from leaking by on the inside and clogging up the corner on you?

[PJN]

practice not eating.

oink oink

[WayneJ]

Zank, the line lesson was a revelation. The only other teaching I had on that was after being lapped by McCormacks and it never lasted more than a corner or two, so thanks.

In the early going, how do you take that wide entry line and keep those on your wheel from leaking by on the inside and clogging up the corner on you?

Zanc, don't teach Todd any more tricks. okay? Whisper them to me when he's not around. I plan to kick his ass later this fall and need all the ammo I can gather.

[holliscx]

I would do stair or hill repeats running while portaging your bike so that this becomes second nature. Also work on dismounting whilst carrying speed into the run-up and remounting a stride or two after you crest the hill; throw in a hard pull afterward for good measure. Overall think speed and spurtability vs long slow distance. I know that sounds obvious but cross is a sprint with intense effort and training should include hard efforts preferably on technical terrain. Finally, if you can find a kid to whiz past you on a bmx bike yelling ON YOUR LEFT that will simulate Mike Z et al. lapping you on race day.