FTP is a big factor in CX racing, as it is in all disciplines. Really FTP is king here. CX puts serious demands on your capacity and anaerobic output. FTP is the solid base that lets you keep driving. At this point I wouldn’t focus on trying to hit a certain FTP target. There’s little value in that.
I cannot take another year of cat-4 mid-pack riding, need to move up or move on with my life.
You either need to commit to training and all the other things required to allow your body to become stronger or live with the fact that you’ll be Cat4 mid-pack the rest of your life. There are things you can do that you’re probably not doing. Can you not enjoy racing for the social aspect as well as fitness it brings? Why is being competitive a factor in whether or not you race? Are you getting paid?
Dial your skills in for the next couple weeks and work on your holeshot. If your weight and FTP numbers are at all around where they were the last time you asked about CX training, the only thing stopping you from dominating a typical cat 4 field is getting to the front and the technical skills to flow.
Attached are screen shots from my 5 A races last season. The power files include warm up and cool down so are slightly skewed, but there is definitely a lot of time spent at the high end of anaerobic work. In fact, there is usually more time spend in ‘Zone 6’ compared to FTP wattage or aerobic capacity/VO2 wattage. There is also a TON of time coasting and not pedaling.
I think that FTP work and sweet spot is the foundation for good CX racing (if thinking about it like a pyramid). But like others have said, being smooth and having good technique is huge in terms of not wasting energy and also having fun.
In the attached files, only the Oct 5th effort felt awful (I think I was 4th and had 3 folks with stars-and-stripes jerseys in their closets). All the others felt like a time trial…meaning I was never turning myself inside out or foaming at the mouth.
You can definitely race yourself into shape during the course of a CX season; and with 30-40 races planned, you shouldn’t have a problem. If I were you, I’d do 2 days per week of sweet spot intervals 2x20, 3x15, etc. Then 1-2 days of skills work and ideally 1x 3-4hr ride if you can swing it.
I like to do my 3 hour rides in a heavy gear, around 75 rpm cadence…makes you strong like Ox, skinny like monkey : )
For reference the power profile of a random race. Race only,. no warmup and cool down. Both images show the same race. First in the 7 zone model and the second in polarized zones
The power graphs are interesting ,but dont tell the whole story. It looks like there’s loads of coasting and recovery when in fact it feels like there is precious little. My HR resembles a hacksaw blade justing dipping in and out of the red, same as the other lads racing too.
I guess your maximum is a little low, as going in the red is basically anaerobic, which is limited by way of the cell based energy system availability (ATP) in my understanding. The most i’ve had in one burst in the red is around 4 minutes, in the last lap of a crit. I dont beleive you can do a whole race in the red.
Strangely my jaw hurts after a race due to the time gritting my teeth, pulling in air through the nose as well as my mouth, but at the time never feel it.
Such concentration is an aquired skill once you’re in the zone and dialled into the course.
Mine basically does the same, it goes up and stays there with maybe a bit of a wobble on it. I wouldn’t call it max though, its pretty much HR threshold for me, with the occasional dip up and down (usually when there’s hills).
I’ve thought that the ‘race start’ workouts like lion rock are a good approximation of CX. A hard sprint at the start or up a short climb, followed by half a lap or a lap of steadyISH power. Followed by another short, brutal climb, or a dig to pass a couple people, followed by another 5 minutes or so of kinda steady power.
there are actually a couple of workouts that I think are taken from the power outputs of a cx race - Blue+2 - is quite an accurate representation of some races Ive done.
If FTP important - VO2 max is important def - but if you think youre gonig to do a cx race trying to reach power targets on your garmin youre def not trying hard enough - even during a 90 minute cx race I never get a chance to look at my garmin, its balls out from the start.
I really cant stress enough though learning to comfortably mount remount, shoulder your bike, running steps and finding your optimal tyre pressure (that lets you pedal through corners - Ive won so many races because Im powering through corners while everyone else is braking and slippign around) are just as important as anaerobic ability.
Been setting up a little 1 min long course with cones in the park to get some practice in. 29f\30b on 40mm terreno dry tires seemed awfully good. I was kind of surprised how much power and lean I could take into corners and pedal all the way through…almost felt like I was cornering in a crit
Most of the bumpyness of the course was damped, tires didnt feel sluggish, and none of the foldover I was getting at 20psi. Though I WAS surprised at how much grip I had on loose baseball diamond dirt at 20 psi…guess it depends on the course
Haha you know, the things is they don’t seem all that hard. It’s a blast while you’re doing it. My first cat 5 race, I never even realized I was tired. They I crossed the line, got off my bike, realized I was tired THEN, and nearly threw up on my sisters shoes
I could never go that deep on a trainer. It’s a ‘fun’ hard.
