Let’s start from the beginning. We’re not going to flounder around the deep end of fitness in our first installment, instead we are going to attack this smartly and focus on the big daddy of MTB fitness: Aerobic endurance.

Or better yet we can call it aerobic energy production as that word (endurance) may give some people the wrong impression*.

Base what?

A lot of readers may be familiar with the idea of ‘base’ training or ‘base miles’ – starting the winter season, off-season or any training program with endless hours of easy, steady road riding. But in reality (and certainly in the real world of MTB) there’s a whole lot more to the aerobic system then just cranking out the sausage mileage for a few months a year.

Chris Kilmurray dishing out the advice “now this next exercise might hurt a little…”

Most of you have ridden with that guy or girl who just never seems to tire. They’re always ready for the next climb and when things point down there’s no thought of taking a quick breather to maximise enjoyment, they just don’t need to. They are the masters of flow and fun and just dominate the trail.

Yep you guessed it. It’s their aerobic fitness that underpins all this shredding ability. It is the body’s preferred power station. It delivers efficient, long lasting energy. It allows you to recover between climbs, sprints, technical sections or those big-eyes-brown-pants moments and all the other challenges the trail throws up. The more capable your aerobic energy system is the harder you can go all day long.

The aerobic system provides energy at low intensities and replenishes energy stores after giving it welly. If you have time to train just a little bit then you can teach the body to harness the full potential of your aerobic energy system.

Methods to this madness

So how can I go about doing a little bit of training to maxmise the potential of this amazing sounding aerobic thing I hear you ask? Well luckily it isn’t all that complicated.

The beginner (6 months to 1 year of riding 1-2 times a week): Just get out and ride, take your bike, helmet and get out riding for 45 mins to 1 hourr at a steady, manageable pace (being able to carry-out a conversation easily means your pace is pretty spot on). Build up the duration (volume) over time but a 2 hour continuous ride is more then enough to make the required changes to the aerobic system. Once you can ride for 1hr 30 + then look to increase your frequency (how many sessions a week) instead of trying to add extra volume only. Doing 3, 1hr 15min sessions a week will be of more benefit to you as a MTBer than one 4hr mega spin would be and the organisation (food, routes, water, kit etc..) is just way easier.

The Intermediate: So lets say getting out and riding for a few hours nice and steady ain’t too hard for you but you struggle when things go uphill often or the speed starts to pick up on the technical stuff. Well here’s the training method for you:

Tempo Intervals – Don’t run and hide. These aren’t your regular intervals. Less suffering involved but if done right then still highly effective. Ride for 50 seconds steadily then get out of the saddle and push hard for 10 – 12 seconds, not a maximum sprint but hard enough so you feel the change in pace. Repeat this sequence for 20 minutes, focusing on keeping each 10 – 12 second portion the same intensity and each 50 second  portion nice and steady. Concentrate on breathing in a controlled manner and pedalling smoothly to recover well between each 10 – 12 sec “interval”.

Aim for 2-3 sessions per week for 4-5 weeks adding between 2-3 minutes to the duration of each session each week. It all sounds very easy, but you’ll see leaps and bounds in your trail time fun with this method.

Tempo intervals can be down outside on your MTB or inside on the rollers or turbo-trainer if weather is bad or time tight. I really like these on the rollers when the weather is horrendous or as part of a fun ride with an added training focus. Just make sure you warm up for at least 10 minutes to get maximum benefit.

The expert: Once you class yourself as an advanced rider (someone who hammers the climbs, is fresh and focused on the descents and wouldn’t be daunted by a sudden change in route turning a ride into a 4hr epic), then making improvements in your aerobic capabilities can require more sadistic methods.

If you want to maximise how hard you can really push at higher heart rate (read intensity), then it’s the strength with which your heart can pump that can really improve how much oxygen is delivered to your working muscles. Remember, your heart is a muscle too so it can be trained to contract with more force. This is where we introduce these lovely methods:

Cardiac Power Intervals – These can be done on the bike (slight uphill is best) or in the gym using a “circuit” of MTB specific movements (we’ll talk more about this in the next installment).

