Didn't see much on cyclocross in this thread. I've started racing again and figured I would start in Cyclocross because falling down sucks a lot less and the vibe (in the US) is much better. Interested to hear how any road riders alter their training to compete or ride in cyclocross.
As an aside, these races are fun as hell. They start on time, done within 45-55 minutes, you don't need the most expensive equipment to compete, and its about as hard a 45 minute interval as you can possibly ride.
The only downside is that in the Cat 4/5 division, you've got a lot of really young fit racers who like to ride in the first race of the day and are really too fast for this group. I know that you can cross qualify for a higher Cat in cyclocross by converting points earned in road or mountain, but not all of them do it and some of these kids are screaming fast. I am basically competing against my 22 year old self.
Still fun. I do see I am losing at least three minutes at least at the start with the bunch up at the start and the first two laps working my way to the group riding my pace. Each one of my laps got faster
As an aside, these races are fun as hell. They start on time, done within 45-55 minutes, you don't need the most expensive equipment to compete, and its about as hard a 45 minute interval as you can possibly ride.
The only downside is that in the Cat 4/5 division, you've got a lot of really young fit racers who like to ride in the first race of the day and are really too fast for this group. I know that you can cross qualify for a higher Cat in cyclocross by converting points earned in road or mountain, but not all of them do it and some of these kids are screaming fast. I am basically competing against my 22 year old self.
Still fun. I do see I am losing at least three minutes at least at the start with the bunch up at the start and the first two laps working my way to the group riding my pace. Each one of my laps got faster