Cyclocross the passion that grows in winter

The adrenaline rush of racing, the fun of finding friends and celebrating after the competition, can you do it even in winter? It seems so given the success that cyclocross races have been having in recent years.
Cyclocross is a perfect discipline to indulge the competitive spirits of cyclists in the cold season. This discipline then has the advantage of being contested in circumscribed areas such as different circuits, in a limited period of time (maximum one hour), at always maximal intensities and high speeds. And since these are competitive version of appointments, it is necessary to have a sports medical certificate of competitive fitness. And there are indeed many events, as you can see from the calendar of appointments for the coming months

New circuits and new regional or interregional challenges keep coming up, and every weekend during the winter period there are three thousand bikers practicing this discipline.

What is needed to practice it?

Obviously, the best solution is a cyclocross bike whose frame is structured to accommodate covers with a 32 to 33 mm section. But a racing bike equipped with clawed covers will also suffice. The gravel “race” is very similar to that suitable for cyclocross, you will perhaps need to replace the handlebars and put specific tires.
One can also opt for the use of a mtb as long as the bike has a handlebar width of no more than 600 millimeters, to reduce the risk of contact with other participants, but it should also have a rigid fork, and less “fat” tires.

The accessories needed in cyclocross draw largely from the technical repertoire of the road bike, but the shoes are exactly those of mtb, necessarily equipped with the two front crampons. For gloves opt for long-fingered ones, for more protection on the fingers; while jersey, shorts and any thermal accessories to fight the cold
are those of the road rider.

Why everyone loves?

Cyclocross trains athletic ability and intensity: absolute strength, aerobic power, and also offers endurance cues. It trains coordination, speed, quickness: coordination is what is needed to get down and back up nimbly in the saddle to overcome obstacles or even to get through a section where it is necessary to walk down and proceed “bike on shoulder.”
In cyclocross, a good basic training is the essential element to fully enjoy the peculiar prerogative of this specialty: fun, whether it is that of competing shoulder to shoulder with your opponent, or of testing your technical knowledge and riding skills.