For maximum effectiveness these intervals most be done at 100% intensity – MAX effort! You work for 60 – 90 seconds. Rest for 2-4 mins depending on your individual recovery capabilities, then repeat. Aim for 6-10 consecutive repetitions for two sets of 3-5 repetitions with a five-minute gap between those sets. The exact organisation of the intervals is up to you to play with depending on your current fitness, time and fatigue levels.

Get your training plan off the ground and within a matter of weeks you’ll be feeling the benefits. Stay tuned for part two.

Piecing the puzzle

Try to integrate the above methods into your work/school/life schedule along with your normal riding time. If you’ve never really trained before then start by adding in whatever method applies to your level once to twice a week and build from there. We’ll look at how to build yourself a four-week training program in a later installment of this series. But having adequate time to recover before the weekend’s riding is key, as at the end of the day smashing the trails is what counts. By adding in the above methods you’ll see fun, safety and enjoyment on the trail increase as your Aerobic fitness does.

Point1 tip-top tip:

Use a heart rate monitor for your aerobic training. They can be used to make sure you are staying in an aerobic “zone” during longer training rides. Or better still, use it to monitor your recovery rate (how fast your HR drops down to around 130-145 beats per minute) between Tempo or Cardiac power Intervals. This way you can really see the progress in your Aerobic fitness.

Until next time, enjoy the skids.

*Lycra sausage tucked away for 4 hours at a time..?

Last week I was up in the beautiful mountains of La Clusaz, France, to check out the new Mavic Crossmax Enduro wheels. La Clusaz is in the heart of the Alps, which holds up for some true mountain biking and is an excellent proving ground for the new ‘enduro’ wheel.

Mavic have been making wheels for what seems an eternity, they’ve been around since 1889, developing their first MTB rim in 1985, and they’ve become one of the largest MTB wheel companies in the world. With all that experience gained they’ve finally decided to branch out and new for 2013/14 they give us the Enduro Crossmax – Wheel Tire System. Yes that’s right, not only are Mavic making wheels they have branched out into tyres too! This ‘system’ (as in the wheel and tyre) has been specifically designed for enduro racing and they’ve had great feedback from enduro racers Jerome Clementz and Anne-Caroline Chausson, who have apparently been working very closely with the team at Mavic to ensure they have the best product for enduro racing.

Jerome Clementz has had a lot of input into Mavic’s new enduro wheel and tyre. This is one fast set up aimed purely at enduro racing.

The idea started at the drawing board (like every good idea does), where the team decided exactly what attributes they wanted the system to have. According to Mavic, they agreed that front and rear wheels need to be different, ultimately because they have two very different jobs, and this is where they established what they wanted from each wheel:

Front

- Grip
- Stability
- Handling
- Comfort

Rear

- Responsiveness
- Rolling
- Traction

And of course on top of all that they needed to make something lightweight and strong. Mavic had all these things to achieve, and produced a wheel and tyre that on first impressions does a very good job of ticking the boxes…

The new Crossmax wheel is available in 26″ and 650b, but there is no 29″, the reason being that the Mavic team think that enduro races will be predominately fought on 26″ and 650b wheels.

Mavic have chosen to make the new wheels from aluminium instead of carbon: they don’t believe that there is enough of a reason to start using carbon. To save some extra weight Mavic use inner-spoke milling. There isn’t too much of an issue with weight as these wheels aren’t heavy by any stretch of the imagination, tipping the scales at XXXX.

Wheels

Front wheel.

Front

The spokes are mounted in such a way that there isn’t any need to drill all the way through the rim, there are 24 straight pull spokes, which are cross-laced, which Mavic say is for stiffness and comfort. As Mavic are producing a tyre for a specific wheel, they are able to make the two work together. The rim width is 21c and the tyre is a 2.4, which allows the tyre to take the ideal shape.

Rear wheel.

Rear

The rear wheel spokes are mounted in the same way as on the front to keep the strength of the rim. There are only 20 spokes, however they are laced in Mavic’s ‘Isopulse’ system, which is supposed to keep strength under a lot of force.

