by Russell Cree, Cycling coach, Upper Echelon Fitness

Cyclocross continues to grow across the nation and especially in the Pacific Northwest. We are now seeing up to 1,500 participants at a single race in Oregon. It’s safe to say cyclocross has arrived and is its own legitimate sport. Many people focus on this discipline of cycling exclusively. Cross is a unique sport with a unique skillset; one needs a combination of bike handling skills, fitness and strategy to win in this sport. As the competition grows and the bar is raised, you will need to become increasingly effective with your preparation. Cross has unique demands and your training should incorporate these specific demands.

After building your aerobic foundation in the early season, you must add the specific work of cross racing into your program. While cross is a threshold-based activity, like time trials, or a challenging criterium, the sharp peaks and valleys of power output during cross is much more dramatic then these other events, and most like a hard criterium. Cross requires a high power output for as short duration, repeated through the event, which is typically 40-60 minutes long. These are short 10-15 seconds bursts of power, accelerating out of a turn or after remounting your bike. These short bursts might total 10 times per lap over an 8 lap, 60 minute race, meaning 80 bursts of power during an hour! Simply raising your threshold will not suffice for cross racing. You need the ability to KICK and accelerate for the entire race.

Here are two workouts I use with my athletes to add these specific demands to their training:

Kick and Sit: Workout: 4-6 Sets of (15sec at 150% of threshold : 15sec at 50% of threshold for 10 minutes) with 5 minute rest intervals. Using a power meter will help you fine tune this workout. It is easy to go too high and too low with your power in the early phases of this workout, so be careful. These are short and specific intervals and can be done outdoors on a gradual incline or on a trainer. When doing the kick, it’s ok to alternate sitting and standing. Then sit and spin during the lower power output. If you race is 40 minutes, that is your goal duration for intervals, meaning 4 sets of 10 minutes. 6 sets for an hour long race, and so on.  

Power Hill Repeat/Run-Ups:  2 minutes at threshold on a short steep gravel road, followed by 10 seconds of running. Rest for 1 minute. Here in Portland, we do these on Saltzman road in Forest Park. Hopefully you can find a gravel or dirt road near your home too. On a steep road, start with two minutes at threshold, then dismount and shoulder your bike and run for 10 seconds. We do this up a trail, but it’s OK to continue on a dirt road. Try to be smooth with the transition off your bike and be able to sprint. Then remount your bike, turn around and descend the road. Rest for 1 minute. Repeat. The ability to maintain power through the race is important, so keep this effort going until your power drops off by over 10%. Again, use your meter to keep your power on target early in this workout, as two minutes at threshold will seem easy - at first. Use your race duration as a goal for this workout. 40-60minutes is typical.

Summary: Like any discipline of cycling, you must add specificity to your training. Use your power meter to help fine tune your training and build the correct skills to enhance your performance this season.

Russell Cree is a professional cycling coach, Physical Therapist, and Bike Fit Specialist at Upper Echelon Fitness in Portland, Oregon. An Oregon native, he began racing in 1994 and has experience as a category 1 road and cyclocross rider and professional XC Mt biker. He holds a BS in Exercise Science from Northern Arizona University, a Masters in Physical Therapy from University of Wisconsin, and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Temple University. He is the founder and owner of Upper Echelon Fitness, a Sports Medicine and Training Center for cyclists and triathletes in Portland, Oregon.