PatrickGrehan said:

Some thoughts on honing your cyclocross skills

I’ve been reflecting on how to get skills/technique sharpened for cross season and wanted to share  some of my thoughts.  Cyclocross can be fun even if you don’t practice the following skills, but in my experience, I’ve found races most rewarding when I’ve been able to master technically challenging courses. 

The elite racers will practice skills a thousand times. They start slow, fixing any technical flaws, and gradually speed up until they can reliably execute the skill at race pace when fatigued. The more you can do this the better, but for us amateurs, I’d recommend you plan on one or two skills sessions a week to work on these skills. 

Here is a broad outline of skills to work on during the cx season. We will cover these skills at the skills clinic on the 29th. 

1. Starts: cross races start with a sprint. Being able to clip in and get up to speed rapidly can make a huge difference. Have your hands on the hoods and one leg down. Either sit on the saddle or stand over your top tube (try both and see what works best for you and stick to it). Good form generally includes having the clipped in foot just past the 12 o’clock position for maximum leverage. By keeping the cranks in the same position every time you develop the muscle memory to clip in your pedal rapidly the same place every time.  You can practice starts at every red light. It’s not necessary that you go all out every time you practice. The goal is to get the mechanics to become automatic. 
2. Mounts, dismounts and shouldering: There are usually one or two dismounts per lap. Being able to do so quickly and smoothly can save you time. I could write a book on proper technique, but this is a skill best learned in person. Check out Jeremy powers video for a good tutorial: https://youtu.be/SGwIXKSaBac Note that it’s helpful to work on the remount at a walking pace where you throw your right thigh over the saddle much like a layup in basketball. Again, easier for me to demonstrate than to describe in words.
3. Cornering is a vitally important skill to practice as most courses will have Lots of turns. You want to practice cornering in a range of different terrains (grass, dirt, mud, sand, etc.) and situations (hills, off camber, tight and slow, fast and wide, etc.).  Setting up a figure eight in the grass with two soccer cones allows you to practice turns just about anywhere. Experiment with changing the radius and speed of the turn so you can figure out what is fastest in different situations. You can even play with tire pressure to get a feel for how your bike handles with different pressures. 
4. The last skills topic is a broad one: managing obstacles. Planks and stairs can either be managed with dismounts and remounts or learning to jump/ride them. You also want to practice riding in sand and mud as well as over roots, in ruts, etc. Too many specific techniques to address here although it often involves lifting/un-weighing the front wheel to roll over obstacles. Run ups are another common feature that usually are dependent on dismounting before you lose momentum. 

Lots to practice here. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Work on a little bit at a time and practice regularly and your skills will allow you to get the most out of races. 

Matt Budofsky said:

Bitten by the cross bug and signed up for whirly bird!

European Championships: Thibau Nys wins U23 men's road race title

Jules said:

@Mark Taylor Myerson's advice on sand is as follows (I paraphrase) "go to the beach and practice. Expect to burn through chains & cassettes - that's the tuition you have to pay.

• Patrick, James, Thomas Feeham, & myself lined up for Masters 50+
• As videos often do, the vid from 2020 above doesn't show this is all on the side of a very very very very steep mountain
• The course is crazy challenging, basically always up or down
• Only flat was maybe the sand pit
• Kinda technical too: 100 million turns
• At least 3 moments with gradients over or around 18%, the second one is the longest and OMG my 40 front 32 back proves too high
• Reminder to put the 38 ring in my toolbag
• Kinda bumpy too, my upper body & arms are feeling it today
• Oh, and windy too!  
• Documenting:  ran 22 psi in the front, 24 psi in the back, tried 19 psi that felt too soft. Good to find that threshold
• Hilarious moment as I got called to the grid first by mistake, and literally everyone, even people I don't know well: "wait... wait... wtf, hey hey" -- I just thought Jed was being a good friend
• Eventually start 3rd row next to Patrick 
• We will both have okish starts
• Based on last week, strategy was to try to find a sweet spot, go hard but don't explode 10 minutes in
• This proves actually possible, as the steep hills, off cambers, and turns, make it difficult to pass
• Lap 1 becomes a long single file of riders
• Rather than fight to pass, feels smarter to follow wheels (aka Blevins style)
• Slot right behind Patrick
• Patrick hits a bit of bad luck and gets tape tangled up in a corner
• This proved to be a theme on the first couple of laps, as I found myself passing riders that were at a stop from a corner mistake or other course mishaps
• My "measured, do my own race" approach keeps me away from any major mistakes
• But oh boy everytime on those climbs ouch -- while also getting gapped by anyone with easier gears
• Still, achieved my pseudo goal of top 20 (barely) yay!
• About 60 seconds later, Thomas, Patrick, and James will all finish together, in that order, 20ish, they'll have to report on that battle!