I know it is pedaling a bike like on the road or on a Mtn bike and the guy or girl who goes the fastest wins , but what makes CX so different from the other cycling disciplines is the preparation before the gun goes off.
I will here write up a basic routine that I have used and followed for years and of course fine tuned and perfected over time . Many of you have already listened to me preaching this to you and adapted it to your own CX regiment.
When you pack up your car going to the race ; bring EVERYTHING you own cycling and cyclocross related !
If it is a double race weekend and you have to stay overnight or even just a one day race BRING;
-2 bikes (if you have 2) sometimes I would prefer 3 -;)
-Extra wheels with different type of tires ; mud , dry grass ( most important) and file thread ( not that important , but certain races a benefit ) if you have extra sets of wheels besides the ones on the bike(s) ; bring them! Tubes if you race on clinchers.
-Tools + extra break pads, pedals , a floor pump, tire gauge ( yes if you do not know how to go by feel , the pump gauge is not accurate ) chain lube and a bucket with brushes and simple green to clean your bike other than just hosing it off.
- Toe spikes and if you have 2 pairs of shoes, some screws and even cleats
- A bag of all different type of gloves , booties and hats
- Skinsuits ( L/S , S/S ) a clean one for each day , so you do not have to do laundry !
- Warm up kits ; shorts, jerseys , jackets ,arm, knee and leg warmers, rain jacket, rain pants, a lots of socks , base layers etc.
- Embrocation ( warm up oils like SportsBalm ) a little first aid kit and baby wipes and towles.
- Food , regular and sports food what you will need for 2 days , bottles and drink mix , gels and recovery stuff. Anything you are used to eating and what works for you !
If your race starts @ 12.00 for example :
- Get there around 9.15-9.20 !!! Yes 2.5- 2.45 before your start. That way you will have 2 chances to get on the course before your race which is very critical to be able to do well.
- Kit up as soon as get there and get your bike ready , start with a little higher tire pressure you think you will use in the race .
- The 9.00 am race will be over about 9.40 , so that is when you can get on the course for your first time .
- Try to get 2 laps in , ride slow , Check out the start ( lines and what side is better to be on ) check out lines on the course, get a feel of tire pressure , take some air out if it feels like a rough ride . Determine where to push hard and where to recover on the course .
- Go back to the car , pick up your number , eat something , get your other bike ready ,if you need to switch or try out another tire type get all this ready to go . Pin your number if you have time ( this is not important yet)
- The 10.00 am race will be over about 10.40 , so this will be the 2nd and final time you can get on the course . 2 laps again , little faster pace and go over the same things on the course as you did an hour ago , decide on tire and pressure choice for the race !
- Go back to the car , eat something , bathroom, get you skinsuit on with numbers pinned embrocation if needed , warm up jacket , leg warmers , decide on everything you will wear at the race, check your bike(s) , bring your spare bike or wheels to the pit.
- Now you should have about 45 min to warm up and get to the start.
- Warm up ; I prefer to warm up on a road if there is one available and the weather is not too nasty . Other wise on the trainer ( maybe under a tent)
-Tempo efforts 3-10 minin length works well for me . A gradual opening up and not all out which tends to accumulate too much lactate acid before the race and hard to get ride of before the start, but this is individual prefrence and as a coach we can talk and see what works the best for you .
- Get to the start 15 min in advance , take your warm up clothing off and be there for your call up ! if is cold and rainy keep a jacket over your shoulders as long as possible and then toss it to the side when it is time.
- Turn the pedal ( the one you will be clipping into) on your bike when you are on the start line , so when it comes up to about 11 o'clock it is flat and ready for you to step right in when the gun goes off and a minimal chance of missing clipping in .
You have now done all the home work on the day of your race and there will be no doubt in your mind about anything , you did not rush anything and you paid attention to every detail this morning to be 100% ready when the gun goes off.
THIS IS CYCLOCROSS
A month ago it was that time of the year again , Training Camp time. 
The weather back home on the East Coast had been terrible this winter and riding out doors has not been an option for most of us . I always look forward to the AZ Camp , it is pure and very straight forward training and all about building a solid base for the season to come . 
There is a lot of planning and work that goes into this camp way before I jump in the van ( which is a nice new addition to the Finkraft Enterprise-:)) and make the 2500 miles trip out to Tucson. To ensure this is a Pro camp with as much support as possible from various companies that has anything to do with being able to ride for 30 hours in one week is not easy these days. 
All this would not be possible with out a lot of support from a lot of people , specially my wife Kimberly. 
This year Kim's dad Gerald and my daughter Finley got to experience the camp as well and it was just nice to have a family atmosphere during these 3 weeks . 
Finley is here demonstration how to ride the Power Cranks , not easy but a very a good training tool for sure, something to put on your wish list if you do not already have a pair. It was great feeling having these guys around at the camp the whole time this year .
Robert and Alessandro where at my side the whole camp and kept everything running smooth with the rides and any mechanical issues we had . Setting up and tiering down the camp is another job and a half and without these guys it would not be possible. At our camp everybody is kind of a family and besides us working even the clients helps out and it is just an amazing team feeling each week . Thank you all !! 
We were able to get Accelerade, Zym ,Honey Stinger and GU as our sports nutrition companies , but we at FinKraft also have to add a ton more ride food to the list , something that I would like to build on in the future and secure more sports nutrition sponsors . 
Thanks to Andreas relentless work trying to get companies supporting the camp, we were able to have a whole host of sport related products at display and to our use these three weeks . 
We can not live on sports food , so the regular meals are very important to keep the guys going day after day . Barilla pasta is a life saver for this camp , what is a cyclists favorite food ? Pasta , right !! 
