5 Tips For a Successful Cyclocross Season

If you were disappointed with how you raced last cyclocross season, had some issues with your cx skills, or simply felt you could have been faster, then these simple (and in many cases obvious) tips can make your next season a winning one.

1. Ride Your Cross Bike

If you are serious about cyclocross you should not touch your road bike all cyclocross season, and limit your time on a mountain bike. Also mix in cyclocross rides during the spring and summer so you don’t look as shaky as a new born baby deer when you do a cross dismount in August. Most elite cross racers will mix in some cyclocross rides in the off-season, riding the bike more starting in July, and exclusively by September. Most racers will have a set of wheels mounted with road tires for their cross bike for training on the road and group rides. When you spend a lot of time on a bike it starts to feel like an extension of your body and becomes very predictable both on and off road. Predictable equals fast.

2. Do Your Cyclocross Workouts Off-road

When you start doing cross specific workouts and intervals make sure to do them off-road on mini-cross courses. It is easy to get sucked into wanting to do your intervals on the road where you can hit predictable power numbers, but in a cross race you are going to have to put power down on bumpy, slippery, and twisty terrain. Make your cross workouts into real cross workouts and do them off-road

3. Learn Proper Cyclocross Technique

Having proper technique for carrying, dismounting and mounting your bike in all different scenarios not only makes you a faster more efficient rider, but also cuts down on mechanical issues because you are not banging the bike around. Sadly many amateur riders have some holes in their technique and enrolling in a cyclocross skills clinic is the best way to fill those holes.

4. Strengthen Your Core

Cyclocross has a lot of weird unbalanced repetitive motions such as jumping on and off your bike from the same side as well as always carrying your bike on the other side. These repetitive motions can lead to weird and debilitating overuse injuries.

5. Take an Off-season

If you race cross all fall it is easy to jump into training for the upcoming road or mountain bike season after only a few weeks rest. For most people your body and soul need more than a few weeks rest. Take the time to recharge and do some other activities. Here is a list of the most popular off-season activities for cyclists.

About the Author:

Craig Richey is a multiple time Canadian National team member, representing Canada at mountain bike World Cups and cyclocross World Championships. Craig is currently doing an MBA in Boston and recently launched SponsorConnected.com

Pedaling the bicycle is what cycling is all about! Why would you not want to be the most efficient at this one thing? It is what I have focused on the most this year! Testing what works and what does not work.

Quiet Upper Body

I believe one of the most important things (that is not stressed enough in the proper pedal stroke) is keeping a quiet upper body. You may have heard “keep a quiet upper body” but why?

Keeping a quiet upper body sets the rest of the pedal stroke up for success. I started by pedaling up a hill and as soon as I started to get sloppy (head moving back and forth – happened very quickly as explained in my previous post about hill climbing) I either turned around and went down or got out of the saddle to continue to climb. No sloppiness allowed!

After keeping a quiet upper body it all runs down from there…

Alignment

Have your hip, knee and ankle in a line, this is your most efficient and powerful position! Unfortunately, not all of us do this. It is a good idea to set yourself up on a trainer and either use a mirror or a spotter to watch your natural pedal stroke.

I think we have all seen the bow-legged cyclists heading down the highway; don’t let that person be you! This type of pedaling technique is inefficient and can even lead to knee injuries… trust me! (I used to be “that” guy!)

Pedal in a circle!

Doesn’t everyone pedal in a circle? No, they actually do not!

It is easier said than done! Your goal is to accomplish a smooth circle that applies force all around the pedal stroke. Let’s break it down…

Down stroke

Your down stroke happens between 1 and 5 o’clock, if we were comparing your pedal stroke to a clock.

This is where most of the power happens. Most of us do not struggle here, we all know how to push down. Your heel should be even to the ground or even slightly below your toe by as much as 20 degrees.

Pull Back

The pull back happens between 5 and 7 o’clock.

This motion should feel as if you are scraping mud off of your shoes. You will be engaging your calf here and pointing your toe down approximately 10 degrees.

Lift up

The lift up happens between 7 and 11 o’clock.

Your goal here is to lift the pedal up and start pulling toward the sky and later the bar top. Have your ankle at approximately 20 degrees. This is where your knee is going to want to push to the outside (bow legged). Do not let this happen, keep a strong core.

It feels as if you will be lifting the pedal up here and generating a lot more power than you actually are! What you actually are doing is lifting the weight of your leg and making it so your opposing leg is not lifting it up with the down stroke.

At a slower cadence you actually are generating power on the upstroke.

Set up

The set up happens between 11 and 1 o’clock.

Drive your foot forward. Your ankle should be transitioning from 20 degrees to 0 degrees here. It is a good idea to have someone film your natural pedaling technique.

Train Each Phase Then Integrate

Each of these phases mentioned above should be focused on separately and then integrated. It is very difficult to combine them all at once.

I have been focusing on perfecting my pedaling technique for an entire year and I am still not where I want to be. It is difficult! For me it is very quantifiable as I have a computrainer that rates me on efficiency. (If you do not know what this is do not worry I will explain it in a future post).

Improve Your Pedaling Technique

There are several ways to improve your pedaling technique.

Spin on your way downhill – Try to achieve a high cadence in a small gear downhill without bouncing on your saddle. Again focus on a quiet upper body and a strong core.
One leg drills – Pedal with one foot. This will force you to pedal all the way through and develop your “smooth pedal stroke” muscles.
Rollers – When you feel like you have good balance try out some trainer rollers and this will do wonders for your pedaling technique. It will force you to pedal smoothly or you will fall! I do not suggest rollers for the beginner cyclist. They are difficult and frustrating and you should start on trainer.
Fixed gear – Kid style! Fixed gear bikes force you to pedal in circles or you will get bounced around.

Focus

If you were to focus on one thing in the next few months this would be it! Your greatest efficiency gains are in your pedal stroke! In average human standings… I went from 0 to pretty awesome just by improving my pedaling technique.

I still focus on my cycling technique nearly every ride. When I began I could hold a good technique for 15 to 30 seconds before I started to get sloppy and my hip flexors were screaming. It takes time and focus to build up, but it is worth it! Your muscles develop faster than you would think and in no time you will be flying up hills and along the flats efficiently and with a quiet upper body.

Striving to achieve the perfect pedaling technique is worth the time and energy, I promise!

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5 Winning Cyclocross Tips