Time to get dirty. In this episode, we’re hitting the trails with coaches Neal Henderson and Suzie Synder. If you want to train effectively for mountain biking, this is a must-listen.
Time to get dirty. In this episode, we’re hitting the trails with coaches Neal Henderson and Suzie Synder. If you want to train effectively for mountain biking, this is a must-listen. From proper cadence to technical skills, Neal and Suzie bring their extensive knowledge of off-road racing to help you dominate the dirt.
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Neal Henderson 0:00
Hello and welcome to another episode of the knowledge podcast brought to you by the Wahoo sports science team in Boulder, Colorado. I'm Neil Henderson, head of Wahoo sports science.
Suzie Snyder 0:10
And I'm Susie Snyder, triathlon and coaching specialist at Wahoo sports science, and today we're gonna discuss some of the practical aspects you need to consider for mountain bike training.
Neal Henderson 0:20
Well, for those of you who don't know Suzy is a multi-time national champion and off-road triathlon like exterra type racing, as well as an elite World Championship medalist. And I'm not talking about the extended podium, but the old 123 Earning medalist not just regular podium or extended podium also, I've been racing mountain bikes and for a pretty long time, and I most recently finished my first ever Leadville, 100, mountain bike race earlier this year. And just, you know, from a coaching perspective, in fact, the first-ever World Champion that I coached in cycling as a female masters mountain bike racer, who won her title in the LeJay France in 2004, has been working in the mountain bike realm for quite some time.
Suzie Snyder 1:07
Well, that's pretty impressive. I think what Neil's trying to say is, we might know a thing or two about mountain bike training.
Neal Henderson 1:12
Yep. And it's something that for both Suzy and I is kind of near and dear to our hearts, and we want to help you all be better mountain bike riders and racers.
Suzie Snyder 1:22
Absolutely.
Neal Henderson 1:23
So one of the first things to consider and just think about the big picture is that riding and racing mountain bikes requires additional skills and training efforts that you don't necessarily need to be successful in road cycling. Some of the areas that we do need to specifically think about in our training are number one, developing technical climbing and descending skills, including both low speed and high-speed balance, we have to think about cornering on variable surfaces and different types of terrain. And then also, we have to be capable of producing kind of high torque or force, low RPM efforts while we're riding and racing a mountain bike. And then we also have to have a little bit more upper body and core strength to be able to handle pushing and pulling and moving our bike around through technical elements when we're out there on trails.
Suzie Snyder 2:12
And speaking of technical elements, you know, every trail is different. Right now, there are so many different kinds of mountain biking. So for this episode, let's talk about the short track, cross country, you know, your traditional cross country racing, ultra-distance races, multi-day endurance events. And there are others. Of course, you know, there are similar types of mountain bike events like downhill trials, BMX, enduro racing, you know, they all have similarities, but also huge differences. We'll just keep it simple today and talk about special training considerations that are part of the process for preparing for endurance, mountain biking events.
And especially kind of in that cross country type realm, whether it is kind of short track, a standard cross country, which is normally like an hour and a half, two-hour-long race or that kind of long-distance, single, like marathon type, you know, could be, you know, four to 10-12 hour type of races. So, with that in mind, you do have to incorporate some specific aspects in your training that are going to be tested in those types of events. So, things to think about are different courses have different demands. So some are kind of hot, dry, and loose conditions that you might have either kind of sand or really dry terrain, like Leadville 100, has a fair amount of that the Absa Cape Epic has some of that type of condition for sure. And then you can kind of think about other types of races that have clearly a much more humid, wet, muddy type environment. And you know, if you're in West Virginia, racing there at the trans-Alps over in Europe, you're definitely going to have clearly differences in that kind of big picture environment where you live may not offer all those different types of terrain. Like if you live in the Deep South like you might not get that super dry, high elevation specific conditions like you have in Leadville. But if you can find a trail that is a little bit sandier, to practice riding on and learn how to how to manage your bike in those looser conditions like that, that are different than muddy conditions. That's important. Same thing if you do live in Colorado, where it's pretty dry here, if there are trails that are decent when they get wet, we'll actually get out in some muddy or conditions. That's good. Keep in mind you know, around here we have a lot of clay soil so when it does rain, man, it can just your bike can go from a 25-pound bike to a 35-pound bike, and actually is not very good for the trail. So a lot of trails we don't ride when it's wet. Keep that in mind.
