Cyclocross Q & A

Clark Natwick Q&A
Sept 1999

Introduction Clark Natwick, former national CX champion, is now a race promoter and USCF national team 'cross coach. Clark gets so many requests to serve as a personal coach he has to turn away most of them. For NVV, Clark agreed to answer a few questions about training and racing -- no substitute for personal guidance, but some interesting insights from a noted coach. --Dave Carr

Novice
Training Q: List the three most important skills and/or fitness aspects that a novice cyclocross racer should focus on.
A: Power, running and balance are the most needed attributes for an athlete to succeed in the sport of cyclo cross. If the athlete is without power he/she cannot go fast. Running can be very demanding and needs to be maintained. If an athlete does not have good balance on the bike he/she will make costly mistakes during their event.

What makes
a champion Q: Name three key characteristics (apart from raw talent) that separate champion ‘cross racers from the ones who are merely above average. What should a rider do to improve those areas?
A: The will of an athlete is one of the strongest characteristics needed to be a champion. Additional factors are (a) identifying a progressive training plan and (b) obtaining the services of a good coach. These three areas will be important to the development of any athlete. Once these three characteristics are in place the results will soon follow.

Running Q: How important is running to successful CX racing? What percentage of a rider’s workout time should be devoted to running? Should running workouts emphasize short hard efforts to simulate runups, or long moderate efforts for endurance?
A: Cyclocross athletes must do running training. The running should be easy 30 minute jogs for 3 days a week progressing to 45 minutes or an hour. The transition to running for a cycling athlete can be a painful one. The soreness will go away in about two weeks. It is important not to run fast on the flats or down hills in the beginning of the running training, because that would promote the sore feeling in your legs.
After a running base is achieved it's time to do the short maximum hill efforts to simulate what you will be doing in your racing. Maintain this kind of interval running though out your season.

To run
or to ride? Q: I’ve heard it said that many American CX racers try to ride difficult sections, instead of running, more often than they should. Can you comment?
A: It's been my experience that American cyclocross athletes put a premium on "bike handling". This would account for more athletes wanting to ride a section of a CX course that is technically challenging. However, an athlete's goal should be to get from "point A" to "point B" as quickly as possible. In some cases this may mean running form "point A" to "point B" even if it seems ridable.

Race
strategy Q: This question is about what I would call "energy strategy." Should a rider race at steady state -- trying to maintain constant heart rate the whole time; or attack difficult sections like runups with high power, and rest in between?
A: "Energy Strategy" for a cyclocross race can be one of the hardest elements to master. Let's look at the race as a whole. A basic strategy that I like to tell cyclocross athletes is to break the race into thirds. This does not have to be solely based on time.
The first third of a race is the start. Your objective is to do what it takes to establish as high a place in the field as possible. Once you've accomplished your "start" you transition into the middle third. Your objective in this portion of the race is to take a look at how well you are doing and catch your breath. Now, to begin the final third of the race you have to ask yourself two questions; "Is this the place I want in the race or do I want a better place?" Keep it simple, you don't want to cloud the judgment of your answer.
Once you've answered your question that begins the final third. If you answered "yes" this is the place I want, then it's your job to defend that place until you cross the finish line. If you said "no, I want better," then it's your job to go after the next guy ahead of you until you cross the finish line.
This may all seem a little basic, but you would be surprised at how many athletes in 'cross don't have a focus other then "I just want to get though the race."    You can devise other strategies for a cyclocross race based on your success with this one. You may find that you need to start slower, go hard in the middle and just cruse the final third of the race. Only you and your coach will be able to find a strategy that works best for you.

Sprint
training Q: Your cyclocross season training program doesn’t include sprint training. Why?
A: To be specific, sprint training is a short effort using very high cadence and big gear. In cyclocross you may need the power of a sprinter, but in a much longer effort and not at such a high cadence.

Go back to the NVV Cyclocross Circuit

Introduction	Clark Natwick, former national CX champion, is now a race promoter and USCF national team 'cross coach. Clark gets so many requests to serve as a personal coach he has to turn away most of them. For NVV, Clark agreed to answer a few questions about training and racing -- no substitute for personal guidance, but some interesting insights from a noted coach. --Dave Carr
Novice Training	Q: List the three most important skills and/or fitness aspects that a novice cyclocross racer should focus on. A: Power, running and balance are the most needed attributes for an athlete to succeed in the sport of cyclo cross. If the athlete is without power he/she cannot go fast. Running can be very demanding and needs to be maintained. If an athlete does not have good balance on the bike he/she will make costly mistakes during their event.
What makes a champion	Q: Name three key characteristics (apart from raw talent) that separate champion ‘cross racers from the ones who are merely above average. What should a rider do to improve those areas? A: The will of an athlete is one of the strongest characteristics needed to be a champion. Additional factors are (a) identifying a progressive training plan and (b) obtaining the services of a good coach. These three areas will be important to the development of any athlete. Once these three characteristics are in place the results will soon follow.
Running	Q: How important is running to successful CX racing? What percentage of a rider’s workout time should be devoted to running? Should running workouts emphasize short hard efforts to simulate runups, or long moderate efforts for endurance? A: Cyclocross athletes must do running training. The running should be easy 30 minute jogs for 3 days a week progressing to 45 minutes or an hour. The transition to running for a cycling athlete can be a painful one. The soreness will go away in about two weeks. It is important not to run fast on the flats or down hills in the beginning of the running training, because that would promote the sore feeling in your legs. After a running base is achieved it's time to do the short maximum hill efforts to simulate what you will be doing in your racing. Maintain this kind of interval running though out your season.
To run or to ride?	Q: I’ve heard it said that many American CX racers try to ride difficult sections, instead of running, more often than they should. Can you comment? A: It's been my experience that American cyclocross athletes put a premium on "bike handling". This would account for more athletes wanting to ride a section of a CX course that is technically challenging. However, an athlete's goal should be to get from "point A" to "point B" as quickly as possible. In some cases this may mean running form "point A" to "point B" even if it seems ridable.
Race strategy	Q: This question is about what I would call "energy strategy." Should a rider race at steady state -- trying to maintain constant heart rate the whole time; or attack difficult sections like runups with high power, and rest in between? A: "Energy Strategy" for a cyclocross race can be one of the hardest elements to master. Let's look at the race as a whole. A basic strategy that I like to tell cyclocross athletes is to break the race into thirds. This does not have to be solely based on time. The first third of a race is the start. Your objective is to do what it takes to establish as high a place in the field as possible. Once you've accomplished your "start" you transition into the middle third. Your objective in this portion of the race is to take a look at how well you are doing and catch your breath. Now, to begin the final third of the race you have to ask yourself two questions; "Is this the place I want in the race or do I want a better place?" Keep it simple, you don't want to cloud the judgment of your answer. Once you've answered your question that begins the final third. If you answered "yes" this is the place I want, then it's your job to defend that place until you cross the finish line. If you said "no, I want better," then it's your job to go after the next guy ahead of you until you cross the finish line. This may all seem a little basic, but you would be surprised at how many athletes in 'cross don't have a focus other then "I just want to get though the race." You can devise other strategies for a cyclocross race based on your success with this one. You may find that you need to start slower, go hard in the middle and just cruse the final third of the race. Only you and your coach will be able to find a strategy that works best for you.
Sprint training	Q: Your cyclocross season training program doesn’t include sprint training. Why? A: To be specific, sprint training is a short effort using very high cadence and big gear. In cyclocross you may need the power of a sprinter, but in a much longer effort and not at such a high cadence.