Mud glorious mud !
Mud -
My favourite! I know this is the biggest reason I loved cross because I loved racing in the mud, maybe it’s that feeling of being like a kid again and just having fun, growing up in Derbyshire and racing my local cross league there was no hiding from a muddy race, its that thing again of repeating something over and over again until one day its a habit, you don’t need to think about how to perform in the mud because it just happens and your on autopilot.
Racing those super heavy courses like Asper Gavere, Namur, Overisje when it was muddy were some of my best days on the bike, not just the results but the feelings I had. I didn’t have to over think things, I would just get stuck in and have fun. Every time it rained or I would get to a course and it was full of mud It would make me so happy inside because it’s something I knew I was good at. I wouldn’t call myself a confident person, but when there was mud, I was all in! Maybe it helped that I didn’t fear it, and actually more than anything I embraced it.
The faster you go into mud the faster you come out of it, if you crash generally you don’t hurt yourself so to me it was worth the risk to attack the mud and I just had this inner confidence I didn’t really ever feel any other time, it was like I had put a super women cape on, or at least that’s how I felt, knowing I was ready to fight for it. Riding through mud requires a lot of power, racing is generally slower and heavier going and you need a certain technique to ride through it, you need to be able to choose your own lines and if you can't ride through it faster than you can run, then you better be off that bike before running before that thought even pops in your head, there is that Momentum needed again :).
My tips for you racing through mud;
Practice makes progress, the more you can ride in the mud the better you get
Know there are many different types of mud ;) (especially in Belgium) there is fast slippy mud, thick sticky mud, wet mud, some mud sticks to everything, other mud just comes up to give incredible grip. Don’t be fooled into thinking all mud is the same ;).
TYRE PRESSURE is key, don’t be afraid to try different pressures in training to get confidence for when you race, low pressures when you’re riding in mud is one of the biggest advantages to riding through it well. I used to ride races like Asper Gavere (always muddy) at 1.1,1.2bar max. Lower pressures give you a wider surface area = more grip, Game changer!
Commit to the rut, don’t look down at your wheel look up and out at your exit point, simple.
Confidence is key. Don’t be afraid, embrace it!
