About XCM discipline
Posted by elisei on July 30, 2011 at 19:16 pm
Cross Country Maraton (XCM) – is held mostly on forest roads and paths, technical sections are less common than at Olympic Cross Country (XCO). The track according to UCI international rules has at least 60 km (minimum 80 km for continental/word championships) and up to 120 km. There are also extremes, an example being the Salzkammergut Trophy in Austria: 205 km with more than 7000 m total climb.
Marathon are now common in Romania, gathering over 400 participants, while the famous marathons in Europe have over 4000 riders. Besides the marathons held during a single day, more and more marathons occur in stages, between 3 and 8 days, the most famous being the Trans Rockies, TransAlp, Epic Race (South Africa).
Unlike XCO, this discipline is not an Olympic and World Cup stage, but there are organized different UCI classe competitions , such as organized by: Class 3. Marathon is now considered OPEN discipline (Cycling for All), where are aligned side by side professionals with amateur cyclists.
Bike
Both at XCO and XCM are used the same kind of bikes. We recomend you this types of bikes for marathons:
For those who want more comfort than efficiency on climbing parts or sprints, we recommend Full-Suspension. Be careful here not to confuse with Downhill and Freeride bikes. Here are some models from Focus: Super Bud / Expert / Pro / Team, Thunder / Expert or Cannondale: Rush 6, Rush Carbon 4, Rush 5 Lefty.
The best Fully bikes are close at climbing performace with bikes with rigid frame and even beyond where the climbing is difficult, due to lock function, or ProPedal adjustment.
For those who ride faster, we recomand using bikes with rigid frame. For begginers a bike with aluminum frame, with Shimano Deore and front fork with suspension. Bikes as Focus Whistler or Focus Black Hills (with hidraulic disk brakes) are ideal for a rider with a modest budget, passionate about tracks and marathons.
Once the cyclist will increase performance but also the technical knowledge and claims acquired by experience, our recommendations will go to better bikes, lighter and obviously more expensive: Focus Black Forest Extreme, Focus Raven Expert or Cannondale F2
Equipment
The tipe of equipment used at marathons is similar to the equipment used for road cycling: synthetic pants and shirt, glove with short or long fingers, helmet and cycling shoes with SPD grip. For low temperatures, especially for Maros BIKE MARATHON which will be held in a cold period, we recommend the use of extension sleeves and legs and a wind jacket.
Do not use helmets used for bmx (dirt) or full-face helmets and no any other protection like elbow pads, knee pads, armor, and so on. .. as they are difficult to wear on climbing sections.
Accessories
As for any ride and marathon, the cyclist has to have the minimum possible tool to repair technical problems that arise in such situations: pump, spare tube, patches, tools kit, spoke key and key chain, they easily fit into a bag under the seat post.
Nutrition
As the engine needs fuel and oil, so the riders must be well fed and hydrated for any type of competition, the more for an endurance race. We are not going to present here a nutritional program but we will say the cyclists basic rule: “eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirsty.” On the track there will be feed zones with energy bars, fruits, water and isotonic drinks, so do not hesitate to eat even before you feel the need. Note, however, that these feed zones are not designed to supply your breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is important to eat properly the evening before the marathon and in the morning with at least two hours before start: eat food to provide energy needed for the marathon. Feed zones on the track are only as points of revitalization. Professional cyclists stop just to get water and maybe a banana or a bar and go on with them since they have energy gels and bars with them.
Good luck in training!
