Decided to have a punt at cyclo cross ‘racing’ (riding more like) this weekend, any pointers for a first timer, for what its worth I will be on a cross bike.

Set off from the start at full pace and then keep going faster and faster.In 50 mins it will all be over!
If it’s muddy don’t run your tyres to hard.

Have a good race, it’s loads of fun.

The start will be hard. By the first corner, your lungs will be trying to force themselves out your mouth and your quads will have gone numb. Hold that for an hour.

For more sensible advice, ride at least one lap of the course, to get an idea of where the tricky bits are. By tricky, I mean where you have to get off and run up a bank/steps.

Oh, and have a look at youtube to get an idea of dismount and remount.

I’d love to have another crack at cross (did a few races on my MTB last year). It’s ace fun, and all over quite quickly.

Enjoy!

-It may hurt.
-It will be very very muddy indeed.
-Drink lots before and after race, it would seem that drinking during is not cool 😕 (i think gels are ‘allowed’?)
-Look up running dismounts online, and practice them in the park.
-don’t expect to be able to ride everything, sometimes its easier and fatser to get off and run.
-the racing line is often the one with the most traction and least gloop even if it is not the most direct way round.
-expect to come last, everyone will be well fit, most of them are roadies and have fitness at the expense of a life 😉
-bring your bc licence and pay a bit less to enter usually.

You can eat or drink during a race however you can’t have it handed up to you by someone.
My usual aims are to stay upright, finish and try not to be sick afterwards.

Humm there’s a common pattern emerging here…

I did a CX race when incredibly unfit and enjoyed it even though I came third last. For your first one, just ride it and see how you’re going.

Or hammer off the start and keep going until you’re sick/win/combination

1hr with a HR @ 165bpm is about the best way I’d sum up my experience of CX. 😐

1hr with a HR @ 165bpm is about the best way I’d sum up my experience of CX.

I’d kill for my HR to be as low as that during a cross race.

Oh, yes, the reason people don’t drink (or often eat) is that it’s only an hour, so your body ought to be carrying all the energy and hydration it needs.

You might need a pint afterwards, though.

ourmaninthenorth – Member

1hr with a HR @ 165bpm is about the best way I’d sum up my experience of CX.

I’d kill for my HR to be as low as that during a cross race.

I’m not there to win…. 😕

Every race needs a Lantern Rouge, no??? 😳

mrs wilson was waiting with a chilly 66cl peroni on the finish line of the one i did the other week. 😀

mrs wilson was waiting with a chilly 66cl peroni on the finish line of the one i did the other week

And drinking it gave her something to do whilst you were exercising 😉

I’m not there to win….

Nor am I. Just fat and unfit and not suited to performing a lung transplant on myself while on the bike….

ourmaninthenorth – Member

I’m not there to win….

Nor am I. Just fat and unfit and not suited to performing a lung transplant on myself while on the bike….

Mate, I’m ~18stoneofidiot, more akin to wearing a Number 7 on my back and throwing a rugby ball, than wearing Lycra and sprinting around a muddy field!!! 😳 😕

mrs wilson was waiting with a chilly 66cl peroni on the finish line of the one i did the other week.

should have been Belgian for true cross authenticity 😉

Cyclocross is ace!

Just get your head down, chase anyone in front of you and try to drop anyone behind you until someone tells you to stop 🙂

got my first cross race this sat (sportcity in manc). wasn’t sure on the drinking thing? thought if i had a bottle on the bike it’d be heavy to carry so thought camelbak maybe? or will i be proverbially bum raped if i use one of these? i can’t imagine not drinking for an hour, i used to drink a whole bottle in a 40 min road race!

Re: Drinking.
Go nuts, drink as much as you like, from whatever receptical you desire, it’s just very hard to go utterly flat out and swig at the same time – I’d drown if I tried (though I often carry half a small bottle with some flat coke or similar in it, in case I start to die a bit towards the end of the race) 😆

Just get your head down, chase anyone in front of you and try to drop anyone behind you until someone tells you to stop

That’s about the best description I’ve seen yet. 😆

Don’t be surprised if it feels like the whole race gets away from the line quicker than you do, half of them will be two-lap wonders who you’ll gain on over the course of the hour.
Drink what you want from whatever receptacle you want, just so long as you’re carrying it yourself you’ll be fine. Nobody will laugh at you because a) they really don’t care, and b) they’ll be breathing too hard.
If you get lapped, try and stay out of the way. Don’t panic and fall off in front of the front group.

