Sunday, July 27, 2008












Greg said...

That indeed does look like the perfect 'cross bottle. But the reality is UCI races do not allow the ingestion of liquids of any kind for the duration of the race. There have been exceptions mind you...early season when the heat is out of hand, but the rules forbid this. I've never had a cramping episode but mainly due to my pre-cross hydration routine: one to two bottles on the way to the race (if you have a drive mind you, else do this when you wake up if you have an early race), then a bottle sports drink while warming up. You want to have a clear pee about 15 minutes before the race if you can time that. Then you are set. Any more than the above mentioned., and you run the risk of depleting your body of the materials it needs...e.g. 'over' hydration. An hour's effort truly does not need the hydration a longer endurance ride needs (again, factoring in temperatures that are not boiling). Further, 'real' racers (e.g. non pro/A cats) should dial in their plan with a wife/significant other/team mate for bottle hand ups which ALL races here in the states allow for. It shoudl be part of your race routine to plan for this as well and attempt to NEVER have to carry that bottle with you.

'Cross on.

ds said...


I'm confused, largely because the races around here in Cleveland are not UCI races. Do the UCI races in the U.S. allow "ingestion of liquids" or not?

What is the purpose of that rule, anyway?


thump said...

I hydrate with beer before, during, and after cross races. Unless, of course, it's cold out. Then I put a little Booker's in my coffee to fend off the cold.

ds said...

Ok, check out these photos:

They are from the Arnold Cycling Challenge held in Columbus, OH on 3-2-08. Most of the photos are from the pro 1/2/3 race. I was at this race, and it was cold. In the 30's actually, yet every single rider that I see in these photos had a water bottle for a 60 minute crit.

I'm sorry, but I still think that the UCI rule to which Greg refers, and the rules of cx fashion to which I referred, are both dumb and silly.

But, as Greg stated, in the end, just remember to 'cross on.