I reckon a ‘full-on’ XC mountain biker is going to be a fitter rider than a ‘full-on’ road cyclist. You only have to listen to the incredulous comments from ex-roadies when commentating on XC mtb races on the TV, about how high and sustained the riders heart rates are, etc.

For 90 minutes. Not for 6 hours, day after day. Bit like Mo Farah commentating on the 100m!

Anyone who thinks roadies lack “skillz” hasn’t tried to hop sideways onto a traffic island at 50mph in a bunch sprint.
the rest is just willy waving and bullshit

Anyone who thinks roadies lack “skillz” hasn’t tried to hop sideways onto a traffic island at 50mph in a bunch sprint.

For 90 minutes. Not for 6 hours, day after day. Bit like Mo Farah commentating on the 100m!

different types of fitness then, but not less fit.

being able to pick a line through a rock garden or BigAir won’t help on a road bike – the only thing that does transfer is cornering

I tend to be happier going down terribly surfaced roads at speed compared to my fitter road riding mates. I go backward compared to them going uphill mind. Alpine stuff I need to get my head around the increased speed possible on the road before I start pushing it. Having said that my fastest road speed was on the descent to Brotherswater. Chasing cars is fun!

I’m doing a charity road ride on Monday – first time doing more than a couple of road miles in over twenty years. I’ll be riding my 456 and I suspect the answer in my case will be a slow, wheezy, purple-faced no.

I’ll be riding my 456 and I suspect the answer in my case will be a slow, wheezy, purple-faced no.

but that won’t be comparable – you will be in much less efficient position on the bike and your tyres will have loads more drag than their skinny 23c tyres.

but that won’t be comparable – you will be in much less efficient position on the bike and your tyres will have loads more drag than their skinny 23c tyres.

You forgot about my complete lack of long distance fitness too.

I can’t properly compare myself to anyone except me as i seriously doubt any roadie would be as unfit as me. On the flip side, i don’t see many being a fast down a hill as me*

*Based on my one and only strava ride where i was fastest on long steep downhill segment while riding a FS bike – in an inefficient riding position and shod with supertacky HRs, and not really trying. No swooning at the back – it’s science backed up with data 😛

Chasing cars is fun!

Over took a tractor the other day, got a big thumbs up from the driver. 😆

I reckon a ‘full-on’ XC mountain biker is going to be a fitter rider than a ‘full-on’ road cyclist. You only have to listen to the incredulous comments from ex-roadies when commentating on XC mtb races on the TV, about how high and sustained the riders heart rates are, etc.

some XC racers have managed to transition to road riding quite successfully- Jean Christophe Peraud podiumed last year in the TdeF – but it’s the sustained effort over long periods that roadies do over and above mtb racers. A few pundits last year mentioned that Peraud was in such good shape for his age because he hadn’t spent years riding himself into the ground in the way pro roadies do, and he was likely to have a longer career because of it.

The average recreational MTBer will be more technically competent but less aerobically fit than the average recreational roadie. Most pros in either field do both as complementary training (along with the F1 and MotoGP guys), and the likes of Marianne Vos and Ferrand-Prevot seem equally happy and successful on fat, thin, knobbly or slick tyres.

I have gone from the back of my circle of MTB mates to the front on climbs since I took up road riding, and luckily haven’t lost the bike handling skills (touches wood and doesn’t include getting taken out by someone else on Roubaix Pave…).

some XC racers have managed to transition to road riding quite successfully

Cadel Evans was more than quite successful.

In todays case, yes. A rider just in front of me rode into a traffic cone and fell off. He, his bike and said cone were then presented to me and I had to bunny hop the cone. I still hit it hard enough with my front wheel to create a wee buckle and had to ride the last 10 miles or so with a wee bit of wheel rub (and shaky legs).

Yes as has already been said though he had to do a lot of work over a period of years to make the necessary transformation to his physiology to go from an XC racer to a Grand Tour contender. Probably easier for XC racers to be competitive in one day classics than the big stage races.

Though I think the OPs question is more about your average rider than elite racers.

Cadel was very close to winning the giro in his 1st or 2nd pro season.

His lack of success at t mobile was probably due to team politics more than anything else.

I do wonder whether modern xc racers will ever be GC guys though. xc races are shorter now and short laps don’t have such sustained climbing. Maybe xc racers are closer to classics contenders these days.

All the roadies I know carry about 4% body fat max and have calves like a bag o spuds. The people I MTB with are fit but not as fit but they are just as dedicated, it’s just a different scene, with different expectations. MTBing for me is the whole experience, the day, scenery, weather, banter food etc. If you’re touring on the roads it’s like this but the Lycra mob ain’t like this. Suppose it’s the same for the Lycra XC folks. But with MTB Lycra isnt as prominent and with roadies it dominates.

Cadel Evans was more than quite successful

I am aware of Mr Evans’ palmares, I was being a little arch in response to the (frankly laughable) quote, and specifically chose Peraud because of the follow-up points I wanted to make about the level of training.

sorry for putting a bit of thought into it!

MTBing for me is the whole experience, the day, scenery, weather, banter food etc

I think this is the case for many. Road riding for me is all about sustained effort (I don’t even do cafe stops) whereas MTB is ride a section, stop, banter, repeat. In fact at Leith Hill last weekend it was climb-latte-descend-climb-latte-descend… 🙂

I do wonder whether modern xc racers will ever be GC guys though. xc races are shorter now and short laps don’t have such sustained climbing. Maybe xc racers are closer to classics contenders these days.

You can change your fitness. Bradley Wiggins started off with short rides on the track but then successfully switched to some nice French Scenery, Weather, Banter – He used to ride round on a tour for three weeks with mates in a van. Looked like a laugh.

MTBing for me is the whole experience, the day, scenery, weather, banter food etc

There is plenty of this in bunch racing and other forms of road racing and riding I’ve done (with the exception of hill climbing where no one eats).