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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 ‘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 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 
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