Speed - Train it, don't loose it!

Speed -

Speed is a component of cyclocross which is super important. For me the younger I was, the easier speed came, the older I got the more I had to work at it. Some riders just have it, those fast twitch fibres are in full flow, but for others it can be something which is necessary and vital to train. I was a powerful rider but needed to work on my speed and I always used to struggle when it came to those early season races, purely because I needed those races to get going. You can do as much training as you like, but there really Is nothing you can do to replicate the feeling of that first cross race of the season, and no matter what level you race at, it never gets easier, you just get faster ;)!

Cross racing requires you to be explosive. Some of those early season races are like crits on the road, super fast where you feel like your eyes are rolling in the back of your head, you need to be smart, save energy where you can, ride on wheels and be confident in waiting for your moment. This is the beauty of being a cross rider, you need to be good at everything. There's not one area you can miss or skip, because it's all-important, and you need to work on every area to be a consistent rider throughout the whole season in every weather and on all terrain. 

One thing I found really helpful was doing crit races in Holland pre cross season, the post-tour criteriums are ideal races for gaining that speed and I would recommend any serious cross rider doing those as part of their pre-season preparation (Obviously with Covid-19 that’s not been possible this year, but here’s to hoping for next!). Those races teach you how to race, they are very similar in terms of getting that explosiveness that is needed in a cross race. Some riders go motor pacing, others find a local track to practice gaining speed. There's plenty of things to help draw it out of you, but you do need to focus on it.