Cycle-Smart: Solutions for Cycling provides individual coaching for road, cyclo-cross, mountain biking and track cycling. Their coaches are experts at guiding clients of all ability levels through the unknowns of training for competitive cycling. With coaches located throughout the country, Cycle-Smart is able to offer unique, personalized coaching plans for all of their clients.

Preparing for a Cyclo-Cross Race

  Written by Johs Huseby
  Cycle-Smart Associate Coach
  November 16, 2004

There are many preparations one can make for a cyclo-cross race to ensure that the whole day goes smoothly and stress free. By making these preparations and arrangements ahead of time you will already be that much ahead of your competition.

The groundwork begins a couple of days before the race. It is a good idea to make sure your bikes are clean and ready to go at this time. Should you have any technical difficulties, you have some time to get to a trustworthy bicycle shop to find the broken part or have a professional mechanic make the appropriate tweaks and adjustments. If you bring your bikes to a mechanic, ideally make sure you clean your bikes thoroughly first. Not only is a customer’s dirty bike a mechanic’s worst nightmare, but in the process of cleaning and inspecting your bike closely you will most likely find any small problems before they become big ones. Special attention ought to be paid to “replaceable” items like worn brake pads, frayed cables, and cut or worn tires. These are some of the items that take an extra beating during ‘cross season.

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After your bikes are all set, packing your bags is next – best the night before you leave to lessen the stress on race day – especially if you have an early departure. Make sure you bring plenty of clothes to ride in and for before and after. Below is a checklist to go over to make sure you have everything you will need. While this may seem excessive, most regions where cyclo-cross is popular experience variable weather conditions during the season, so it pays to be as prepared as you can for any eventuality:

• Helmet
• Cycling Cap
• Helmet liner
• Winter hat
• Eyewear
• Skin suit - Short sleeve and long
• Jersey – short sleeve and long
• Jacket – thin and thermal
• Rain Cape
• Rain Pants
• Vest
• Undershirt – short and long sleeve
• Shorts
• Leg Warmers – 2 pairs
• Knee Warmers
• Arm Warmers
• Gloves – Light and heavy, or short and long
• Socks – 4 pairs
• Shoes – bring toe spikes for different conditions if necessary
• Towel

Additionally for drinks, food and body care –

• 1 Gallon of water
• Water Bottle
• Energy drink powder – You may wish to pre-mix your pre-race drinks, as well as your post-race recovery drink, and pack it all in a cooler along with some light post-race foods.
• Energy gels - 3
• Energy bars – 3
• A small sandwich and a few pieces of fruit to eat before or after the race
• Embrocation – warming creams for legs and lower back and sometimes feet
• Wash Lotion – a good antibacterial cleaner to help clean up post race

Equipment for bikes –

• Spare set of wheels
• Spare tire, tubes, chain and cassette
• Toolkit
• Pump
• Pit Kit – Lubrication, brushes, and degreasers to clean your bikes in the pit and post race

After you have assembled your supplies both for yourself and your bike, you can sleep well and be ready to go in the morning.

Breakfast – make sure you eat your pre-race meal at least 3 hours before your race. This allows your body to digest the food and then you can snack up until about ½ an hour before race time. Some riders prefer to avoid any solid foods in the 2-3 hours before their start, staying calorically “topped off” through drinks instead.

Make sure you have the driving time calculated to where the race is and allow extra time for any accidents or maintenance. Even on a Sunday you can run into traffic. It’s always better to arrive early than late. Plan to arrive to the event venue at least 2 hours before the start of your race. This can be difficult when you start early, but it will once again save you from increased adrenaline one develops in rushing around to get ready. Print out a copy of the race flyer to bring with you so you have a reference sheet to look back at while at the race or if you have difficulties finding the venue. Look at the schedule and find the times that are open for course inspection.

Once you get to the race, head to registration and get your number so you don’t have to worry about that later on. It is always nice to register online so you have less paperwork upon showing up to registration, plus you can save a few bucks by registering early.

After you have picked up your number, suit up in your warm up clothes and make sure the course is open for inspection. DO NOT go out on the course as another race is in progress. In most cases, the course will be opened for warming up as soon as the first person in a race crosses the finish line, provided you leave sufficient room and respect for the last rider on the course. Be prepared to get on the course as soon as a race has completed so you can be sure to dial in any difficult sections. One approach is to time your arrival at the start of the race 2 races before yours. That gives you one race to register and get dressed to be ready to pre-ride the course when it ends, and the second race to make any final preparations and a final warm-up before your event starts.

Pre-ride – During this portion of your warm-up, ride one lap slowly and take note of the sections that provide some difficulty and might be more advantageous to take one line or another. On the next lap, you might want to repeat some sections a few times and figure out your favored route. Ride the course one final time as a ‘hot’ lap so you can get a feeling for the course at speed. This should conclude your preparation on the course. Once completed, go back to your car and pin your number on your skin suit or race kit and change out of your warm-up clothes. By this time, you have probably 30 minutes before your race, so you can take care of any last minute details – the restroom which often calls, eating a gel and having a sip of fluid. If you’re short on time, one inspection lap and one “hot lap” might be enough.

You should be fully ready to go and should spin around again in the 30-15 minutes before your race, either on the course if it’s dry, or on the road. Since you’ve already done the “hard” part of your warm up and had time to recover, you shouldn’t have to do more than just stay warm at this point. If this is a bigger race, be prepared to get to the start early enough so you are not stuck in the back of the field on the line. The start is very important in a cross race, so make sure you’re as close to the front as you can be when the whistle goes off. Good luck and go fast!


To learn more about Johs, or for more articles by Cycle-Smart coaches, visit www.cycle-smart.com.

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