To have them as a sponsor for the camp is a privilege for the camp and could not be replaced by anything else . My wife Kim is the chef at the camp and I think her doing the shopping , planning the meals for each day so well really makes this camp a success . 
Wasa , an other Scandinavian product I grew up on for lunch .The meals are something each rider remembers the most when they go home and me leading the rides and making sure the training is great seems secondary -:) . 
Then we have our Primare Oatmeal Company; Country Choice Organic. This a our conclusive breakfast source , what an incredible product , I can not say enough about what kind of fuel this company provides us with . The selection is amazing , steelcut, quicksteel and instant oatmeal an oatmeal for every occasion. I have used this product now for years and I do not start a race or ride without a Country Choice Organic meal in my stomach . 
Besides the breakfast food from Country Choice they are providing us with the Oatmeal on the Run bars which are a staple food on the rides in addition to Fit Kids snack food and the Organic cookies . I can not say enough about how great this company is , if you see these products in a store , they will be worth every Pennie and you will see what I am talking about . 
When it is hot out there ( in the 80's a lot of the days in AZ this year) or when you are riding in general you loose a lot of electrolytes , so we have ZYM in addition to Accelerade and GU . A great addition to the drinks on the bike and when we refill bottles on the road , just drop a tab in the bottle and you are good to go . 
I love these for both racing and training and you can even get the Catapult with 100 mg of caffeine , now that is a boost!! 
When the sun is bright , electrolytes are not the only thing you loose , Kiss My Face was the skin saver and protector every day and their product is all natural , something that might be worth using the rest of the summer as well when it gets nice back home , they have SunBlock and a lot of other products as well for everybody.
Dynamic Foot Systems is a company run by the famous Bill Peterson . Just unbelievable knowledge and experience when it comes to orthotics and bike fitting. Bill has 35 years of experience working with pro cyclist including Lance and other well known cyclists. To be able to meet and have a precision fitting and evaluation done by Bill is an honor and for us at the FinKraft camp to be able to do this while in Tucson each week is such an valuable asset to this Camp . Thank you Bill and stay Strong , our prayers are with you to get healthy again.
This blog was a little contribute to our sponsors at the camp and a big thank you to them helping us put this yearly event on . They support me and some of them also support the Finkraft Cycling Team through out the year . Italy/Giro camp is next and even we are in Italy you will see these names and products making that camp possible . If you were at the camp or you are interested in anything I mentioned here , you can get it from us here at FinKraft of course at a killer price -;)
Slight uphill the whole way to the base of the mountain and then a good hour of pretty serious climbing . The race was on right away , I think everybody was feeling pretty good after a rest day and some motivation from watching the Giro stage the day before.
I could only imagine how hard it would be racing up this thing for real , it was relentless . I had done this climb in 2007 , so I kind of knew it , but I do not think it helped much. Paolo has ridden this thing numerous times as well . We get to the top , there is still snow and we can look down the other side where we had to turn around the other day .
It felt like a great accomplishment that we made it to the top and it was a great closing to the camp , we had now ridden everything we had planned .
There is a small lodge just below the summit ( I stopped there as well in 2007 to warm up after climbing in the freezing rain for 2hours) , so we rolled down and we had a great lunch .
Laughing about the adventures we had gone through during the week and more Coke of course!
The ride back was nice , pretty much all down hill except for the drive to the hotel. Kevin even thought about offering us some motor pacing. A great 4 hour ride to end the camp .
A very successful week , something like 35 hours of ( mostly climbing ) riding on awesome roads with the most spectacular views. The sad thing was; now it was time to put the bike back into the box ! If Mark only could figure out why the bike box seemed smaller than it was when he came here.
There is nothing I would change about this camp and I hope when you read the entire blog about our week in Italy you get the same idea and sign up for next year . This camp is quite demanding and you need good fitness and skills , but it is also the ride of your life time everyday .
Thanks to Paolo who made all these rides possible. He also took care of the travel and lodging logistics in Italy which was perfect . Paolo was no doubt the "Man" of the camp and I really hope we can have him as our guide again next year , he even gained some fitness for himself during this week . I am very fortunate to have a friend like him , thanks again!
Fabio and Matteo at the 
The service was absolutely phenomenal and I would not stay anywhere else in the future when we go back.
Then the food and wine they served just makes me hungry thinking about it . I rode and raced a lot this year , but it is save to say these were the best days on the bike in 2010 and I am really looking forward to do this camp again next year . Plan ahead , there will be maximum 8-10 spots available. The camp will be held last week in May again with an epic ride schedule on tap right around the Giro 
A 16 passenger bus with a driver picked us up at 7.00 am from the hotel and we were on our way to the Giro. A nice day of recovery from riding and a very exciting day for us . Today was stage 19 and a very decisive stage in the race .
We would be able to to Basso and CO. twice on the roads we just rode a couple of days ago . We had a little extra time , so once in the 
The owner happened to be someone that Paolo went to school with , so they gave us a nice tour and some " wine factory outlet " discount on their fine wines .
A nice experience and unbelievable good wine . After our stop we continued to 
This is right on the boarder to Switzerland , so we just got off the bus and walked across the boarder. 
A perfect spot to watch , front row seats for sure .
The race goes by quick even it is on a climb,
but as a cyclist you feel the chills run down your spine when the caravan of police ,advertisements and the riders of course and then all the team cars come by. The guys you read about in Magazines and see on TV is right there, a few feet away.
Back on the bus and a short drive over the mountain ( 
We found a nice little bar and since it was raining a little now and it was lunch time , a perfect spot to have a bit to eat and watch the race on TV until we had to back out and see the real action.
We bought our Giro 
Boy , was this race shattered by now .First the guys in Pink 
Then the 
There was a lot of people here at this spot and we could feel the real Grand Tour 
Marco Pinotti , a friend o Paolo had a good Giro .
