So I am rcaing in my first cross race this weekend on Sunday morning.

I am borrowing a cross bike, and won't get the bike setup until Saturday afternoon. Therefore, I won't have a whole lot of time to train and get used to riding it before the race Sunday.

So what should I practice with 1 hour to train? I was just planning on practicing my dismounts in an empty park and also a few high speed corners. Other than that, I'm just trying to survive!

I'm racing two races Sunday, a short 30min warmup race, and then the 45min B's race.

Any hints, tips, or secrets to practice for the race so I don't biff it while trying to bunnyhop the first barrier at 25mph?

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"It doesn't get any easier--You just get faster."
-Greg Lemond-

well, first off unless you're the state bunny hop champ, don't try to BH an 18 inch barrier.

That being said, this is my first season of CX, and I didn't really practice at all before lining up. However, my first dismounts would have been much cleaner if I had practiced. HAve you raced road, MTB, BMX before? If so, you should be good to go. Getting through a CX race is easy, getting the technique to be really fast takes experience, and the best experience comes from racing. Good luck and have fun!

Just relax & enjoy it, if your a roadie the main thing to remember is to have FUN.I rode my first cx race in 2 years 2 weeks ago, didnt do any training ,finished near to last but had a great time.Faster than the MTB'ers on the hard pack stuff but couldn't dismount/run for sh1t....

I've raced quite a bit of MTB and Road crits and RR's before, so I'm no newbie to the cycling scene.

I just spent 1.5 hours outside on my road bike messing around, practicing dismounts and run ups with no clips, just normal shoes. It was a blast, I can't wait to try it at Cross State Chaps on Sunday!

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"It doesn't get any easier--You just get faster."
-Greg Lemond-

Thanks for the tips, I had a blast! I had some major problems with the chain, however--it dropped off the front ring at least 5 times during the race. I thought I had the race in the bag until I dropped the chain--and then again--and then again--and then......

You get the idea. I still got some cash, even with the mechanicals. I'm definatly going to build up my own cross bike for next year so I can race some of this stuff....its a great mix of mtb and road riding. I love it!

_________________
"It doesn't get any easier--You just get faster."
-Greg Lemond-

Oh yeah.....

Any tips on a good set of CHEAPER aluminum tubular cross wheels to get? If there is not a good prebuilt set, what is the best tubular rim to build up to a set of cheap hubs for cross?

I used an old Tufo tubular on the front, it was great...now I'm hooked on tubies. 30psi is smoothhhhhhhh.

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"It doesn't get any easier--You just get faster."
-Greg Lemond-

get a good set of hubs and then find some older new rims on ebay, there are tons of them.