Simple really. I’ve done plenty of road racing this year so know what effort I can put in for 60 minutes. Mainly going to enjoy this one, use it to learn and not really expecting great things.

What’s your best cross tip?

Go to the pub instead…I took an Elite Cat friend of mine to a couple last year.He was a bit shocked to say the least.
Ride your own race…and you’ll come where you come.

Warm up properly beforehand.

Did my 1st one today, horrible in this heat (1pm start). Lost my bottle on the first lap.

Can’t really offer any advice other than ride as fast as you can 🙂

Oh yeah…remember your race number,and helmet 😳
And dont use superstar chainguides GRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 👿

Which race are you going to?

Start off flat out and then go faster! No time for pacing yourself.
Maintain your speed through the many corners.
But above all have fun and Good Luck.
PS. I’m useless at this cross racing lark!

Aren’t you supposed to start off fast while aiming to reach a crescendo before a sprint finish?

Practice your fence hop

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bEGAIYKTZ9w[/video]

‘Did my 1st one today, horrible in this heat (1pm start).’

I feel so sorry for you… try cross racing in scotland, when not getting hypothermia is normally a bonus 🙂

Spare a though (all you southern heatwavers!) that the forecast for round one of the Scottish cyclcross race at Irvine tomorrow is 14c and rain 😥

I had been hoping for a nice day at the beach with the family, now it’s looking like an hour of hell in the wet sand – still, the bags are packed and I am looking forward to it in a sick kind of way.

I think you can forget normal training for cross racing, I am fairly fit, put in about 100 road miles a week and the odd MTB ride, but CX is just a balls out blast… the best thing is confidence and get your head into your own race, if your not fast you will be lapped more than 4 times, but you are likely to always be ahead of someone else! Just warm up properly, the starts are very fast and get the heart pounding, which does not stop until the end. Also, a light bike helps, and finally if you run cross tyres – don’t go mad with the PSI as I did last year and was pounded for an hour and could not get any flow on the trails, good tyres and about 45psi is fine (I followed tyre info and went for 80psi)

As said, start as fast as possible, try not to slow down after half hour when everyone’s found there pace, pick a rider in front and get past them, then keep doing that until your at the front!

If your passing at least shout ‘rider’ before you go.

Practice your dismounts / remounts to make them as smooth as possible, remount onto your thigh, not your….

Get a really good warm up done before the start, I struggle with knowing how hard to go here, I edged on the side of more rather than less and seemed to sort me out in the last race.

Enjoy it! I became instantly hooked after my first one last year, it’s my favourite form of riding at the moment.

Post how you got on.

yeah it’s hard **** work.. i managed one each the last 2 years, that’s a reasonable gap to forget how frankly unpleasant it is.. but not sure i can bring myself to do another!

Doing the NECCL (TLI) one just north of Newcastle.

Not got much time to work on technique or any training. I was just going to go out fast and try to hang on till the finish. My warmup will be the ride to the start.

Forecast looks wet.

💡 personally i prefer to start last as then (hopefully) things only get betterer, not the most competitive idea for a roadie though, mebbe

I’m doing my first one too… Do people get cross if you hold them up? I am not sure how fast my flat out is compared to anyone else’s. Particularly not with corners. I am quite good at playing chase the roadie on tarmac (it’s been my ‘training’ riding to and from work) but I’m having fear about corners (may not yet have balanced desire to ride flat out and desire to turn).

It’s a race, if you are in front you are winning and it is there job to get past you no matter how cross they get. If you are lapped then I’d move over and let people past.

From my road racing experiences this year, the races themselves are massively faster than any training ride or lone roadie you will see. It jumps a level when you’ve got guys who race regularly rather than just own/ride road bikes.

Put it this way Jon, you are going to whoop me at this race. I havent done a cx race for 2 years and I hated it last time. No idea why I am going today. I think I am going to take it easy and try not to finish last. I will leave winning to you and Andrew… and if you bung me a tenner then I will try my best blocking manouvers on the riders chasing you!

I’m a girl (really, not a euphemism for a bit scared) so will be bunged in with the vets which always seems to be the biggest field and have visions of a massive scrum in which I hold up loads of grumpy speedy whippets with my crap cornering (but I can hold my own on climbs). Still going to have a go…

Wonder how they’re doing 🙂

Try to catch the rider in front.
Try to drop the rider behind.
😉

How did you get on?

My lad did his first there this morning too, came 2nd U12! Mind you, he’s 12 in a month and then it looks a bit serious 🙂

Not sure about this start fast chat. Obviously you don’t want to end up miles back but if I start fast I blow. Better to be the guy picking up places on the last two laps than the ones breathing out their arses.

in my excellent 2 race career i can say it’s best to be out front and overtaken rather than making your way up the field, that’s what slows you down.. so while maybe you shouldn’t start blow-up fast, being at the front at the beginning would be a huge benefit!

edit: not that i was ever out the front..

Should have sprinted harder off the line. Got held up so spent the first 20 minutes trying to get past people who were holding me up on the singletrack. Found some space eventually but couldn’t catch up with enough people to get a good finish. I was exhausted from trying to get round people on the climbs.

Really enjoyed it though and I’ll be going back for some more. A better start would have seen me with a good finish.

Off camber corners are “fun” as are roots. There were no dismounts thankfully. Not sure why people think they need disc brakes, I didn’t need any more power as it was on wet grass so slippery as ‘owt. Also my gearing is too high. Was running 34/46 with 11-25 out the back. Never used the 46 as by the time I’d gone through the casette I was braking for the corner and shifting down for the next climb.

Next one is the end of the month.

Went to watch the welsh CX at Risca. Bugger me it was warm. Well done to all those that competed.

Just back from the Welsh League at Risca, typing this with a coffee and pecan slice, first lap into a concrete right hander and binned in front of all the mums and dads ‘oooooooooh’ lost a few places but made them up when I got going again. I don’t mind mud, the course had half dried out but the stuff in the shade was like flipping glue, struggled with that a bit.

Found myself in a no mans land by the end, infront of most of the slow but miles behind the fast so struggled to keep my head down, glad to hear the bell though, role on Rd3!

Taking notes!
I’ll report back next week – we’re doing the Notts & Derby league one.

I’ll look out for you at Whickham then jonba.

Had a good race at herne hill today! The heat made it hard, luckily I found some I knew to pass me a bottle.

We had bone dry conditions in Swindon today. So hot the commissaire changed the rules and allowed bottles to be handed to riders! Main problem was the acorns – like riding on marbles.

My tip – if you’re an mtber sprint for the singletrack otherwise you will be held up, if you’re a roadie overtake us on the grass after the woods!

hoping to get my first race in at whickham if the cross frame has arrived by then, cotic so more get finished than finishing high

my last race at whickahm was on teh bmx track aged 13 many many moons ago 😀

Well Jon, I was counting as people passed me. When you lapped me you were about 12th I reckon. But it sounds as if you made ground after that. I am reckoning Andrew made 6th or 7th at a guess. I reckon I was about 5th from last but given I was the only singlespeed out there I am happy with that as my aim was not to be last. My main problem was lack of arm power – standing up on all the climbs and running out of juice 🙁

Was good fun – was yo-yoing a bit and was trying to catch the same guy for the whole race. Finally went past on the steepest bit of climb on the last lap but felt like puking as I tried to keep a higher pace up to ensure not getting caught.

Was pretty friendly and good fun – I’d recommend it as a good way to try racing. You dont have to pelt round, just do it at your own pace and try hard if you feel like it… I didnt do very well in reality, but I tried my hardest – thats what its all about.

Not sure if I can make the next one, but will try.