Crosssports's Weblog

Wednesday means practice day around these here parts, so – surprise! Today’s workout is Cyclocross Skills Practice.

Once again, as per weeks past, those particularly ambitious folks out there might try doing a classic 2×20 in the AM, and the skills work in the evening. If that’s a bit too much, maybe try doing a single 20 minute interval in the AM… not nearly as soul-crushing as the 2×20!

The usual caveats apply to the extra-credit workouts – take a gander at last Wednesday’s post for the doom-and gloom overtraining talk 😮

So – skills practice… what the heck should you work on tonight?

Here are some recommendations:

Barriers

– Spend a good block of time working on your barrier skills. Folks tend to let this skill slide as the season drags on, and now is a good time to brush up on it.

– Work on single and double barriers, cowboy and step-through dismount techniques, and approach and exit to the barriers at odd angles; you don’t always come into and out of the barriers in a straight line in the races, so don’t practice as if you will!

Starts.

– I don’t know about you, but my starts need some serious work right now, so… I’m working on them. Practice getting into the pedal, getting up to speed, and work to develop a powerful second effort off the gun. Much of the time the rider that can accelerate a few moments after the start is the one that gets the gap; work to be that rider…

Accelerations.

– If you watch the local cross races you will see that in almost all of the races – at every level – the majority of the riders get up to speed at the start and then diesel their way around the course for the rest of the race. They’re stuck in one speed the whole way, basically pinning it as hard as they can.

Those riders that can lift the tempo when they need to or want to are the ones that win; they put the screws to the competition by forcing them to match their accelerations – or not. Work on this tonight.

How?

– Do an acceleration drill.

On a short loop of slightly technical terrain, ride until you get a feel for your comfortable race-level tempo.

Rest for a minute.

Ride the loop again, starting with your baseline tempo.

Attack Hard, lifting the tempo as much as you can. Go for about 5 seconds, and then back down to your baseline tempo.

Lather, rinse, repeat…

Finish the night with a Race Simulation…

…and work on your acceleration throughout. Ride tonight with a lap on/lap off format, and practice pushing the pace. Attack and back down. Drive it for 5 seconds, then 10 seconds. Go faster than you ever could or would in a race, and learn where your limits are. Go too hard and blow. Learn where that line is so that you can ride right up to it (but not over!) in the races.

Have Fun!

M

~ by crosssports on October 14, 2009.

Posted in Uncategorized