Yeah, that's very true with mountain biking. You know you don't learn unless you do in a lot of times and you know until you go experience if you live in a hot, hot, dry climate until you go to a wet, humid, rainy place, and actually have to ride in those conditions, you know, slick mud wet roots, mossy covered rocks, oh man, you learn really fast and the hard way. So, you know, just keep that in mind, if you're signed up for a race that is in an environment that's not typical to where you live.
Neal Henderson 5:20
Yep, if you have a high priority event that you're doing and conditions that are clear that you can't access at home, you can't do often like some sort of a preview of a training camp where you can get there a couple of days before will really help you out to be able to dial in a little bit better your skillset for that terrain. But that being said, mountain biking is always a little bit variable anyhow. So by riding trails, even what you have locally, you're going to be developing that that adaptability, which is really important. Some of the races, you know, have different types of features. So like, if you're at a ski venue type race where you're up and down the ski mountain, you may have some specific like manmade features that are built-in there you know, with rocks and ramps, drops berms that are like really built to try to actually make it a like almost manicured course, that still can be really technically challenging. But then when you go to something that is kind of out there, in the more wild nature side of things, a multi-day endurance event, you're clearly gonna have just that natural rocks, the roots, all those things that are just completely unexpected. And your ability to be again, quick, agile, and adaptive to those conditions is definitely an important part of being a well-prepared mountain biker.
Suzie Snyder 6:30
Yeah, just getting out on the bike and riding a lot of different kinds of trails helps you develop that adaptability because you have to be loose on the bike, right, that's one of the things that's kind of important for mountain biking is, you know, to not get scared and freeze up real quick, you have to kind of just let it flow sometimes. And when you see something scary, you just kind of have to let it roll. Maybe that's why mountain bikers are a little more chill and relaxed, than a lot of other endurance athletes.
Neal Henderson 6:57
Yeah,
Suzie Snyder 6:57
They have the ability to just let it go.
Neal Henderson 6:59
Yeah, there's definitely less that you can control in that way you don't get to know it, you know, 100%, exactly every time that things are dynamic.
Suzie Snyder 7:09
Yeah, some of those, you know, real natural trails will throw some gnarly routes into an Off Camber berm or something corner looks like you come up to just kind of have to figure it out in half a second and go for it.
Neal Henderson 7:24
Yep, with that in mind, kind of knowing what you're preparing for is definitely an important part of things. And then you have to have had some practice and preparation. So you can think about things that you can do in training to then be prepared. When you have a course that has short punchy climbs with a lot of cornering, meaning you're going to have to accelerate quickly, you're going to have some of that fight torque, you know, you're in a, basically, big gear and you're pushing with more force, that's what we're talking about that torque that you have to, from a very low RPM, have that initial couple pedal strokes, that you're really pushing hard to get over trees, or rocks, roots, as well as potentially some of that higher cadence kind of sprinting, to be able to pass somebody quickly to get into the single track ahead of them. And so in training, you know, we have some sessions that clearly are available in the system app that you can do to help prepare for that we have standing starts, we have some of the on-off intervals, like half as easy, they're very short on off that, that you do get mountain biking in the app, you know, it might be a little bit more predictable, you see it, you know, it's on and off on a certain rhythm. But we have some other training sessions to where you are, you know, if you put your trainer into the level mode, you have to be shifting and kind of and vary in that effort. And sometimes, you know, playing around with what your starting cadence is, is a good idea to be able to make those efforts just a little bit more specific to what you do on a mountain bike. So I would say on occasion, you know, you could ignore some of those higher cadence targets that you might have for just the regular workout to have it be more specific to what you want to be ready for in the mountain bike.
