Cyclocross Racing Advice, Tips, & Techniques

Video Transcript

"MICKEY DENONCOURT: So to have the most successful cyclocross racing experience you can, you know, you got to go out. You got to practice all the technical elements that are specific to cross, you know, the running, the remounting, all of that. It's important to, you know, really work on being able to corner effectively, to know when you're about to lose it in a corner, be able to get your foot out, you know, and save it, stuff like that. You need to know your own body. You need to know, you know, how hard you can really push it before you start slowing down, all that other sort of stuff. And, you know, the main thing is, you know, cross equals transition. It's going from fast to slow, running to, you know, peddling, sprinting to being on the brakes as hard as you can go. So, you know, you develop this pace, this rhythm on a cyclocross course. It's a combination of all these things and a combination of all your strength and weaknesses. So as I just sort of, you know, ride through here, I'm just going to do a couple of laps at a moderate speed and, you know, I'll develop just a comfortable rhythm, you know, out of the corners, through the harder corners, making sure I stay up right over the barriers, all that stuff. You know, you're never going full bore as hard as you can go, full speed, unless it's the very last lap and you have nowhere else to go after you cross the finish line or if you just need that position at the start. That's the only time you're going full bore. The rest of the time, you're developing a rhythm, transitioning between as fast as you can go, you know, and still have enough energy for the end of the race. So train hard, have fun and think smart."