(intense booming sound effect)
- I have absolutely loved getting stuck into cyclocross
sometimes actually quite literally,
but there are still a few essential skills
that I need to master before I toe the start line of a race.
So this video is hopefully gonna bride the gap
between riding a cross bike, which is really fun,
and racing a cross bike which frankly, looks terrifying.
Anyway, we've come down to our local cross course
and Simon is gonna talk me through
what he thinks are the essential sections.
(dramatic and intense music)
- To begin with then, Emma, the start line.
Now, the start of a cyclocross race is probably gonna
be quite different to most other racing
that you've done before given that it's full gas
straight off the line.
So not quite a max sprint, but almost.
And the reason being,
is that it's so much harder to move up in a cyclocross race
than it is in a road race.
So everyone is fighting for the best position
straight off the line.
So you've got to be prepared to go quite deep,
but on the flip side is that most races do settle down
relatively soon after the start.
Not world cups, but local races.
The key is firstly gear selection.
So you wanna put it in a gear that is just hard enough
that it actually propels you off the line,
but it's not so difficult that you're struggling
to turn it over.
So there's kind of a happy medium
and you only really know through practice
and it'll depend on what surface you're on.
So this is quite heavy grass
so it's probably gonna be a slightly easier one.
But if it's too easy,
you'll put your pedal down,
you won't really go very far,
and then you won't have any momentum
when you try and clip your second foot in.
Okay, so I'm in about the 23.
No, wait a minute.
25, I'm in.
25-40.
- Yeah, three from the top.
That's where I am.
But I think I have slightly bigger set than you
so I'm gonna go down.
- Right. Okay.
Then you wanna put your lead leg forward.
So whichever your leg that you're gonna be riding
in your attack position.
And then it's simply the case of going for it.
The one bit of advice I would say
is that if you don't clip in first time around,
don't worry about it.
Some people stop pedaling and try and get their foot in.
That's definitely a bad thing.
So my tip, if you miss your foot,
is to then sit in the saddle,
you keep pedaling with the leg that is clipped in
and then just wait until there's a moment
where you can clip in.
Okay, ready?
Three, two, one.
Go!
(hip hop trumpet solo)
- I found the start of races in road racing
was the worst bit for me.
Like I would be really stressed at the start line
and the calmer I could be-
The neutral section was my nightmare.
So I'd rather-
I don't think starting gently is gonna be a great approach
to cyclocross racing though 'cuz they're quite short.
So maybe I should-
I just need to-
- Think of it like this,
if you're lapping at the same speed as the leaders,
which, you know, ideally that's what you're gonna be doing,
then if you've penalized yourself by starting slowly
and you've lost 3 minutes in your first lap,
you are gonna be going around 3 minutes behind the leaders.
So what you wanna do is make sure
that you don't have to go faster
than the leaders early on in order to catch up.
Now before we leave the start completely, Emma,
one last thing I see looking at
this particular start straight in that,
if you have the choice when lining up at the grid,
either front or back, is to actually have a look.
And in this case, particularly,
you've got short, fast grass over there
and thick, long, tufty grass over here
and so if you start on that side of the start straight
you will have a significant advantage
to if you start on this start straight.
And so, I mean, it's particular to individual courses,
but it's always worth having a look and bearing it in mind.
(energetic music)
Next up, Emma, steep stuff.
Now, cyclocross courses always seem
to have steep ups and steep downs in.
And so, it's one of those skills
that you've gotta be able to absolutely nail.
Firstly, so you can get around safely
and secondly, so you can get around quickly.
In terms of going up though, you're absolutely right
in that if you get stuck halfway it's really bad.
So there's kind of a bit of an unwritten rule
which is if you can only ride something 80% of the time,
then you should run it every time
because the amount of time that you lose
from getting stuck halfway and then desperately trying
to get off your bike and then restart again
will completely offset any time that you save
on those other eight times.
The first question that you've got to ask yourself
is whether or not it is actually rideable.
And so, in order to make it rideable,
it might be that you've got to consider getting
as much momentum as you can coming into it.
So maybe if there's a corner beforehand,
you take like a wide line so that you've got
more time to accelerate into it.
And then you also wanna choose a gear
that means that you kind of avoid changing gear
when you're really leaning on it, halfway up.
So that might mean pedaling in at a really fast cadence
and then trying to extend it up the bank.
But yeah, you certainly don't wanna be
stalling halfway up, trying to change gear
and then getting off and running.
- And keep your weight on the saddle
to keep traction on the back wheel?
- Well, that's a good question, actually.
It depends, really, because you'll obviously get more power
out of the saddle, but then you will have less traction,
as you said, at the back.
So, on something like this,
you probably wanna get as much momentum as you can
at the bottom and then be in a gear
where you can kinda be in the saddle
as you're getting towards the top
to really weight the back wheel.
(intense staccato music)
Right then, Emma.
This is the bit that you've been super excited about
and looking forward to, the steep downs.
- [Emma] Mm hmm.
- The cool thing about most cyclocross steep downs,
I guess, is that you've often got quite a bit of runoff
and so the thing to remember is that you're often
as safe staying off your brakes as you are going on them
because if you're not braking you've got
less chance of sliding out.
So not completely, obviously, 'cuz if you barrel down
and you've got too much momentum to get around the corner,
then you're screwed.
But the principle is there is that sometimes
going a little bit faster is actually better
than if you're going really slowly.
Otherwise, I'd say get on the drops.
That's really important.