Tyres

Mavic’s Charge front tyre. This comes in a 40a compound. Too soft? Well it sure sticks to the ground and inspires confidence, durability is something we’ll have to see about.

Front: Charge

The tyre is made up of a very soft, slow rebound 40a rubber compound (that’s really rather soft) and is tubeless ready. The tread pattern has a lot of space for mud clearance with the outer knobs raised quite high to allow for a smoother transition whilst cornering. We were able to ride this tyre in a couple of different locations, and I found it to perform extremely well in mud, on slick roots and in dust too. So that’s a thumbs up. It held itself on corners, and under heavy braking in some not-too-friendly environments.

Mavic’s Roam XL rear tyre is a dual compound fast rolling tyre and definitely at home on dry trails.

Rear: Roam XL

The rear is dual compound: On the inside is a firm 60a and on the outer is slightly softer 50a, to offer a little more grip in the corners. The rear tyre has been designed with pedalling in mind and for that reason it has much shallower knobs, which when combined with the harder compound makes for a faster rolling tyre.

The ride

After watching the presentation of the new wheels, I was itching to get out riding and see what they performed like out on the trail. The tracks out in La Clusaz are far from the safe tracks around my base in the Forest Of Dean, to put it lightly. I started by taking the loose corners pretty easily, but as the day progressed I found myself letting off the brakes more and more.

La Clusaz is a fantastic location for summer bike riding by the way.

The front tyre was giving me huge amounts of confidence. Even when I found myself going too hot into a section, I could get away with some heavy breaking on somewhat sketchy surfaces. However, I found my back end getting out of shape all too often, and the roots my front tyre was gliding over, the rear ended up sliding off to the side. I know that the tyre’s purpose is for racing, but in the mud and rocks of, say, the opening Enduro World Series, not to mention pretty much any UK Gravity Enduro round, I can’t help but think that something more substantial in the grip department may have been a better choice. At the end of the day there’s nothing stopping you using a Charge on both ends of the bike.

In the drier conditions later in our ride the rear tyre felt incredible, it didn’t have any troubles hitting dusty corners and the speed it allowed me to carry was phenomenal (well, it was pretty exciting at the time).

Stay tuned as we’ll have a full test of the wheel and tyre set up at a later date. First impressions are good and nobody can doubt Mavic’s ability to produce a top wheel, but as far as the tyres go only time will tell.

From Peak Leaders:

This video shows the 3-week hiring/training clinic that Peak Leaders run at Whistler Bike Park at the start of the mountain biking season in May. This course not only trains riders to be IDP level 1 & 2 guides but also acts as a job interview for those trainees that have the correct VISAs or residency and want to work as guides at Whistler Bike Park over the summer. This course includes; amazing training from Mike Johnstone and his team at Whistler Bike Park, top-notch food and accommodation, and loads of activities organised by our resort staff in the evenings and weekends.

Click over to Peak Leaders to find out more about coaching courses in Whistler.

Filmed by Dusan Mihalecko
Edited by Petr Basel

Catch up with the Specialized team here:

From Specialized:

What a difference a week can make! The Specialized Racing downhill squad rolled out of last week’s season opener at Fort William with some valuable knowledge and a lot of hard work to do. Putting both Troy Brosnan and Aaron Gwin back in the top ten at Val di Sole, with Troy on the podium, is proof of tremendous progress.

It’s a few weeks until round three, but it won’t be a vacation. Riders and crew will continue dialing in bike setup, equipment choices, and further honing skills. The battle for World Cup overall has only begun.

Check out Aaron, Mitch, and Troy’s Demo 8 bike at http://www.specialized.com/demo
Learn more about Specialized Racing at http://www.iamspecialized.com

Video shot and edited by Victor Lucas and John Lawlor on location at Val di Sole, Italy. Produced by Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc.

The CrossMark gets the 29er treatment.

