Training Tuesday: Have a Cyclocross Training Question? Chris Mayhew Likely Has an Answer

Chris Mayhew of JBV Coaching has covered a lot of topics during his time as a Cyclocross Magazine Training Tuesday contributor. In today’s column, he provides a comprehensive list of his work thus far.

Chris’ best ideas come from clients and fellow racers, so if you have a topic you’d like to see covered, please contact him via Twitter (@csmayew) or Instagram (seemayhew)

---

I’m running a bit low on ideas for this column. Like any artist that needs to generate some new content, I’m going to repackage some of my old material with new liner notes and put it out.

The original inspiration for this column was from questions asked at cyclocross clinics. Often there was not a good written resource for a question despite there being a fairly agreed upon answer. The conceit for this article is that it’s written to clients. I wanted to be able to point clients towards a written answer for common issues.

In keeping with that, I wrote a lot of these columns six weeks ahead of time to give people time to implement the advice. All told, they cover a year worth of training, from very broad brush stroke season-level issues to the minutiae of race day.

Thank you to all that have read these over the years and welcome aboard to those that are just starting or missed an article along the way.

For Starters

We’ll start here.

That addresses the difference in your fitness versus that of people who started training in January, when you should have been taking time off!

Cyclocross Offseason Training

Self-Care

I’m still a big believer in yoga and a daily self-care routine in general. Cycling leads to some specific tightness you should be addressing year round. I think yoga has a lot of added mental benefits as well but if I can get you doing it by advertising the physical benefits that’s great.

Preventing and Addressing Back Issues

Also read this, since it might very well happen to you. The best fix to the issue is to address it now, not when it becomes acute in six months.

Planning Your ’Cross Season

This is how to plan your season, as a whole, starting around now. Think about when you want to get started, when you want to take a break and what your ’cross season is going to look like.

On Hiring a Coach

Do I need someone to help me plan my season? The obvious answer is yes, but you can read more here.

Training During the Summer

Within that, here’s a loose layout of what I think is the best use of your time during the offseason, aka summer.

The One Workout You Should Be Doing

Included during your summer riding should be the one workout I think you should be doing all year round.

Taking a Summer Break

Here I cover how to handle your break in July, which I think is key to your whole cyclocross season. One of the number one questions I get asked is “How do I avoid November burnout” and that answer starts here.

Cyclocross Season Training

Final Cyclocross Season Preparations

Post break, it’s NBC—Nothing But ’Cross. You spent all summer baking your cake, this is how to put the icing on it.

Hitting Cyclocross Season Fresh

From there, it’s time to eat that cake! Maximize the work you’ve done by coming in fresh and rested.

In-Season Planning

Once you’re racing ’cross every weekend, what should my weeks look like?

Rest and Recovery

Wait. That doesn’t seem like a lot of training. I know, that’s the point.

Running

I get a lot of questions about running. Here is how I would approach training the oft-overlooked skill.

Race Day Necessities

Openers

What are openers? Should you be doing them? Some of those answers are here.

Race Day Nutrition

Now we’re into the nitty-gritty of race day preparation and planning.

What should I eat?

Packing for Race Day

What should I pack? Two is one and one is none.

Race Day Routine

What should my overall day look like? When should I even get there? Answers here, along with one of my favorite pictures from one of the most prepared people I know.

Warm-Ups and Course Inspection

How should I warm up?

This covers race day routine and course inspection.

’Cross Race Tactics

Smart Race Starts

How to handle the race itself?

I cover the start in this column on smart first laps and this one on how to approach the holeshot.

Cyclocross Race Strategy

This column covers how to think about the race as a whole.

How to Pass Other Riders

How do I handle passing? This is one of the most common questions we get at clinics. Thank you to everyone who has ever come to one!

Hot Weather

Adverse conditions? I got u fam.

Hot weather is covered here. I think it’s only going to be more common for cyclocross.

Hot, Dry Early Season Racing Tactics

Early season races can be fast when the course is hot and dry. This covers racing tactics for those scorching September races.

Mud

Mud, which we all love, is always a popular topic. I wrote about how to prepare and clean up as well as how to race when the conditions turn ugly.

Handling Race Nerves

Another question I am commonly asked is how to deal with race nerves. That’s a big question, and I’ve come at it in several ways over the years. The quick answer, courtesy of Ellen Noble is Be Positive Be Present. These are usually the most well received columns.

Looking Ahead to 2018 Louisville Nationals

And now Nationals are in front of us again, this time earlier and in my hometown of Louisville. I offered some thoughts on the course here.

Thank you for reading! If you ever have questions please feel free to contact me via social media. Thanks! Thanks to Paul von Diegleman for the inspiration for today’s column.

For more training advice, see our Training Tuesday archives.