The Top 5 Fitness Benefits of Racing Cyclocross
Did you know that learning cyclocross is very difficult because it involves a lot of lifting and rotation of your body? However, it comes with a lot of benefits once you learn how to do it. This type of sport is usually a combination of a criterium-style race that involves racing several laps around a closed circuit.
And also steeplechase-style running involving a merge of various skills into one race such as distance running, long jumping and hurdling. Racing cyclocross mostly means riding your bike during winter where you face a lot of challenges such as getting dirty riding in the rain, poor visibility, and dealing with slippery roads.
As a rider who knows the benefit, you do not have to worry about the difficulties but rather embrace it and move towards improving your racing skills. Getting a good cyclocross bike can sometimes be very challenging if you are not acquainted with this kind of sport.
The bike is usually a combination of a mountain bike and also a road bike. It is so fast and reliable and can even be ridden on the street and moreso off-road. Below are some of the benefits of racing cyclocross.
A safer cyclist:
There is no single cyclist that hasn’t crashed while learning how to cyclocross. However, as you get comfortable as a cyclist, you’ll be safer even when you find yourself in a squirrel condition.
Racing cyclocross involves cornering in mud, snow, sand, grass, and also gravel. And since you will be racing in winter, there will be a lot of sliding involved, and falling a few times will be expected. The grounds you fall on tend to be very soft, that is why you do not have to worry about falling.
Additionally, the skills that involve dismounting the bike can be beneficial mostly when you move to a mountain bike or the road.
Helps you accelerate:
One of the main benefits of racing cyclocross is how you get to accelerate even if a lot of cyclists do not give this a lot of attention and concern as it should. Low-speed acceleration is where you learn how to slow down once you approach a corner and then pick up the speed after the turn. To be a better cyclist, you must learn and experience the acceleration that is mostly between 40 to 50 minutes.
In addition to that, you gain the power to resist through the sandpits and the soft grass. You not only get the ability to produce high power while racing cyclocross but also you get to produce high torque.
Makes you stronger:
You have to get wet, dirt, and cold for you to become a keen cyclist. Once you learn how to cyclocross during winter, racing during summer will only make you the best cyclist since your temperature changes will not be an issue. Since you have experienced a lot of challenges in the winter, racing in the summer becomes the most natural thing you can experience.
To become a good cyclist, you must view a rainy criterium as your chance to learn and make yourself a better racer there could be. Racing during the summer will only make you stronger and better.
A whole body workout:
Racing cyclocross is at its peak during December and continues to January in some places. This is mostly during Halloween. The pressure that comes with the training and the off-season rides is mostly too high to even allow your waist to expand.
In addition to that, the workouts that are brought about by the racing are all in your favour, and you get to have a perfect body from racing cyclocross. This is achieved since most of your body parts such as the hips, ankles, and knees move towards the front.
Increases power at V02 Max:
Increasing your power at V02 Max is one of the crucial benefits of learning how to cyclocross. Your maximum rate of oxygen intake that is taken during exercise increases. To become an expert in cyclocross, you must put in the efforts of maximum intensity together with a concise recovery period.
To increase your power at V02, you must start with a 3 to 5-minute effort at maximum intensity. Once you get to 30 seconds, you get closer to your goals as a cyclist.
Conclusion.
The above are the top five fitness benefits that are brought about by racing cyclocross. The venues where this sport happens do not require the closing of the streets since it is human friendly. Most cyclists decide to get into racing cyclocross due to the fitness that is brought by it. Others tend to learn how to race since your cyclocross bike can take you anywhere you want and need to be.