It’s one of the fastest 29er tyres I’ve ridden. A tightly packed central row of blocks giving very low rolling resistance that makes it rapid in the right conditions. And the perfect conditions for this tyre are very dry, dusty and hard-packed trails littered with roots and rocks. It loves trail centres with their groomed stone surfaces. It comes unstuck in the mud and gloop, those small spaces between the blocks tend to feel up very quickly, which limits it’s all-round versatility for the ‘British summer’ somewhat.

Square central blocks, ramped side blocks and a row of siped quare and circular shoulder knobs.

Keep it for the right conditions though, and you’ll be rewarded with a tyre that gives excellent speed and decent traction. There’s plenty of grip when you lean over onto the shoulder knobs and it gives a very predictable ride. Despite its slender size the tyre can handle the punishment and likes to be pushed hard, it gives back a good level of grip and feel through the more technical trail sections. The tyre is only too happy to slide, with a smooth breaking-point at the limit of traction, which will appeal to some people. It depends on your riding style. If you like a tyre glued to the trail, this perhaps isn’t the best choice.

Maxxis sell a UST version of the tyre, the LUST, but I tested the regular Kevlar beaded version and managed to set it up tubeless just fine. It popped up first time, using a track pump, onto a Stan’s Crest rim with sealant. The tyres have held pressure with no leakage during the test period, and there’s enough material in the side walls to allow them to be run at lower pressures to get a good footprint on the trail for plenty of shock absorption.

The tyre weighed 680g on my scales, some way heavier than the 605g claimed by Maxxis.

The 60 tpi tyre strikes a good balance between traction and durability, and they show a good wear rate at the moment. For cross country riders wanting a fast setup for the (hopefully dry) summer trails, the CrossMark is a very good choice. It does have a narrower window of usability compared to other tyres on account of the central tread section, but on the right trails it’s really quick.

For trail riders mostly hitting up Welsh trail centres and other manicured trails, the CrossMark makes an excellent rear tyre, combined with a tyre with more bite up front.

Verdict

It won’t suit everyone, but if you want a fast-rolling tyre that excels on dry, hard-packed and groomed trail centre trails, the CrossMark is hard to beat.

Pros 

Fast-rolling
Good grip
Non-tubeless worked tubeless

Cons

Limited window of suitable trail conditions
Struggles on wet/damp slippery trails

More information: Maxxis CrossMark 29 tyre
Price: £32.99

What Maxxis says:

The CrossMark is the dramatic evolution of the cross country racing tire. The nearly continuous center ridge flies on hardpack, yet has enough spacing to grab wet roots and rocks. The slightly raised ridge of side knobs offers cornering precision never before seen on a tire this fast.

Want to get some expert tips, spend a couple of days in fabulous surroundings and ride some shiny new bikes? The cost is £160 which includes accommodation, food, plenty of tea and cake and free use of the centre’s facilities (including climbing wall and gym). We think it’s a bargain.

Scott will be along with some shiny new bikes for you to trial. Sounds like a great weekend of improving your mountain biking to us.

Here’s the word from Plas y Brenin about The Big Ride:

A weekend packed with information and experience to help develop your biking.

Riders form all over the UK will enjoy a variety of workshops in the morning before heading out into the mountains to enjoy classic guided rides each afternoon.

In the evening you will have opportunity to enjoy presentations from some fascinating guest speakers and a chance to check out some of the latest gear and technology.

Our partners Scott Sports will be bringing along a fleet of the latest mountain and road bikes which will be available for you to try on the guided rides or on our skills course over the weekend.

2 nights accommodation, all your meals, workshops, guest speakers and guided rides for only £160.

Click here to find out more.

Enjoy Imaginate:

You can watch the previous episodes from the build-up to Imaginate here:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

Pre-race

The weekend prior to Val di Sole saw almost unbelievable events pan out for fans watching racing in Fort William, Scotland, with siblings Gee and Rachel Atherton taking wins in their respective categories. There was much speculation amongst the entire mountain bike community following the race as to why American dream kid Aaron Gwin, who completely dominated the prior two World Cup seasons with eight out of a possible 14 wins, failed to do his new sponsor Specialized proud, finishing in 17^th place on the day.

