Here in Madison, WI, home to Saris Cycling Group ~ CycleOps Power, the winds are coming in from the north, as we say goodbye to summer. Although Fall means the change of tree color and cooler weather, it also means the end is drawing near to the cycling events. Ironman Wisconsin is now complete, the triathlon & road cycling series are wrapping up and the mountain bike series is winding down to its last cross country races. What is a persistent cyclist to do now? While many will launch into their recovery period, others will start base training or hit the gym to begin building strength for the 2009 season. However, those endorphin-crazed riders seeking to discover their true power potential will likely choose to run around in the mud, hopping over barriers with a bike on their back . . . Cyclo-cross.

The energy-sapping sport of Cyclo-cross consists of powering around many short laps, typically on an off-road course with several barriers and steep hills. Since these events take place in Fall and Winter, Mother Nature willingly provides the natural playground of frigid cold temperatures and wooded trails covered in muck, snow and ice. The mass start packs in riders on their unique cross bike, which is a merge of a road & mountain bike. The light weight, road bike look, partnered with the aggressive knobby tires and cantilever style brakes, make this a speedy all terrain two wheeler, that you can fling on your back and take for a run. And carry on your back – take for a run, is exactly what you’ll need to do. After the mass start, riders muscle their tricked out steed over the undulating grassy-muddy trails, in anticipation of upcoming obstacles in their path. The barriers, usually logs or fences, requires the rider to dismount their bike, hurdle the obstacle, carry the bike and run to/hurdle the next obstacle, remount and pedal themselves back into a race pace tempo. Often, the obstacles are located on steep hills or through sludge, to add in the fun factor. (We thought jumping into muddy puddles was fun when we were kids!).

Training begins by getting a better understanding of the entirely different set of demands cross taxes on your body and exercising those demands. Cross is an event that requires numerous repeated anaerobic bursts of pedaling power, settling into short threshold efforts and necessary periods of coasting to carry your speed while you recover quickly. Cross also requires neuromuscular power to mount and dismount the bike and launch wicked amps of work while keeping traction in sand, mud and spanker climbs. Therefore, high-intensity threshold power and anaerobic power intervals are very important. Since a cyclo-cross race is about an hour in duration (give or take), training those long rides isn’t as critical. Instead, training incorporates harder, short durations, on top of your foundation of base miles and skills.

Cross is basically a sport of skill and power. Incorporating PowerTap technology is key to measuring the power demands and ensuring appropriate workloads during training to develop powerful systems. Without the measurement, riders would have to guess the workload demands based on perceived exertion or heart rate. Since cross incorporates a variety of variables other than cycling itself, (running, dismount, remount, hurdles, inclement weather, jack frost squeezing your lungs, etc), perceived exertion is subjective and heart rate response is erratic. Typically unaffected by these internal and external factors, racing and training with power will guarantee immediate and accurate intensity feedback. Although you won’t really watch your PowerTap CPU during the event, you will be able to determine truthful and direct demands by collecting course data. The data will measure your critical power markers and provide accurate workload ranges to duplicate the demands during training. For example: Analysis of a course may tell you how many neuromuscular power bursts are required and your critical power output during those bursts. You can then create controlled intervals during your training that duplicate the repeatability of the workload. If one lap of the course requires eight short bursts of 500-525 watts, your controlled interval training session would begin with eight short power bursts around 500-525 watts and progressively increase the number of bursts over time. This will build repeatability stamina. To boost the actual power output of those bursts, gradually increase the wattage range over time.

Cross is typically ridden at an intensity near your threshold power; therefore, training intervals should be done at this intensity. Improving threshold power will progress the capacity to deliver and use oxygen and clear lactate from the blood. Simply put, one can perform continuous hard efforts, boosting endurance performance and your resistance to fatigue. This allows your power engine to rev faster-longer, advancing your aerobic engine. By learning your constant power output requirements on a course, you can educate your systems to sustain the workload during training sessions. The PowerTap will accurately measure your power demands and provide an on-the-bike coach to motivate those repeated efforts during training. Given that cross involves a lot of time of not turning the pedals, a power file will show a great deal of “zeros” in the data (0 watts). To be certain you are training your clear-cut “pedaling power”, recognize your constant power output when pedaling only. Therefore, you will want to eliminate those zeros (no pedaling) when analyzing the specific workload. You can easily setup the PowerTap CPU to exclude zeros, using one of two methods.

To setup the CPU:
- Press MODE or SELECT to activate CPU
- Extend hold of MODE & SELECT simultaneously, until Set Up Mode is displayed; then release.
- Press SELECT until the number 3 is flashing and press MODE
- Press SELECT to toggle between yes and no for zeros included in average of watts (choose NO). Press MODE to save.

To configure the CPU using PowerAgent software:
- Place CPU in USB cradle and press MODE or SELECT to activate as host
- Open PowerAgent software
- Click “configure device”



- Select device
- Click Display Setup Tab
- Click the icon at Power Averaging,
Include Zeros, to remove checkmark. Click OK to save.

This setting will make it useful in determining your power when pedaling only and will not affect the data that is stored for download.

Once you have determined your average power for the course, you can now exercise your threshold power. To train the amount of time you can sustain the workload, ride this threshold power range for 15-20 minutes, stressing speed on a rolling course. Finish the exertion with an above threshold power surge (anaerobic power), sustaining as long as possible. Then ride easy for approximately 10-15 minutes and repeat as time permits. Progressively increase the duration you can sustain threshold power, over time.

To improve anaerobic capacity, complete several high intensity intervals of 1-3 minutes at/above your 1-3 minute peak power range. Follow each thrashing with 7-10 minutes of easy riding, repeating on various terrains as time permits. Include hilly terrain during these bouts of intensity, to develop vital brute strength.

Of course, cyclo-cross is just as much about skills and tactics as it is about power. Spending time perfecting mounting, dismounting, hurdles, etc is critical. Also, incorporate the physiological specificity demands into your training. Incorporate dismounting, remounting, carrying the bike, and running, prior to and/or immediately after your threshold and anaerobic power efforts, to simulate the actual strains of the sport. The only way to become proficient at this…..is to simulate repetitively. You can easily do this training indoors as well, utilizing a CycleOps Trainer or CycleOps Indoor Cycle. Simply incorporate periods walking/running on the treadmill or track in between your on the bike power efforts. No treadmill or track? Merely jump rope or run in place instead. You’ll miss out on the outdoor mud-slinging, but have an effective controllable indoor environment.

In preparation for the cyclo-cross season, the emphasis is on developing bike-handling skills and sustaining powerful efforts repeatedly. You CAN change what you can measure, so use your PowerTap to gather measurements of the course demands and exercise those demands during your training sessions.

Angie Sturtevant
Specialists in Sports Performance, LLC
Saris Cycling Group Fitness Education Director
CycleOps Power Master Training Specialist
USAC Elite Level 1 Cycling & Power Based Coach; USAT Triathlon Coach
ACE & AFAA Trainer and Continuing Education Provider
Metabolic Testing Specialist