Starting too fast - Cyclocross Magazine2024-03-28T20:35:21Zhttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/forum/topics/starting-too-fast?id=1198434%3ATopic%3A70388&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI would suggest doing some sp…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2011-01-19:1198434:Comment:812132011-01-19T05:11:24.204ZMackenzie Carsonhttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/MackenzieCarson
<p>I would suggest doing some specific training to increase your lactic recovery in your starts, and to make your first 2 laps more powerful. Hunter Allen made a workout specifically for the purpose of starts in MTB and Cross races.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>15 min warm up w/ 3-4 spin ups<br/> 4x Long Intervals:<br/>-1 min ALL OUT from standstill<br/>- 10 min HR zone 4-5a<br/>- 10 min recovery spin</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Race by your strengths to succeed, but train your limiters.</p>
<p>I would suggest doing some specific training to increase your lactic recovery in your starts, and to make your first 2 laps more powerful. Hunter Allen made a workout specifically for the purpose of starts in MTB and Cross races.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>15 min warm up w/ 3-4 spin ups<br/> 4x Long Intervals:<br/>-1 min ALL OUT from standstill<br/>- 10 min HR zone 4-5a<br/>- 10 min recovery spin</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Race by your strengths to succeed, but train your limiters.</p> A lot of great imput here but…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-21:1198434:Comment:710472010-10-21T07:53:14.837Zcxchivahttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/cxchiva
A lot of great imput here but I think there are some other important things as well- For example, how smooth and powerfully is a rider dismounting, running and remounting. Also, I feel that I have to get my strength from puke-fest group road rides. I can't go out by myself and replicate those kind of efforts by myself. So for me, coming off of the road season I know my road fitness is decent, so mainly what I work on is lot's of running and doing all the technical stuff over and over eventhough…
A lot of great imput here but I think there are some other important things as well- For example, how smooth and powerfully is a rider dismounting, running and remounting. Also, I feel that I have to get my strength from puke-fest group road rides. I can't go out by myself and replicate those kind of efforts by myself. So for me, coming off of the road season I know my road fitness is decent, so mainly what I work on is lot's of running and doing all the technical stuff over and over eventhough I know I have it down. Practicing your technique at slow speeds is one thing, but can you have that fluidity when your heartrate is hovering around its max! Another important thing for me is leg speed during a race, are you effecient or just mashing a huge gear? And lastly, a biggie for me is being able to sustain such a high intensity for 45 minutes. How much do your workouts resemble such an effort as race day?<br />
<br />
And if you made it this far- I disagree with not coming back fom fading. Last year I kept on doing the same thing; going out too hard and then fading. So later in the season I experimented in different races. A few times I let myself fade to 8-10 place and came back the last 2 laps to finish on the podium. It can be done. It was only a demo, but it is…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-21:1198434:Comment:710392010-10-21T05:37:54.558ZRussell Hardinghttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/RussellHarding
It was only a demo, but it is being researched for next year.<br />
<br />
It worked great, no extra fee (this time), registration took an extra 30 seconds (a second guy after the number was handed out to give a chip, code it, zip it to your head tube, and ask if you needed a second for a pit bike). Then, a guy after the finish line clipped it off.<br />
<br />
The discussion is if our local association (which runs all the races in the state) wants to mandate racers buy chips, and/or mandate events use them. I think…
It was only a demo, but it is being researched for next year.<br />
<br />
It worked great, no extra fee (this time), registration took an extra 30 seconds (a second guy after the number was handed out to give a chip, code it, zip it to your head tube, and ask if you needed a second for a pit bike). Then, a guy after the finish line clipped it off.<br />
<br />
The discussion is if our local association (which runs all the races in the state) wants to mandate racers buy chips, and/or mandate events use them. I think hardcore racers would really like it, but am not sure about the guys who are new, or race only a couple times a year. hey russell,
how did the chi…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-21:1198434:Comment:710382010-10-21T05:28:53.402Zandrewhttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/cyclocross
hey russell,<br />
<br />
how did the chip timing work out? were most people happy with the new technology? did it raise race entry fees?<br />
<br />
-A
hey russell,<br />
<br />
how did the chip timing work out? were most people happy with the new technology? did it raise race entry fees?<br />
<br />
-A We recently had a race in tow…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-21:1198434:Comment:710202010-10-21T03:09:35.018ZRussell Hardinghttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/RussellHarding
We recently had a race in town with chip timing and it really opened my eyes.<br />
<br />
The first lap of a race is usually BARELY the fastest. The winners are the ones able to maintain the first lap pace.<br />
<br />
This was really surprising for me to see. Also, many of the winner's times seem more consistent, and the higher categories seem more consistent.<br />
