Preparing for the Cyclo-Cross Season

Adam Myerson
7/19/2001

http://www.bike.com/features/template.asp?date=7%2F19%2F2001&page=2&lsectionnumber=5&lsectionname=Smart+Training&lsectiondirectory=training

I know it's the middle of summer, and many of you might be struggling just to get through the rest of the road or mountain bike season. The thought of racing through the fall and winter might be more than you can bear right now. But for some riders, cyclo-cross has become the focus of their racing, or at least as important as the racing they do the rest of the year. And since July tends to be the time that many riders are feeling run down and over trained, it's a good time for a break. A one- to two-week vacation from riding and racing followed by a build up that starts from square one again can leave you racing strong on the road or mountain bike in the late summer and fall, and peaking in October, November and December when the real action is on.

The first thing you have to pin down are your goals for the 'cross season. Do you want to be going well right out of the blocks in October? Is there a regional or national race series in which you want to do well in over all? Is there one big race locally you want to target, or are all your eggs in the basket for Nationals in December? You might even be planning to venture to Europe in January, or perhaps you live in the Southeast or Texas where they're lucky enough to keep racing 'cross until February.

All these concerns factor in to what level you start your 'cross program from. If you've taken the summer off and are really just getting things rolling now, then you'll have to start from a low level and build up slowly, with perhaps as much as three months of aerobic base training taking you into the heart of the season in November. At the other extreme, if you need to be raging in October for the start of your local series or maybe the string of Northeast UCI races, you'll need a different approach. You might only do one four- to six-week cycle of aerobic work, and have to rely on your fitness from the road or mountain bike season to get back into top shape quickly.

Since your training for 'cross will most likely overlap with some important late-season road or mountain bike races, there are certain 'cross-specific workouts you might have to avoid until as late as September. Running and road racing mix like oil and water, so if you've got a big event late you might decide to put off your uphill running sprints or tempo on the trails until after that point. Even then, you've got to introduce running into your workouts slowly. Ten to fifteen minutes per session to start is enough to let your body begin to adapt to what's to come. If 'cross is your priority, then you can start your running adaptation right from the get-go, leaving you in a good position to be turning the screws on the pure roadies when you hit the run-ups in October.

Your general routine for 'cross shouldn't be that different from what you might do in the road or mountain bike season, with the exception of your workouts on foot:

If you're serious about cyclo-cross, then these suggestions and time-line will help get you on track for a good start to the season. If you've never raced 'cross before and are thinking about giving it a go, now's the time to start looking for a bike and making sure you're ready when the September training races begin.

In addition to being a cycling coach, Adam Hodges Myerson is a former Collegiate National Cyclo-Cross champion and promoter of both the New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series and the Amherst International UCI Cyclo-Cross. His company is called Cycle-Smart, and he can be reached at adam@cycle-smart.com. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with his wife, Allison, and their two cats Birdie and Marie.