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Launch: British Cycling's National School Of Racing

Posted June 1 2010
Words And Photography: Luke Webber

Young mountain bike racers had a chance to hone their raceday skills as British Cycling's Talent Team coaches delivered the first National School of Racing for the off-road set. Held at Sherwood Pines, over fifty future champions came to learn ways of improving their riding technique and racing strategy, under the watchful eye of Simon Watts.

Already established for road, the National School of Racing is a programme rolled out by British Cycling across the UK to educate young racers beyond the simple ‘the more you ride, the faster you get' ethos, introducing the idea that concerted practice will lead to measurable results.

Hosted by Talent Team coaches, but expressly not a selection camp for the Talent Team, the aim was to show a different way of approaching mountain bike racing; a more calculated way of getting to the start line and racing without guesswork.

To demonstrate this, riders were first sent around a field set up with logs, all of which had to be tackled. The obvious skill to use here was a bunnyhop; the most efficient skill the American-style where the front wheel is lifted high into a manual, before the rear wheel is rotated into the air.

Immediately though it was obvious that few riders had this skill perfected, with more making some elementary errors and with three loops completed, everyone was called back to the centre for a demonstration of the correct technique and the first wake-up call of many; every one demonstrating the dependence of good bike riding skill, over superior fitness and strength.

This was to become a pattern for the day, especially demonstrated on the second exercise where riders were challenged to ride up a short, steep climb - known locally as ‘Kissy's Step'. A short ascent punctuated by a doubletrack crossing and then a steep pitch, crossed by some tree roots was only made tougher by recent, dry conditions leaving the soil loose and sandy.

Here, raw power was not enough; line choice, body position and gearing all had to be considered before a clean run was achieved and for some, the climb was left for another day. For some this was perhaps a surprise, but good motivation nonetheless to go away and practice such essential skills.

And as essential skills go, a race start has to be up there as the highest importance. Riders spent a long time with coaches asking questions and justifying their start technique - it's safe to say that a start line will never feel the same again following this session with everything (including the crossover from starting styles in other cycling disciplines) being discussed.

Such importance was placed on the start, and backed up by statistics from today's best British cross country racers, who according to the coaches are fastest in the latter stages of racing, but struggle in hectic starts and group situations, losing vital track position.

Again, crossover demonstrations from the road were used to hone the skills of group riding, getting riders accustomed to riding in close quarters, and using controlled but aggressive overtaking techniques which are commonplace in the early stages of any mountain bike race.

In the afternoon there was a chance to put all the skills learned into practice, with some simulated races around the Pines and as the day concluded with a demonstration from British Academy rider Dave Fletcher, the future pool of British XC racing talent left Nottingham thinking about their raceday technique and ways to turn lessons learned into time advantages on the track.

With plans already being made for further mountain bike Schools of Racing (which will be advertised on the British Cycling website over the coming months), each day is anticipated to be an unmissable opportunity for young racers to improve their skills. If you want more information, please contact simonwatts@britishcycling.org.uk