One of the key differences from cyclocross to other forms of cycling is that you're forced
to get off and run with your bike.
That's something that you just don't do on the road, is it?
Unless you count the 1994 Tour de l'Avenir, when I had to get off at some roadworks and
clamber out of a deep hole...but apart from that, you're right!
This is something you'll probably have to tackle every race, not just once every 20
years. It's not a difficult skill to master, but you do need to know how to do it the right way.
Shall we start with the dismount first, then?
Absolutely, the aim of the dismount is to get off your bike and then seamlessly start
running. The key thing, like all things in cyclocross, is to conserve your momentum.
You've got to work hard to build up speed and therefore you need to bear it in mind
when you're getting off your bike.
You want to practice this technique on a flat stretch of grass, so that there's nothing
to avoid or stop for. Adjust your speed so that you're riding a little bit above
walking pace. Most riders get off on the left side of the bike so that they can then carry
it with the chainrings facing away from them. Hold your handlebars on the brake hoods or
the drops. On the tops, you'll have no way of controlling your speed and a narrower hand
position isn't quite as stable.
Put your left pedal in the 6 'o' clock position and transfer your weight onto it. Unclip your
right foot and swing your leg around the back of the bike and then step through between
your left leg and the frame. This means that you'll hit the ground in a running position
so you can then end up dismounting at faster speeds. Standing over on one pedal should
feel really stable and comfortable, right? You can just cruise around like this to get
comfortable.
Next, take your right hand, and place it on the top tube, putting weight through it and
unweighting your left foot.
Unclip this left foot, so your weight is temporarily supported on your hands, giving you a bit
more time to touch the ground with your right foot and start running.
Your right hand is then also in the correct position to lift your bike either seamlessly
onto your shoulder, or just lift it up to clear the barriers.
The only thing you’ve really got to look out for is unclipping that left foot and then
stepping through with your right. If you're riding in muddy conditions then often the
release in your pedals gets a little bit hit-and-miss. So taking that weight through your right hand
on the top tube just gives you that little bit more time to get that right foot down
and the left foot unclipped, so that if it is a little bit stuck, and I know you do struggle
sometimes with clipping and unclipping, this will help that a lot.
You should never push a cross bike along the ground, you should always lift it. If it's
just for a short period of time, just lifting it like that is absolutely fine. For anything
longer, it's worth popping it on your shoulder. To do that, Grab the downtube around 3/4 of
the way up and then just lift it onto your shoulder like that. Then slide your hand underneath
and grab the drops there and then that's really secure and you can run like that, no problem.
Putting the bike down is then just a case of reversing the process, and popping it on
the ground. You don't want to drop the bike, you just want to place it so that you maintain
control at all times. Once you've got those dialled, it's then time to think about the remount.
First of all, you want to be holding the bars on the hoods or on the tops. To learn, I think
we'll do it on the tops, it makes it a little bit easier. Basically, you don't want to jump
back on your bike, even when you're running. It should feel like more of a slide. You start
simply by bringing your right leg over the back of the bike and then you sort of step
over it and you want to land on the top of your thigh - that's really important, to land
on the top of your thigh and then your momentum from running just puts you back in the seat
and away you go, you slide across. Ultimately we're going to do it from running, but to
learn I think the important thing is to do it from stationary. It's simply a case of
pushing off with this left foot and then just going for it, really.
Si, we've had a look at all the components of getting on and getting off the bike. I
guess it's going to take me a bit of time to get it pretty polished but I guess I also
need to sew it all together as well.
Absolutely, you've got to practice with these things. It does take time to get the skills
dialled and to get it smooth. You also can't forget that if you're going to get on and
off your bike there's got to be a purpose for it as well. In short, you want to be off
your bike and running for the shortest amount of time possible. However, the later you
leave it before the obstacle, the harder it gets. As a rough guide, around 4 strides
before and after the obstacle is about the maximum you want to leave it and ideally it's
as short as 2. Sometimes after the obstacle you might not actually be able to get straight
back on. It just depends on your speed and the terrain. It might be quicker therefore
to carry on running for a bit longer and jump back on later. As a golden rule, if it's slower
to ride than it is to run, perhaps you want to consider running as your option. Real top
guys use running as a viable alternative to riding, mainly because the process of getting
on and off is so slick that they don't actually lose any time at all. Anywhere they're
slowing down, they'll jump off and run. It's tough, but it's worth trying to incorporate
bits of that into your riding as well.