How long is your training ride?

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Permalink Reply by GeWilli on May 12, 2009 at 1:39pm

every one does it differently - but when you get to the upper echelon of the sport you find more people training based on time and intensity than miles...

usually miles are tossed around by club riders and cafe racers, not the folks who pin on a number...

speed and distance don't matter in crosss - time and intensity does...

but the same goes for all - build a strong foundation before you start adding intensity - check out the CX mag's plans that have been posted online and printed about training... they are a good starting point...

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Permalink Reply by andrew on May 12, 2009 at 5:50pm

Gewilli is spot on for sure...time and intensity is what matters. Def. build a base to avoid injury, but don't get caught up in LSD miles (long slow distance). too much of that can be counter-productive for 'cross. michael birner's training plans, plus david perez's strength and injury prevention exercises can do wonders before you get to that first race.

what level are you hoping to compete in? what are your goals? how much time do you have? so much of the ideal plan depends on those 3 things.

just as an example, my aspirations are typically to be respectable in the B/Master B races or not get double lapped by the pros when I race singlespeed (same race). If I can get two separate one hour rides of intensity during the week (tues/wed) and race once on the weekend that goal is usually met.

in our mag (issue 6 mailing soon) you'll see the surprising variances in the # of hours all the champs put on the bike during 'cross season. And you might be surprised by it.

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Permalink Reply by Echappe Equipment on May 13, 2009 at 11:41am

I concur with both posts. Miles are not what matters anymore. Time spent on the bike with direct correlation to your excursion (perceived or measured) is what gets you the base needed for 'cross. Intense intervals, high cadence drills, power drills and being technically fluid on and off the bike are very important. Though 'cross appears to be rough and tumble, finesse, conservation and tactics to conserve energy and ride within your higher limits really separate riders.

For road, I'll do at least 2x 5 hour rides a week from Jan - March. Then I get backed way down and do weekly training crits and track racing through the summer. I race at least once a weekend in USCF races- mainly crits when I really focus on 'cross. Once July comes, its back to basics then hit August with rest and intensity again. September comes and its off to the races. Check out my coach: www.ellistoncoaching.com. I'm not even training that hard right now and I just soloed away from a P123 criterium last night and won handily - this is my 'cross year! Bill knows his shit.

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