Beyond that, have fun, it’s great!

julianwilson – Member
-It may hurt.

He’s lying. It will hurt 🙂

Wherebouts’ you thinking of racing?

💡 slow your overtaking opponents by aiming your projectile vomit at them 😉

Hi all, thanks for your ‘reassuring comments’ and advice. I’m using Conti Speed Kings, how low a pressure dare you run these?

AnalogueAndy, Baggeridge Country Park,Sedgley, West Midlands

Baggeridge will be good
One of my sons should be there but I’m taking the other one the National Round. Baggeridge is a good course with some technical aspects and a bit of a draggy climb that strings things out. Just have fun. There will be people racing/riding from 7 to 70+ and nobody cares if you are slow, don’t look cool or whatever. A drink really isn’t necessary but entirely up to you. You will be gridded at the back and you can either plod round there or try and make you way through what will be a fast starting bunch. If you enjoy cycling and don’t mind a bit of mud you’ll love it. Did my first ever race last November at Baggeridge and was hooked

im goin to watch the race in clydebank,looks absoluetly mental.think its auchentaushen(or however its spelt),should be nice and muddy down there!!!

go as fast as you can at the start – the pace will ease slightly after 5-10 mins, but if you lose everyone at the beginning it will then be really hard to catch them up again. As the race is so short, dont rely upon any hare and tortoise strategy.

By the way – the Belgian Superprestige series starts this Sunday & will be shown live on the internet VT4

I am not sure if it accessible to the UK, in the same way I can’t view BBC i-player but if you can it’s the best of the best…
Niels Albert is back from injury to do battle with Nijs & Stybar.

matthewlhome – Member
go as fast as you can at the start – the pace will ease slightly after 5-10 mins, but if you lose everyone at the beginning it will then be really hard to catch them up again. As the race is so short, dont rely upon any hare and tortoise strategy.

I’ll disagree with you there. It’s very easy to blow up after the first ten minutes and lose a shedload of places. Speaking as a grade-A tortoise I can assure you that it’s common to sail past these folk after half an hour or so. Unless the course is very narrow and makes lots of overtaking a problem, of course.

Thanks guys, looking forward to Sunday yeahaa

LS – We’ll have to agree to disagree. Might depend on the race series you do. I found that once i got my head round killing myself for a few minutes, everything settled down. If i did my normal MTB style tortoise racing, i would never manage to make up the gap i lost at the start.

Don’t get me wrong, the start should be very hard, I’m just saying not ‘as fast as you can’. An hour is a long time when you’re on the rivet and pushed it too hard, too soon.

perhaps i’m not fast enough then 😆

I’m ‘on the rivet’ for an entire race, its just that the pace gradually fades as lactic acid builds up.

😆
Ignoring the start loop, I tend to be just as fast (or slow, I suppose) on the last lap as the first.

how did you get on?

i was almost sick on my second lap but settled down after that. managed to keep a reasonable pace with a group of riders. almost had an off turning off some wet tarmac onto some mud. did a full 360 skid with my foot on the floor! can’t believe i didn’t fall off, neither could the guy who was behind me but as i subsequently span the first 180 was right infront of me but just swerved to avoid me. lots of laughing with relief after this moment! came 67 out of 113, off to do the next one in the series on sunday. woop woop!

Does anyone know of events around Chester, North Wales, perhaps Manchester. Or be able to direct me to some web listings of cx races?

Cheers

Try http://www.nwcca.org.uk/ for Manchester based cyclocoss.

Look on the bc website

DD did you race at baggeridge or are you raceing this sunday?

Anyone got any tips for racing in a hardtail? Currently got swampthings on it and will be lowering the forks to 110mm and locking them out.

bakey-Im based chester way and race all the NW league/Tli north wales races.Drop us a line if you want to hook up-quite a few on the wirral/liverpool way.