Then you've got the most control that you've got.
And then get your weight as far back as possible,
off the seat, behind it.
Pedals level, and away you go.
- Right. The attack position.
- The attack position.
Not too much front brake 'cuz it's so slippy today.
You can feel the front start to slide,
but like I said, you could just roll down this
with no problem at all.
Because this comes immediately after a hill
that we're probably gonna be pushing up,
what you wanna avoid is still trying
to be getting on your bike as you get to the steep bit
and then you start flapping around.
So in the worst case scenario-
and it won't come to this-
but you wanna stop the bike to make sure that you're
in control before going down.
- Yeah.
Oh, I'm still not quite-
Oh no, just about.
(intense music)
Right, I totally forgot to get on the drops there.
I was so busy trying to get on the saddle
and get clipped in, which I have no chance anymore
'cuz there's so much mud involved.
So this time I'll try getting on the drops.
- Yeah, give it another go and see how it feels.
- Right, okay.
(intense rock music) (bike gears whirring)
- Nice!
Yeah, nailed it!
- Right, I'm quite chuffed.
I've done that descent twice now and not fallen off once,
but I didn't clip in with my right foot
at all for about a minute there
because I have so much mud everywhere.
- Yeah.
Well, you very quickly- particularly when conditions
are like this- you get a lot of mud on the bottom
of your shoes, don't you?
- Yup.
- A cheeky little tip is actually before-
well not necessarily before you try and clip in-
but at points on the course you could give your foot
a little bit of a tap and then it just-
(foot tapping hard on bike frame)
It's a fairly rudimentary technique,
but you'll clear a lot of mud off.
(exciting, energetic music)
Next up:
sand.
Now, I'll be honest with you, Emma.
I'm not entirely sure why cyclocross races
have become synonymous with sandpits.
Probably, I guess,
because some of the best cross races in the world
take place on courses where it's naturally sandy.
But because of that, race organizers will often put in
a sand pit to race through and I'm glad they do
'cuz they're really good fun,
but there is a definite technique to it
that you should add to your armory.
- Right. So what's the technique?
This sand looks deep and it looks
just like, bulky, basically.
- Yeah, well I mean, that is part of it.
You've got so much resistance when you're riding
through sand that your bike just wants to slow down,
so the key is- as with all cross- momentum.
So you wanna try and conserve your momentum
as far into the sand as possible.
And the other problem is that the front wheel often wants
to wash out in the sand and if does,
you'll generally stall and have to get off and run.
The best way to go through a sandpit
is to follow the rut, okay?
So you'll generally find that they'll be maybe
1 or 2 ruts on the entrance to the sandpit
and those are the ones you wanna ride on
'cuz the sand is compacted.
The problem with ruts is that they tend
to disappear about halfway through the sand
because people then start to lose momentum
and their front wheels wander.
So there are more exits to a sandpit
than there are entrances.
Going one step back,
the technique actually on the bike-
So as well as having as much speed as you can get,
you wanna keep your weight back.
So on the hoods and then weight sat in the saddle.
Probably as far back on the saddle as you can.
And then I would use a slightly bigger gear, perhaps.
Just to keep my cadence down a little bit.
So maybe more like 70s as opposed to 80s.
And I find that gives me a little bit of something
to push against on the bike.
So I've found I can keep control of it better.
But ultimately you do sort of have to
let the bike go where it wants to go a little bit.
All right.
Find King Rut.
Here he is.
(intense music)
(bike wheels spinning through sand)
(sighs)
- Yeah, I'm not a fan of sand.
Already.
(laughs)
- I reckon, if you just commit to it 'cuz-
- Yeah. Commitment is the-
- You're unlikely to have any kind of nasties-
- Well.
Yeah.
I just don't like getting sandy.
(breathes heavily)
- Well, think of it this way.
The faster you get out of the sandpit-
(laughs)
- The less likely I am to fall off.
- The less time you'll spend in sand.
- Of course, the golden rule about riding
through sand is you need to clean your bike
pretty well afterwards,
as you'll know because your drive tone
will be telling you very loudly.
So I think the way of riding sand
is just to be bloody stubborn-minded
and kinda get angry with it and just keep pushing.
(exciting techno music)
- Another cyclocross skill, totally nailed, Emma.
Nice work.
- Thank you.
That's a very generous description, "Nailing it."
- Well, whatever way,
you are more than ready to line up at a cyclocross race.
I mean, the cool thing about cross race is
that you don't need to be ready, as such.
You just need to turn up and put a number on.
That's the hardest bit.
But I think you'll do great.
- Definitely don't feel ready,
but I mean, how bad can it be?
It looks like it's kind of fun
as long as I don't get in too many people's way.
I don't wanna make anyone cross.
- But the thing is, though, you can't get
in anyone's way because you've got a number on your back
the same as everyone else.
You've paid the same amount of entry fees
as everyone else.
So, you know, it's racing, isn't it?
If you're in someone's way,
it's kind of their fault for letting you get in their way.
- Yeah.
- I think so, anyway.
'Cuz at local races you get a lot of people being lapped
and different categories on the course at the same time,
so everyone should race with a certain amount
of good grace because at the end of the day, it is fun.
- Yeah.
- It's just what people do
on a Saturday or a Sunday, isn't it?
So yeah, I definitely don't think
you should be stressed about that.
- Well, I'm looking forward to it.
- Good stuff.
I'm looking forward to it as well.
- I've enjoyed learning and if you've enjoyed watching,
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