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Raising your ftp is prob the best thing you can do for cross @duggan, along with skills. At least for most of us - prob at the sharp end or if you're 18yo the races are a lot spikier. But V40 is way more of an attritional grind because throwing multiple digs in from ftp effort isn't really on the cards. You get zero real recoveries on a typical cross course (no significant drafting at cross speeds, no big descents) so you can start throwing the Watts around if you're mega strong.
Those VO2 max efforts in training are still important because they raise ftp, not so much because they represent the reality of a cross race. You do need to be able to ride the hardest parts of the course hard / skilfully - that is normally what separates riders of similar strength.
Well this has all gone a bit quiet, right at the peak of the season round here, so might as well resurrect it all with recent stuff.
The boys and I have been racing in the North West and North Wales leagues with good results all round - not so much for me at Macclesfield South Park on the 2nd Jan as I had Covid over Christmas so it was first race back / taking it easy kind of thing and the wheels fell off on the last 2 laps, but I still managed top 30, the eldest was 3rd in the U10 again for his first race back after having Covid over Christmas - at least I know where I got it from and the middle one was 4th in U8, but they're both still looking at 2nd overall in their respective NWCCA leagues and the eldest is on to win the North Wales one too.
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Next up was the 5th round of the North Wales CX league at the Hanson Cement works in Mold, the boys did really well with the oldest coming 3rd overall in the combined U8 / U10 / U12 race and taking the U10 win, the middle one rode his new 700c wheeled CX bike for the first time and was 12th overall in the same race and 3rd U8. I had a properly good race in the adults / over 18 race with 12th overall and 3rd in V40 for my first ever - virtual - CX podium.
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And this weekend I went to the Manchester winter cycling festival hosted by Trek Wilmslow at Bruntwood Park where there were cyclocrosss races all day long, it was a superb event and a really good course. I did the combined Junior / Senior / V40 race and was well chuffed to come away with 12th overall and 5th placed Vet, plenty of tech sections, including a proper off-camber bank round the BMX track and very slippy sideway drifting in action on a lot of the corners.
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Not quite 21/22 season and not quite 22/23 season either but Cross is coming (again!)
Central League are running a four race summer CX series at MK Bowl. If it's anything like the events they've put on there in the past it should be great!