Today marks the beginning of cyclocross season here in Missoula and after our afternoon clinic we are excited to race.  Yesterday Shaun took us out to do some ‘openers’ and get our legs ready to go.  Waking up this morning my legs still felt a little bit of yesterday’s short workout, but now they feel ready to furiously pedal.  Here’s Shaun’s secret pre-race workout if you want to give it a shot before your next race:

Good warmup
30 seconds hard, 30 seconds recovery
1 minute hard, 1 minute recovery
2 minutes hard, 2 minutes recovery
1 minute hard, 1 minute recovery
30 seconds hard, 30 seconds recovery
Good cooldown (you need to pedal away the lactic acid)

It’s a nice, low volume workout, but what makes it challenging is the start of each hard section. Shaun’s directive was to jump, or get out of the saddle and sprint, the first 5 or 10 seconds.  This puts you in that red zone, but because the workout is short, you’re not in the red long enough to wear yourself out for the race.  It also helps get your body used to the speed variations throughout a cyclocross race.

Try it before your next event and let us know how it goes.  Good luck!

-Forrest, Cycling House Online Store Manager