Suzie Snyder 9:02
Yeah, sometimes I find when I look back at a mountain bike ride, that my cadence is a little bit lower than I realize. So I think in mountain biking, you do just tend to sometimes be in a little bit bigger gear because you need to be able to put down some power and torque to get through some rocks. If you're in too easy a gear you just bounce too much. So I find that you know, when I'm riding on the road, I ride at a much higher cadence than on the mountain bike.
Neal Henderson 9:28
Yep, for sure. The big gear training we do have an episode on kind of the value of big gear training. This clearly falls in that realm being prepared specifically for mountain bike we do have again some training sessions that are in there, you know, goat and cobbler to different types along with shorter efforts, while some longer efforts but getting that big gear or muscular endurance as we talk about is important to be ready for it. We also do have parts of mountain biking, it's not all big gear all the time. You know there are times where you have kind of those steady, long climbs and some racecourses or flatter sections where you're rolling along at a high cadence. So you know, don't neglect that kind of your training, either you do need to maintain that as part of what you do in your training structure.
Suzie Snyder 10:12
And, you know, I think that our app, having the 4DP test is just prime for mountain bikers, because you do have all of those, you know, power zones, and being able to test those and train them specifically is such an advantage.
Neal Henderson 10:27
Definitely, we're looking out for you, we care, we want you to be better, faster, stronger, and using again, what we do with 4DP with having those targets that are above FTP map targets, your AC, anaerobic capacity, and that kind of neuromuscular sprinting type of power are all things that you're going to be, you know, doing at some point, even, you know, I can tell you even in Leadville, 100, there were elements of that race, even though Yeah, it was nine hours and change to complete, there were components that were clearly in those very much upper realms, throughout, even in a long day like that.
Suzie Snyder 11:00
I don't doubt it. I'll take your word for it for now. But then, you know what, there are some other skills that we need as mountain bikers, right. As far as technical skills and aspects, I like to do some cone drills every now and then and specific practice going to a grassy field and, and doing some wheelies, and manuals and things to, to hone in those skills, other specifics that you like to do.
Neal Henderson 11:24
Yeah, so doing those kinds of drills, super good. Those are kind of like foundational. Another thing I like to do is have folks go to a technical section of the trail and ride it and rewrite it several times in ride different lines. And again, this is not just downhill. But this is both uphill and downhill those technical challenges and take a little break in between. So you can kind of come into it somewhat fresh. And also then like engaged and ready for it rather than like if you do a lot of times in a race situation like you're going to rely on what your training is, it's you're sometimes very quickly reacting. So developing some of these skills, with a little bit more rest and recovery between them both on those technical up and technical down your practice is good. Keep in mind that you can make yourself become too reliant, though, on writing and rewriting the same thing, you want to continue to have variation in that. So once you've mastered a given area, being able to go up and down those technical areas section pretty well, you need a new place. Once you've got that mastered, you need to challenge yourself and get to a new area to work on those continue to push the envelope on developing those skills. And occasionally, in pushing the envelope, yes, you will occasionally crash gravity does work. It's always trying to bring us down every now and then that's part of it. And so you know, for some folks, starting off and actually doing some work potentially with additional pads, knee, elbow, you know, Shin full-face helmet is not a bad idea to give you, you know, a little bit more confidence. And if you do fall over, you don't have as much of a consequence.
Suzie Snyder 12:58
And you know, that's a good point, practicing different lines going up and down. I do like to do that. When I go to a racecourse. And I'm previewing the course in the days leading up. You know, if there looks like a tricky section, I might go back and rewrite it on a different line, just in case there's somebody else around me and I can't take the supposedly good line, I have to ride on the rough stuff. I want to know I can do it. So yep, that Is their good point.
