This section describes cyclocross (CX) skills that you will do with your bicycle in a race. Practice them regularly and you will feel smoother, faster, more confident…and definitely look cool. While the skills are listed in typical race order, there is great benefit to practicing them one at a time. You can also do many of these things by yourself in a small space.
The objective at the start is to get clipped into your bicycle and to be able to accelerate away from the line as fast as possible when the whistle is blown.
A: No, you use your handlebars to control the bike. Understanding how to reposition yourself on the bike is the best way to turn the bike.
Turning is very important in cyclocross and the only thing you’re going to do more than turn is pedal. Generally, you want to turn as wide as possible in order to maintain as much speed as possible. You also need to learn the limits of your tires and how to maximize grip. We’ll talk through this in the Drills section. Adapted from the reddit r/cyclocross “ELICAT5” series, think about the following when turning:
Cyclocross courses typically have features for which you’ll need to get off your bike. There are generally two ‘normal’ methods:
A: You should not be stopping at all! Getting on and off your bike as smoothly as possible without stopping is the goal. Smooth is speed.
There are two methods used for carrying the top tube. This is the most common type of carry and will be used when you are going over barriers or smaller course features. If you are running with the bike for a long time, use the shouldering method.
Saddle position is outside elbow, allowing higher carries.
Saddle position is inside elbow, which may provide more leverage, but limits how high you can lift the bike.
If you have a long way to run, have a large hill or many stairs to climb, or are on a very muddy or sandy surface, you’ll need to pick your bike up off the ground. Dismount as normal and then get the top tube of your bike onto your shoulder.
No leaning down, but less control of the bike frame and more weight on the shoulder.
Further reach, but more control of the bike frame and less weight on the shoulder.
Thread arm under down tube and grab bottom of handlebars for more control of both the frame and the bars.
This is the hardest skill to perform, but definitely the coolest-looking one once mastered. To start, you should be next to your bike with the bike on the ground.
That sounds much simpler than it really is, so practice a lot!
Take the steps of the dismount and add them incrementally. Start with only lifting your right leg over to the left side of the bike while coasting, but don’t unclip or leave the left pedal. Put your right leg back on the right side of the bike and pedal a couple times. Repeat.
Once comfortable with that, add unclipping or leaving the left pedal to put both feet on the ground and jog a few steps.
Once that feels good, you can add picking up the bike and lifting it to memorize the proper hand position.
If you are feeling uncomfortable coasting on your left pedal with your right leg hanging directly behind it, you should practice a ‘kick’ drill. Keeping your hands on the hoods, unclip your right foot, swing it over to the left side of your bike, and kick along like a scooter while keeping your left foot on the pedal. Try doing turns and changing momentum with kicks to get familiar with navigating your bike like this.
Take the remount and break it down into parts, starting with walking along next to your bike and just lifting your knee over the saddle and placing your thigh on the saddle. Start practicing on a gentle downhill if possible. This may take hundreds (thousands?) of repetitions to get down well. It will be frustrating, but be patient with yourself - you can do this! As you get more consistent with walking and landing in the right spot, you can start to speed up your walking to a slow jog. You can also start to add in the beginning of pedalling.
Reminders and tips:
When you are turning, your crank arm/pedal on the outside of the turn should be pointed down (or at least level). By putting the opposite pedal down you will be more stable in the turn and will also avoid the risk of striking the inside pedal on the ground. As you progress, this will also help to achieve faster turns.
This is the simplest drill, but perhaps the most useful one here. Each person needs only 2 cones.
It’s that simple. Focus on “Looking and Belly Button.” Your turns should be symmetric and you should be as close as possible to the cones, and at a 90 degree angle to them when you’re going by.
The peanut drill is named that because it is the shape of a peanut. You will turn both directions because of the middle cone set. Set up 8 cones as shown in the layout below with rough dimensions. This drill can be done with multiple people, but make sure you have a clear spot ahead of you to focus on the turns.
Start riding around the peanut going outside the three cones on each end and inside the middle two cones. You should be moving faster than the figure 8 drills but make sure the setup is small enough that the middle cones require focus to turn well.
Focus on “Look, Lean, Belly Button” and think about setting yourself up for the middle cone. The drawn image shows a very symmetric track, but yours will likely be different. Make sure you change directions after a little while to practice going both ways.
When doing this drill, think a lot about ‘turning early’. When you are setting up for the 3 cone slalom, you should be heading toward the middle cone when you reach the first outside cone. This will allow you head toward the final cone and exit more quickly.
Green line shows ’turn early‘ and allows a faster exit (see arrow).
r/cyclocross ELICAT5 Series
