Cyclo-Cross - Your Secret Weapon for Winter Training

By Jim Lehman
Dec 15, 2005, 05:10

Cycling tradition used to dictate that a cyclist spent the winter recovering from the summer road racing season, but modern cycling has created a new paradigm.  This progressive approach allows the cyclist to choose from a variety of disciplines in an effort to maximize the effectiveness of one’s training.  Rarely do cyclists define themselves by such narrow parameters as “roadie” or “trackie” anymore.  Now cyclists are free to participate in all disciplines of the sport in order improve their proficiency on the bike and their fitness. One of the most dynamic and exciting ways to do this is cyclo-cross. 

While the sport may be relatively new to US cyclists, it has been around since the early 1900’s.  Originally it was used as a way for road cyclists to stay fit and keep their handling skills sharp during the cold months of the Northern European winter.  Like most things though, competitive urges helped to transform the activity into a full-fledged sport.  This love of racing lead to the first Cyclo-Cross World Championships in 1950 and this gave the sport legitimacy and a growing fan base.  In modern day Europe, it is not uncommon to see crowds of 30,000 or more gather to cheer on their ‘cross heroes. 

‘Cross Bikes: The Subaru of the Cycling World

‘Cross bikes resemble neither the lightweight sports car nor the bulky and heavy SUV. They’re somewhere in the middle; fast and stable off-road but not designed for big rock drop-offs. Now that cyclo-cross has progressed within the US, there are increased opportunities for everyone to get a taste of this unique discipline and reap the rewards it has to offer.  Numerous manufactures offer a ‘cross bike in their lines, so no longer do you have to cobble together a bike in order to roll around in the dirt with your training partners.  You can visit your local shop to pick up a top quality ‘cross bike to add to your stable of machines… as if you needed an excuse to buy another bike.

Even if you are not interested in racing cyclo-cross, training on a ‘cross bike is an excellent way to help you prepare for the upcoming road season.  Since a ‘cross bike is essentially a modified road bike, you can set your bike up similar to your road bike in terms of saddle position.  You may want to raise the bars a bit to improve the handling on the downhills, but otherwise it will be very close to your road set up. This makes for a smooth transition between bikes, thus minimizing soreness that can arise from switching between different bikes. While the tires on the ‘cross bike are a bit wider than traditional road tires and they have a knobby tread, they are still rather skinny compared to the average mountain bike tire. You will be riding these lean, knobby tires on loose, off-camber, slippery, muddy, sandy, and potentially bumpy terrain, so your handling skills will be tested each time you ride this bike. After a few weeks, you will become more comfortable on the ‘cross bike and you will begin to learn how to manipulate your body weight in order to keep the bike stable in dynamic conditions. The goal is for you to become more relaxed on the bike so you have the confidence to move swiftly and smoothly through the bunch in next year’s road races and criteriums. 

More Power in Less Time

The typical gearing on a ‘cross bike is 48/38 chain rings with a 12-25 or 12-26 cassette.  While these may appear to be somewhat small gears on the road, you may begin to think differently as you take this bike off the road and up short steep hills. The nature of the terrain and gearing lends itself to strength development and more importantly, cycling-specific strength.  Experts will always debate the benefits of resistance training for cyclists, but they will all agree that the limited daylight hours of the winter months have a significant impact on many cyclists’ training program.  It is imperative that these individuals maximize their training time while balancing the other aspects of their lives.  With limited training time, cyclo-cross may be the perfect combination of riding and resistance training.  You are developing strength on the bike while improving your aerobic conditioning, and you can accomplish all of this in just one hour per day. 

Boost Your Winter Training

It is important that you don’t think of winter as the “off-season”, but rather think of it as a transition period during which you can work on different aspects of your fitness. Cyclo-cross is an excellent way to improve your overall fitness level during the fall and winter.  ‘Cross workouts and/or races provide training stimulus for all of your energy systems. The bulk of the time will be spent riding at or near your lactate threshold, but you will spend short burst of time over that intensity, with even shorter blocks of time for recovery.  Since ‘cross races are typically between 45-60 minutes, you will not be accumulating large amounts of time at these intensities, and with plenty of time to recover, your short and hard ‘cross workouts or races will enhance your overall training and not detract from your primary training focus at this time of year… aerobic conditioning.

If you live in a Northern climate, your summer race season may be short, so ‘cross races can be a great way to get additional race starts and satisfy your competitive urges during the transition period.  In addition, if you are new to competitive cycling, cyclo-cross can give you the opportunity to get a few more race starts under your belt. This helps you develop your race routine and improves your handling skills so you will be more comfortable on the start line at the beginning of next year’s road season.   

If you are not interested in racing cyclo-cross, you can set up a training course in a local part and perform 45-60 minute sessions on this course.  Make sure you add a few short climbs and descents to the loop to test your technical skills.  So whether you decide to race ‘cross or use it as a training tool, it is a great way to add some intensity and variety to your winter program, thus helping you maintain motivation and focus during the short/dark days of winter.

Cyclo-cross incorporates aspects of nearly every form of cycling, so it can be a great way for you to improve your overall skills and fitness during a potentially tedious part of the season.  With the investment of a few hours a week, you have the opportunity to get a leg up on next year’s competition and keep warm and sane during the long, cold winter.

Jim Lehman is a Premier Coach with Carmichael Training Systems, Inc. (CTS) who works with several young rising stars, including US cyclo-cross star Ryan Trebon, Credit Agricole rider Saul Raisin, Navigator’s pro Phil Zajicek, and Subaru-Gary Fisher’s Willow Koerber. To find out what CTS can do for you, visit http://www.trainright.com.

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