Hi all, I will take part in this years’ 3 Peaks Cyclocross. I got the confirmation last week and I am scared and excited at the same time. The race is on my birthday and I honestly did not expect to make the entry but I did. My goal is to finish around 4 hours and to perform as good as I can.
So I’m planning to continue my training shedule right up to the weekend before the race. This will be week 6 of Sustained Power Build Mid as I will head into Cross Speciality later on.
I’m thinking to do a taper week and planing to travel from Germany to GB two days prior to the race.
Has anyone of you done the race or is planning to do it? Feel free to share your toughts about it!
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I did it in 2008, I have to say it was probably the hardest one day race of my life. I’d come from a fairly good road and time trial season and had also spent a week in the alps a few weeks before the race.
I think one of the big things is to make sure you are happy shouldering the bike for extended periods (10-20 minutes) for the first climb. My whole body but particularly my fingers were cramping on the last descent making braking difficult (but that was with cantilevers).
I’ve only done it once and would love to do it again but I’m now on the wrong side of the world to make it work.
Good luck, you’ll enjoy it.
I also rode it once, albeit straight after a holiday, within hours actually. Time on your feet is crucial don’t think of it as running as it’s a slog, so prepare for this. The descents are hairy over moorland, so top handlebar levers worked for me on cantis. The road sections offer respite from the path but are still grippy, typical Yorkshire roads. Suggest you treat it as a day out on the bike than a race, as it takes several attempts to master all of its elements.
Third time for me this year. It’s a great race, old school cyclocross across the hills.
Paul Oldham puts it best with “you’re always on the wrong bike, going uphill, you don’t want a bike, going downhill, you want a mountain bike and on the road, you want a road bike”. You can’t have either!
Bring a helper if you can to hand up bottles and food and best with spare wheels or a spare bike.
If you get there two days early, you can walk sections of the course (you can’t ride unless on race day) and get a feel for the terrain.
The biggest problems are cramp and punctures, if you can prepare for that, you’ll have a great day.
GCN made a viedo about it last year thats worth watching, even if just for the sneak preview of the tracks.
I watched " For the love of mud" a few years ago and since then had it on my list. Also had a look at the GCN Video already and I will use the day before to have a look at some parts of the course on foot.
I will defenetly treat it as a long day on the bike. I also did some trail running and hiking in the past and I hope I can use this experience to my advantage. So running and walking uphill with a shouldered bike will be my weekend workout for the next weeks together with some strength and stability workouts in the gymn. I want to be prepared as best as I can.
I’m still using cantis on my cyclocross bike so it will be kind of an ‘oldschool endeavour’. My tire choice will be Panaracer Gravel King Mud 35mm clincher. Hope this will workout well.