Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Williamston, MI "Wee-um-stun"
Posts: 727
Bikes: Uh... road, mtb, tour, CX (kludged), 3spd, 'bent, tandem, folder (the fam has another, what, 8)
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
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Quoted: 147 Post(s)
Um, i'd say for your first race to hold it a fair bit below redline. Sure, sprint some and pass some but i'd say more generally just try to get a feel for the craziness you've got yourself into. It's easy to go too hard and get delirious and bust thru the tape ... on every turn. So don't do that. Wait til you have some skills before you go drool-hard!
That said: here's my sweet instant awesome tip: warm the heck up before your start! Be hot and sweaty and basically like you're halfway thru some other race. If it's your first CX i'm guessing you're in beginner and it's only a half hour. well, 40 isn't THAT much longer, but it kind of is. Anyway, if it's 30 mins, be RARIN' ready. Then just ride. you'll have a good start w/o needing to bust a gut. You want smoothness and sanity as well. Also get in some recon laps of the course beforehand! These can be separate from your white-hot sweat-up. Good luck and have fun! Let us know!