Top tips for racing cyclocross in icy conditions

With temperatures dipping, ice on the ground and maybe some snow on its way ❄️😁 I thought it would be a good time to talk about my top tips for racing cyclocross in these conditions.

•

1. My number 1 tip, always 👉🏻 Commit! Hesitation is the mother of all f*uck ups 😁. Commitment brings confidence, if you go into a challenging section thinking you're going to crash, you probably will 😳🤯.Stiffening up and putting on the brakes is not what you want to be doing in these conditions!

•

2. RELAX 🧘🏻‍♀️Easier said than done, but the more you stiffen and tense up, the more that front end is likely to go from under you, put your weight back on the saddle and keep light on the bars. If it’s icy, trying to smash out lots of power will usually see you sliding all over the place, think about being as light on the bike as possible 🧚‍♀️. Keep you’re head up and look up and out at where you want your bike to go.

•

3. Reduce your pressures and experiment with tread! When it comes to tyre pressure less is best. The bigger the surface area the more grip you are going to get 👍. Some riders choose to go with a sand tyre and go super low to get as much rubber on the ground as possible, whereas others go for more of a mud tread and try to get a bit of traction that way. Experiment! Try different treads/pressures in training and see what gives you the most confidence 🤜.

•

4. Take confidence from the fact that fresh snow is very grippy.

•

5. HAVE FUN!!

•

@mudiiitacoaching #cyclocross #coaching #womenwhocoach #mytoptips #coaching