Thursday, October 1, 2015

Two Killer Cyclocross Workouts

Two Killer Cyclocross Workouts - Peaks Coaching Group

Cyclocross hurts, and so do the workouts that matter! Head out to your local CX course (or create one at a school or park) and give these two workouts a try.

Workout One: The 30-30-30

Warm-up

Ride 15 minutes in your endurance zone with a solid five-minute tempo effort to open up your legs.

Main set

Complete the following:
  • 1 x 5-minute blow-out with watts at 115% of FTP
  • 2 x 10-minute sets of 30-30-30: 30 seconds riding as hard as you can, 30 seconds coasting and not pedaling, 30 seconds dismounted and running fast. Repeat.
  • 5 minutes easy
  • 4 x 2 minutes AC work at 130% of FTP. Push hard and fast. Rest 2 minutes after each.
  • 10 minutes easy
  • Finish with 10 x 1 minute fast pedaling: 1 minute on, 1 minute off (cadence goal: 110 rpm).

Cool-down

15 minutes easy riding

Workout Two: Race Prep

Warm-up

Warm up for 10 minutes at 56-76% of FTP.

Main set

Complete the following:
  • 20 minutes of tempo (85-90% of FTP) with 5 bursts (10 seconds each) to 200% of FTP and return to 85-90% of FTP. Ride at endurance for 5 minutes at 70%. 
  • Now do 4 x 2 minutes, with 2 minutes between each. Try for 135% of FTP watts on each one. Do 2 additional efforts if your fourth one is still at least 120% of FTP.
  • Now ride at sweet-spot (88-93%) of FTP for 30 minutes, smooth and steady, and do 10 bursts within this 30 minutes: 200% of FTP for 15 seconds before coming back to 88-93% of FTP.
  • Finish with 2 hard efforts, each 5 minutes long with watts at 110% of FTP. Rest for 5 minutes between each.

Cool-down

10 minutes easy riding


Be sure to get in a good recovery shake afterward!


Want more awesome workouts? Contact us to try our custom training plans personalized specifically for you!


Hunter Allen is a USA Cycling Level 1 coach and former professional cyclist. He is the coauthor of Training and Racing with a Power Meter and Cutting-Edge Cycling, co-developer of TrainingPeaks’ WKO software, and CEO and founder of Peaks Coaching Group. He and his coaches create custom training plans for all levels of athletes. Hunter can be contacted directly via info@peakscoachinggroup.com or through PeaksCoachingGroup.com.

Image credit: Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com