Val di Sole would stand as Gwin’s chance to prove his abilities and that his winter training had paid off, but with frame size swaps at the last minute perhaps the team’s preparation wasn’t quite what it could have been. One thing has to be said and that is that a change of bike, team, mechanic and kit is not something that is going to be a quick transition.

The course

Val di Sole’s downhill course is possibly the most liked amongst racers on the World Cup circuit: Year on year it promises a true test of mountain bike skill with a never-ending succession of rocks, roots and turns. Many also cite it as the toughest track on the calendar as its steep gradient and unforgiving (on riders’ arms) holes make it both intimidating and highly physical. The fact that it is in Italy and there are always thousands of screaming fans lining the course does also help its popularity…

The track at Val di Sole has become the Achilles heel of more than one top male racer, most notably for Sam Hill, whose fondness of its ferocity has not even proved enough to let him take a much-deserved win here. Hill’s 2008 World Championship run will forever be recounted as one of the most inspired rides of all time, marred by a crash on the penultimate corner and unfortunately for the Australian a performance that he has not yet been able to repeat. 2013 would prove no exception. Danny Hart’s style also suits this one down to the ground as does Brook Macdonald’s – hammer hard, put it all on the line and get wild on your bike, that’s all it takes, right?

Steve Smith of Canada knows how to tackle a technical course. His skills would carry him to another top result at Val di Sole.

For some the brutal and relentless run would bite hard in 2013, with the likes of junior racer and GT Factory Racing’s young hopeful Taylor Vernon taking huge slams. Fortunately there was no injury akin to Cedric Gracia’s life threatening hip demolition of 2012.

Qualifying

Qualifying came early in the week at Val di Sole 2013 as the event was also host to the cross country and cross country eliminator events, so riders were seeded on Friday (as opposed to the Saturday qualis of a DH-only World Cup).

In the women’s category it was business as usual for Rachel Atherton, who showed her cards once again and perhaps wished for tighter competition (as she Tweeted after her massive 10 second win at Fort William). Six seconds clear of Emmeline Ragot and another 50 points to add to her bid for the overall title. Manon Carpenter was a further four seconds back from Ragot in third and by this point the trio already looking set for an on-going battle.

Women’s qualifying results

1 Rachel Atherton (GBR)
2 Emmeline Ragot (FRA)
3 Manon Carpenter (GBR)
4 Morgane Charre (FRA)
5 Floriane Pugin (FRA)

Men’s junior qualifying times were looking exciting with Britain’s Phil Atwill showing his immense talent and keen eye for a line, taking the win and leading the Madison/Saracen rider into an exciting position for finals. Fort William’s winner Noel Niederberger had to settle for second place in qualis but with this being such a keen bunch you never know what is going to happen come race day.

In the elite men’s category Gee Atherton carried his momentum from Fort William, taking the early lead and edging out a back-to-form Aaron Gwin by 1.3 seconds. Having said that, Val di Sole is the track where Gwin tore the competition apart in 2012, winning the race by over seven seconds… Steve Smith and Brook Macdonald continued to show form and promise, finishing third and fourth respectively and ‘Thunder from Down Under’ Sam Hill rounded out the top five. That’s five different nations producing riders capable of riding to within four seconds of each other over the course of one very distinct downhill track. Interesting stuff.

Elite men’s qualifying results

1 Gee Atherton (GBR)
2 Aaron Gwin (USA)
3 Steve Smith (CAN)
4 Brook Macdonald (NZL)
5 Sam Hill (AUS)

Finals

Contrary to the weather forecasts in the week before Val di Sole, race day turned out to be an absolute corker with glorious sunshine beating down on the steep Italian hillside and its crowd of rowdy onlookers all day. The course built in roughness and also dust as the day went on and those who qualified well were to see the track in a degraded form. Val di Sole isn’t about things being easy though.

Here’s the FULL REPLAY of the event:

Juniors 

Juniors were first on track and this was when the UK’s Taylor Vernon had his aforementioned, nasty crash. He was reportedly ok following the incident you’ll be happy to hear, and look out for him on a podium near you soon. Here it was time for an Aussie to step into proceedings, with Dean Lucas leaping from a ninth-place qualifier right up to the top step of the podium.

