Cyclocross, essentially an obstacle-course race on two wheels, is booming. American participation in the sport, in which competitors careen down grassy slopes, carry their bikes over railroad ties and sand pits, and endure heckling from well-lubricated spectators, has grown by 250 percent since 2005. That鈥檚 an additional 12,000 racers annually. None are better than Jeremy Powers, the two-time national champion. After ten years as a competitive road cyclist, he turned his attention exclusively to dirt tracks. Next month he begins his assault on the World Cup overall cyclocross title, a that kicks off in Valkenburg, in the Netherlands.听
THE POWER OF SHUTEYE: Just about every afternoon, I take at least a 30-minute nap. When you sleep, you produce healthy hormones that aid in recovery.
PREPARE FOR ANYTHING: Cyclocross is punchy and makes your heart rate go up and down. To train for that, I鈥檒l go out and run with the bike on my shoulders, or I鈥檒l run with weights on my feet to simulate muddy shoes. Sometimes I鈥檒l do intervals where I hop off the bike and run with it for 30 seconds, then bike hard for five minutes, then repeat to exhaustion.
STRONG AND STEADY: In the past, core work wasn鈥檛 a big part of my training. Now I鈥檒l do planks, crunches, pull-ups, push-ups, and medicine-ball tosses. The upper-body strength makes a huge difference.
PERFECT BLEND: After I get off the bike, I drink a whey-protein shake. I鈥檒l mix frozen strawberries, blueberries, or mangoes with a cup of almond milk, two scoops of whey protein isolate, and a scoop of flaxseeds. The fruit helps replenish carbs, the protein helps muscles rejuvenate, and flaxseeds provide healthy fat.
CHILL OUT: After training or racing, I hop into an ice bath for five minutes, hop out for five minutes, then hop back in for five minutes. It helps me recover by shutting down the catabolic state, where muscles are still being damaged and breaking down.
POWER BEATS:听At races, I try to focus on something else to calm my nerves. I鈥檓 a DJ鈥擨 played at the Foam Party at the World Championships in 2013鈥攁nd I sometimes travel with turntables and scratch records to keep my mind off the race.
GOOD EATS:听If you fuel with shit, you feel like shit. I try to buy organic foods whenever possible.听
THE RUBDOWN:听I get a 90 minute massage each week. It breaks up any little bits of scar tissue and moves out any lactic acid that may be in my legs.
NOT POPPIN’:听I鈥檓 a bit of a chicken when it comes to drugs. I won鈥檛 even touch Ibuprofen even if I have an injury. Instead I鈥檒l do a lot of stretching and take an extra day off the bike to recover rather than take something.
BREAK FROM BIKES:听My wife isn鈥檛 a cyclist and it鈥檚 the greatest thing. All cyclists ever talk about is cycling and I love talking about other things鈥攖hings that are on NPR, electric cars, nerdy stuff. Not how many carbohydrates I ate in the last hour.
CHIN UP: I have little notes hanging around the house with positive things scribbled on them鈥攕tuff I鈥檝e accomplished in the past. If I have a bad race, I learn from my mistakes, then forget about it and focus on the bigger picture: I鈥檓 alive, and I don鈥檛 have a broken collarbone. Time to look forward.