<br />
Maybe you should go out with a GPS on auto-lap, or find another way to time your laps so you can ride a more consistent race, which should maximize your…
We recently had a race in town with chip timing and it really opened my eyes.<br />
<br />
The first lap of a race is usually BARELY the fastest. The winners are the ones able to maintain the first lap pace.<br />
<br />
This was really surprising for me to see. Also, many of the winner's times seem more consistent, and the higher categories seem more consistent.<br />
<br />
Maybe you should go out with a GPS on auto-lap, or find another way to time your laps so you can ride a more consistent race, which should maximize your placing. The only exception being a very technical course where you stand to lose a lot of time in the first lap. Or, as previously stated, if you think you can win, you simply must be at the front, but it also must be a pace you can maintain. yeah i find the longer i warm…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-19:1198434:Comment:709002010-10-19T18:38:24.842Zkenneth fetsurkahttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/kennethfetsurka
yeah i find the longer i warm up the better im ready to go for the duration of the race rather than doing a mediocre warm up and getting warmed up on the 2nd lap into the race
yeah i find the longer i warm up the better im ready to go for the duration of the race rather than doing a mediocre warm up and getting warmed up on the 2nd lap into the race We're all about community-con…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-15:1198434:Comment:705762010-10-15T22:44:51.390Zandrewhttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/cyclocross
<img src="http://www.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/issue10-small2-200l.jpg" style="float:left;"></img> We're all about community-contributed content, so booksy or anyone else, if you're serious about writing an article, do it! we'll work with ya. And Chris has a great feature article (see that tactics part on the cover) on this in <a href="http://cxmagazine.com/subscribe" target="blank">Issue 10</a>. Back copies are available but selling pretty fast. Also available at <a href="http://www.cxmagazine.com/best-cyclocross-local-bike-shops" target="_blank">better bike shops</a> and some…
<img style="float:left;" src="http://www.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/issue10-small2-200l.jpg"/>We're all about community-contributed content, so booksy or anyone else, if you're serious about writing an article, do it! we'll work with ya. And Chris has a great feature article (see that tactics part on the cover) on this in <a target="blank" href="http://cxmagazine.com/subscribe">Issue 10</a>. Back copies are available but selling pretty fast. Also available at <a href="http://www.cxmagazine.com/best-cyclocross-local-bike-shops" target="_blank">better bike shops</a> and some independent and national bookstores! Sounds like you need some mor…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-15:1198434:Comment:705492010-10-15T14:59:56.403ZChris Mayhewhttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/ChrisMayhew
Sounds like you need some more intensity in your warm up. When you do a full tilt effort as you would the start of the race you need some time below threshold to recover. The more time above threshold the bigger the recovery. Doing a few intense efforts before the start helps you to not blow up from your first start.<br />
<a href="http://blog.fascatcoaching.com/2010/10/cyclocross-race-warm-up/" target="_blank">http://blog.fascatcoaching.com/2010/10/cyclocross-race-warm-up/</a><br />
<br />
On a more general…
Sounds like you need some more intensity in your warm up. When you do a full tilt effort as you would the start of the race you need some time below threshold to recover. The more time above threshold the bigger the recovery. Doing a few intense efforts before the start helps you to not blow up from your first start.<br />
<a href="http://blog.fascatcoaching.com/2010/10/cyclocross-race-warm-up/" target="_blank">http://blog.fascatcoaching.com/2010/10/cyclocross-race-warm-up/</a><br />
<br />
On a more general note some people can out start themselves, that is they can start quite well but can't hold on to it. For those people, for sure, they should start a bit slower and play that card later. I actually do have an article in CXM about this and you can read about it here too:<br />
<a href="http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/power-profiling.aspx" target="_blank">http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/power-profiling.aspx</a><br />
specifically the \ profile.<br />
<br />
I don't think the latter applies to you but in my experience it does to about one in ten people. I race in the 4's so the cour…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-15:1198434:Comment:705482010-10-15T14:22:50.806ZPatrick McCuehttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/PatrickMcCue
I race in the 4's so the course is open when I get there. I usually try to get three laps done on the course - 1st to check it out, 2nd more on my tempo pace and the third with some max efforts. Depending on the time I stay on the course until the call us to the start.
I race in the 4's so the course is open when I get there. I usually try to get three laps done on the course - 1st to check it out, 2nd more on my tempo pace and the third with some max efforts. Depending on the time I stay on the course until the call us to the start. I'll help anyone ;)
What's y…tag:cowbell.cxmagazine.com,2010-10-15:1198434:Comment:705462010-10-15T12:31:39.698ZChris Mayhewhttps://cowbell.cxmagazine.com/profile/ChrisMayhew
I'll help anyone ;)<br />
<br />
What's your warm up look like?
I'll help anyone ;)<br />
<br />
What's your warm up look like?