Experienced triathlete and qualified exercise physiologist, Trevor Woods, shares nutritional and lifestyle tips from his training regime for the Cyclocross Championship.
Trevor holds multiple national titles along with World and European age-group medals in triathlon. He was the Irish Ironman triathlon record holder during 2007 (set in Austria) and is currently the Masters M50 Cyclocross National Champion.
Cyclo-cross (also known as CX) is one of the most fast paced and accessible disciplines in all of cycling. The discipline combines many of the skills used in standard road and mountain biking with an added emphasis being placed on bike handling skills as the riders navigate the sometimes bumpy and muddy terrain and physical fitness.
Having won the 2019/20 national cyclocross masters (M50) title in January 2020, one of my key targets for last season was to retain my title. This was important to me to prove that it wasn’t by chance or luck that I won the title in January 2020. There was no title race in January 2021 due to ongoing Covid restrictions, so this was taking place after a 2-year hiatus.
My preparation for the CX season typically kicks off in earnest after the triathlon season finishes around September. Having a very good level of bike and run fitness from the triathlon training my main objective was simply to work on the specific skills required for CX, including the fast-paced starts, mounting and dismounting, cornering, shouldering the bike, climbing steep banks, and so on.
[Image Credit: Michael Buckley]
League races typically start by October so these are ideal opportunities to fine-tune these skills and work on overall CX race fitness. The races are typically 45-60 minutes in duration so require the ability to sustain a relatively high-power output. Remaining mentally focused for the race is also critical as much time can be saved by maintaining good lines through muddy sections or around corners.
To support the energy and nutritional needs during these training sessions and races I focus on a few key areas. Firstly, attention is given to taking in enough calories but not too much. It’s critical to try and stay lean for the race season, a few extra kilos will certainly be a disadvantage to performance when it comes to riding through thick mud or the repeated climbing of steep banks. Being too lean however has the potential drawback of negatively impacting immunity, and with the extra winter-time bugs in circulation this becomes a delicate balance to strike. I would aim to do regular skinfold assessments to closely monitor this and make sure I’m staying above a certain level that I know is healthy for me.
Secondly, in terms of staying healthy, it’s important to maintain sound nutritional habits on a consistent basis. In particular eating quality foods, including a wide a variety of mainly in-season vegetables, fruit and lean proteins, and choosing healthy wholegrain carbohydrates along with nutritious, healthy fats. My choice for quality healthy fats is Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend, which combines only the very best natural ingredients. Certified organic and plant-based, Ultimate Oil Blend is a seed oil formulated to contains the ideal 2:1 ratio of Omega 3 and 6*. It’s also the richest vegan source of omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids available in Ireland. These essential fatty acids play a key role heart, brain and vision health, and is one key contributor to helping me feel at my best by supporting a consistent training and racing schedule.