Australian Dean Lucas took the junior win in Val di Sole after a ninth in qualifying.

Lucas is part of a travelling crew of Australian juniors and team coach for the trip Nathan Rennie (remember him…?) will surely have been one happy mentor. Britain’s Phil Atwill finished an agonising .160 back from Lucas, but he’ll at least be happy with a well-earned podium. The same goes for third rider on the day USA’s Luca Shaw who was .02 behind Atwill. It’s tight at the top.

Junior results

1 Dean Lucas (AUS)
2 Phil Atwill (GBR)
3 Luca Shaw (USA)
4 Loris Vergier (FRA)
5 Gianluca Vernassa (ITA)

Click here for the full junior results from Val di Sole 2013

Elite women

The women’s category was once dominated by a lady named Chausson, now we have her modern-day equivalent by way of Rachel Atherton. With an upbringing alongside two of the fastest and hardest working riders in the sport of mountain biking it is hardly surprising that Atherton has become one of the best the sport has ever seen. She was again untouchable here, with a massive five second winning margin from French pinner Emmeline Ragot.

Rachel Atherton was once again untouchable at Val di Sole – she’s on form alright and looks set for a clean season.

Floriane Pugin, who has proved her talent and cool character in recent seasons, came back to form after a slightly disappointing start to the year, rounding off the top three, albeit almost seven seconds further back from Ragot…

Women’s results 

1 Rachel Atherton (GBR)
2 Emmeline Ragot (FRA)
3 Floriane Pugin (FRA)
4 Morgane Charre (FRA)
5 Myriam Nicole (FRA)

Click here for the full women’s results from Val di Sole 2013

Elite men 

The moment that everyone had been waiting for. The showdown of all showdowns. Gwin vs. the world? Maybe not quite, certainly not in the quiet American’s mind, but it is true that there was great speculation about how the Specialized rider’s day was to work out. Gwin looked somewhat hesitant on track, making several small mistakes that simply can’t be afforded at the top level of downhill racing these days and most definitely won’t pass as being ‘ok’ by the man himself. He looked peeved on the finish line but the rest of the field won’t be rushing to write him off, that’s for sure.

Santa Cruz Syndicate rider Greg Minnaar looked like he was having a lot of fun come finals time and it showed in his top three result.

Who’d have thought that two weeks in a row a brother and sister could both triumph at the very highest level of their sport? That’s what happened at Val di Sole and following his sister’s lead, Gee Atherton put down what can only be described as a blistering run on a track that is unkind to faults – something Gee didn’t seem too worried about. Macdonald, Hill and Danny Hart were all unfortunate victims however, crashing out and finishing down the table. They all live to see another race though.

Ruthless, relentless, punishing. Three words to describe the Val di Sole track but also Gee Atherton’s perfect run. He dished it out to competitors and every rider’s biggest rival here – the hill – and won by over a second.

Steve Smith did his sponsors and fellow Canadians Devinci Global Racing proud with a run of consistency spanning from 2012’s World Cup finale, finishing second on the day in Val di Sole. Greg Minnaar, a rider with one of the most prolific careers of all, picked up the pace from round one and slipped into third here, jumping, skipping and dancing his way down the course in his typical smooth and stylish manner. Young guns Bruni and Brosnan both earned well-deserved podiums here, rounding off the top five in that order and showing a glint of their futures.

Men’s results

1 Gee Atherton (GBR)
2 Steve Smith (CAN)
3 Greg Minnaar (RSA)
4 Loic Bruni (FRA)
5 Troy Brosnan (AUS)

Click here for the full men’s results from Val di Sole 2013

Is this how the season is set to pan out?

Top three points rankings after round 2

Men

1 Gee Atherton 490
2 Steve Smith 352
3 Brook Macdonald 262

Women

1 Rachel Atherton 500
2 Emmeline Ragot 380
3 Manon Carpenter 300

Junior

1 Dean Lucas 90
2 Noel Niederberger 60
3 Phil Atwill 60