Neal Henderson 13:24
Definitely. And it is good if you can practice and you know, you can stay on your bike through some more of those technical sections, you can gain a little speed. I know, you know, years ago, we had the Keystone Xterra course that was one of my favorites. And the lower part of that was on a trail called Wild Thing, which is part of like the state downhill, you know, championship and it was a pretty rough section. But I had ridden that and pre-written that enough that I could actually ride the drops through there comfortably and not be at risk where you know, on race downs, I was coming down that downhill. And, you know, I was doing okay, but you know, I was definitely not reading leading the race like a net over and was. And as I got through the wild things section and through those big drops, and he's like, whoa, Ned didn't even ride that. And it was like, well, that's like, five minutes ahead of me at this point. He didn't even need to take the risk that I need to take. And he didn't have quite as much time previewing that he also kind of weighed out the risk-reward where I'd written it enough that it wasn't a big risk for me and I was able to ride it safely. But in some cases, it is better to get off and just run through a section if you are either not confident because crashing we typically say is slower than not crashing in a racing situation.
Suzie Snyder 14:30
Absolutely. I will admit though, that race, I did not have time to preview the course. So I did not know what what's coming. And I was a beginning mountain biker. So I should not have been riding some of those things, but having no idea what was coming and just riding. I mean, I managed to ride a fair bit of it. I got off a few times but I was surprised that you know, I landed a few of those drops that totally caught me by surprise.
Neal Henderson 14:56
Yep. And that's the skills that you develop.
Suzie Snyder 14:59
You have skills you can sometimes pull things off.
Neal Henderson 15:03
Definitely doing a little bit of training with some running and hiking also is beneficial because you've occasionally run on run into a course situation where whether it's extreme rain or other conditions that you're going to be off the bike more than you ever plan. So I know folks that do like Ruda in Costa Rica, just crazy muddy, and the amount of time that you have to carry and push your bike, clearly every year is pretty significant. But I know Xterra worlds a few years ago, it was crazy. I was just watching people slip slide. I was watching that year. And man, the amount of time you know, I think people probably ran 10k of that bike course that year, probably. So having some training where you're doing some running and hiking in your just normal training is definitely good for mountain bikers to have as a fallback.
Suzie Snyder 15:48
Yeah. And that also takes us into strength training and core training. You know, if you're, you have the ability to move your body well and in different positions and actually carry your bike when you need to and not get tired as fast as somebody else that can give you an advantage. And also just moving your body around on the bike, you need some strength and mobility to do it. Last week, I found myself on a real steep switchback. And without a dropper post, I couldn't, you know, I had to get so far behind my saddle to get around the corner. But then I couldn't make the next corner because I was stuck behind my saddle. So I had to actually just like unclip and step off the back of the bike and had I not had really good, you know, hip mobility and flexibility, I probably would have crashed, I was really thankful for all the strength training and mobility that I do and you know, my body is capable of doing a lot of things.
Neal Henderson 16:44
Definitely. So that dynamic movement, strength stability, and I would call it like athleticism. You know, we think of sometimes off-road athletes sometimes doing more agility work and you know, eye hand coordination and just movement balance are all really important things that you can do. So you know, play and you know, some stick and ball sports like tennis actually isn't a terrible idea. If you're doing that just getting some of that lateral movement. I mean, guess could be table tennis, not quite as aggressive, but still pretty fun.
Suzie Snyder 17:14
Yeah. Well, it transfers over to because you know, your body follows where your eyes are looking. So, you know, as one of the key technical elements of getting your bike around a switchback, you've got to look where you want to go and not look at where you don't want to go.
Neal Henderson 17:32
That is rule number one in training for mountain biking. It also does carry over and all the other disciplines in cycling but man you really get reminded of it quickly and on-trail riding that always watch where you want to go look at where you are planning on going do not get stuck on the rock of the route, the whole the cliff that anything that you don't want to be going over because if that's what you're focusing on, that's where you're gonna go. That's probably the biggest number one tip for being successful in staying on your bike and riding off-road and even on road.
Suzie Snyder 18:05
Agree. Yeah, we hope you've learned something to help you be a better athlete, and we'll catch you next time on The Knowledge by Wahoo