Each summer, a select number of riders racing ages 15-22 get to attend the Montana Cross Camp summer camp in Helena led by head coach Geoff Proctor. The camp provides a chance to learn new skills and make new friends while essentially doing three workouts a day and learning during the evening classroom sessions.
For those of us with real "jobs," the thought of going to cyclocross summer camp like sounds a-a-a-mazing, even if we do not necessarily have the talent to allow us to set our eyes on racing in Europe, as Proctor's Montana Cross Camp prepares young athletes to do.
Fortunately, as we start to look to the coming cyclocross season, there are drills and skills from Proctor's camp we can incorporate into our own training.
Proctor brings a background in skiing to his training regimen, and as I saw when I attended the Women's camp two weeks ago, the workouts and drills the young athletes do are varied and challenging. Running, agility, on the bike, off the bike, yoga, Proctor gives athletes a lot to think about and work on when they head back to their respective homes across the country.
There was never a dull moment at camp with a variety of drills on and off the bike. 2019 Women's MontanaCrossCamp, Friday. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
For today's Training Tuesday, I declare #crossiscoming to be officially here as I share some ideas for mixing up your cyclocross training with some ideas from Montana Cross Camp. All the usual caveats apply—not a coach, not a complete list, etc.
Scroll through using the next button to read about each workout idea.
Agility
The Thursday morning session at the Women’s Montana Cross Camp also included an agility session using the speed ladders in a kind of adult hopscotch.
On the face of it, the agility drills seem a bit weird for cyclocross. Most running we do is in a straight line and not side-to-side as you might find in sports such as soccer and basketball.
Competitors on the course, Lauren Zoerner and Lizzy Gunsalus were in sync during Thursday’s drills. 2019 Women’s MontanaCrossCamp, Thursday. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
However, when run-ups get steep and slick, short, choppy steps are often the best way to get up in the most efficient manner without slipping. Agility drills are a way of training your feet to be quicker so you can put them to work when needed during a cyclocross race.
Quick feet should pay off when cyclocross season rolls around. 2019 Women’s MontanaCrossCamp, Thursday. © Z. Schuster / Cyclocross Magazine
Watch the women campers go through one of the drills:
If you do not have a speed ladder handy, a quick Google search of “agility drills” should provide plenty of examples of ways to get your feet moving quickly.
