Coaching Article

Fall in the Chicagoland area has become a mini Mecca for cyclocross. While cyclocross racing is not a new discipline in cycling, it has not always been as popular here as in Europe. Never the less, it has grown rapidly and like most sports, has taken on a sort of Chicago style. Because this part of the state of Illinois is not known for severe changes in elevation, creative means have been employed to make the cyclocross courses as challenging as possible. These are meant to offset the lack of physical terrain that normally provide the challenge.

The USA Cycling rulebook provides some basic guidelines to ensure that all cyclocross courses follow the same basic format, regardless of where they are held.

“The course shall be held over varying terrain including roads, country or forest paths and open terrain alternating in such a way as to ensure changes in the pace of the race and allow the riders to recuperate after difficult sections.”

Unlike road racing events, cyclocross races require the athletes to ride extremely twisting paths, as well as get off their bicycles and run. Sometimes the running is to get through unstable terrain such as a creek or a sandpit. Other times the running is required to get over barriers which can be up to 40 centimeters high. However, the distance between all these turns, obstacles and barriers is what creates different problems for different riders.

If we look at a topographical map on the left, we see the proposed site of the 2011 Athletes by Design cyclocross race. By itself the map does not tell us very much. In this case the competition is to take place in Sunrise park, located in Bartlett, Illinois. As you can see from this portion of the map, the greatest change in elevation is only 15 feet. That change in elevation is also stretched out over a distance of several hundred feet. So the terrain itself will not be the greatest challenge at this race.

However, when we are looking at the actual cyclocross course map on the right, we can see that the main challenge from this course will be the technical changes in direction. There are also barriers and some surface obstacles in the form of sand or unstable soil.

This is the place where we need to talk about a course suiting an athlete.

In road racing, there are athletes who seem to be gifted with a natural ability to perform well in criteriums. Criteriums are generally flat, often technical courses in populated urban areas. These athletes can accelerate in or out of turns again and again. They can quickly attack or close a gap with short, powerful bursts of energy. They have great agility and a good sense of who is around them.

Then there are those athletes who can get out onto the open roads and push large gears at speed for long distances, over often steep terrain. Endurance at speed is their biggest asset. It is not surprising to find road race specialists often avoid criteriums and vice versa.

So what has this to do with cyclocross?

If the course you are going to race is like the Athletes by Design course in Bartlett, you are racing a course that we could say favors criterium riders. There are many tight, technical turns on terrain that is relatively flat. Regardless of the ground surface, it is a course that requires tight bike handling and constant accelerations going in and out of turns. The telling factor is the lack of open stretches that allow an athlete to catch his breath. Add to this the fact that the riders will also be getting off their bikes and running with them, and it resembles a criterium even more. No chance to catch your breath. No rest breaks. This terrain and high level of technical turns also means that gearing will be different than longer open courses. Many athletes in the Chicago area have taken to riding with just one medium sized chainring. They are going far enough to need a large chainring and don’t want the added complications involved by a missed shift.

In the example below, we have the reverse situation as far as how the race will be ridden.

Again there is not significant change in elevation, but with this course there is also a lack of highly technical turning. There are open stretches that allow the riders to catch there breath and perhaps pull ahead of someone who caught them in the turns. One of the telltale signs of the type of course you will be facing is the number of turns and their proximity to each other. In this case, there are plenty of opportunities to open up a gap on other riders, before the next turn. That also means that there can be some real benefit to having a large chainring for the open stretches.

One other consideration is the ground on which the race is taking place. As you can see from these aerial photographs, the athletes will be spending most of their time on grass. Because these are public parks, the grass will be mowed. Because it if fall, the ground could either be bone dry and hard, or wet and slippery. Just like experienced road racers who use different wheels and tires for different events, experienced cyclocross riders use different tires and pressures for different ground conditions. What works on wet, slippery ground may come unglued on hard, grabbing dry grass and dirt.

So how do you know what is a course that suits you? How do you prepare or train for whatever the conditions require? The best way is to start in your own back yard….or somewhere that close to home.

If you have always been a road race kind of athlete, you need to be ready for those technical courses that suit criterium type athletes. Find a place near you where you can set up a permanent obstacle course to train on. Power output will not be a factor, so leave the watt meter at home.

The goal should be to address the weaknesses in your current set of handling skills. Since tight technical turns are the popular trend, you need to harden yourself for those kinds of courses. Make your obstacle course more difficult than the cyclocross race courses you will encounter. Since cyclocross courses are supposed to be run over roads, paths and open terrain, make sure your obstacle course has as much of this as possible. If you can include some off camber surfaces or loose dirt, even better. The key is to make the courses rideable, but challenging enough to improve your skills. If you design a course so hard that you cannot ride it without crashing repeatedly, you will only get discouraged. While speed is going to be a factor at some point, skill is all that matters when starting. If you cannot turn your bike 180 degrees in the sand at low speed, you will definitely now be able to do it at race speed. Make the course long enough to provide all the important obstacles and barriers. Even a course of a few hundred meters can give you plenty of challenges to deal with.

One major problem with learning a new set of skills is doing what works best for you. No two athletes are the same and just because one rider was able to learn how to get over a barrier in one step on the first try doesn’t mean everyone will do that also. Training, like everything in life is individual. You can watch 1,000 people perform a task, but that doesn’t mean you will be able to do it the same way. Back in the day, there was a guy in track and field named Dick Fosbury. He didn’t seem to be able to do the high jump very well when he did it like all the other jumpers. So he developed a completely unique method called the Fosbury Flop. It changed the way everyone jumped from that time on. Who knows, you may invent a completely new method of taking on barriers that changes the sport. So do what works best for you.

Finally, avoid the chaos that comes from chasing after things that don’t matter. Everyone always wants to get the hot new equipment, or lighter wheels, or fantastic new tires. These things can be good, there is no doubt. However, no piece of equipment will make you a winner if you don’t train properly. I have seen too many athletes spend countless dollars on stuff, but never develop the right stuff. The old saying “Eddy Merckx on a Huffy is still Eddy Merckx!” holds true. If you have what it takes, you will succeed.

Good Luck!

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