Using Your Road Bike to Train for a Mountain Bike Race

At Active Trainer, we get great questions from athletes about training and racing. Because the information might assist you as well, here are some of the questions and answers that might help in your next race.

Question: Hi Gale, I'm training for my first 100-mile mountain bike race. I know you train athletes for the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race and probably other 100-milers. Riders on a message board I'm reading are suggesting that I ride my mountain bike 100 percent of the time for the 12 weeks leading up to my race. I have a road bike and tend to do 50 to 75 percent of my training on the roads, due to where I live. The trails just aren't close to my house, so I train on the road during the week, then one or two mountain bike rides on the weekends. Usually the long rides are mountain, but not always.

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Some riders on the board are suggesting that I ride my mountain bike on the roads. They say to ride the mountain bike 100-percent of the time. What is the value to riding a mountain bike on the road rather than just riding my road bike? Honestly I hate riding my mountain bike on the road, but if doing so will help me on race day, I'll do it.

Sorry to ramble, but can you give me your opinion? Thanks, R.A.

Answer: Hi R.A., I'm going to make some assumptions about the set up of your road bike and mountain bike. I'm assuming they are set up very similarly for fit. Yes, there might be some differences in the angle of the seat tube between the bikes, but the cockpit area where you sit is similar. (i.e. the settings for seat height, handlebar-reach and drop between the handlebars and saddle, etc.)

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With that assumption, I believe that you are fine doing some, or a good chunk of your training on the road bike. I've designed training plans for several riders for both the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race and other 100-mile races. Several athletes are in situations similar to yours in that trails are not easily accessible from home. These riders have all been very successful on race day.

That written, there are a few key areas I make sure to address in designing the training in the 12 to 16 weeks prior to race day:

• Do at least 50-percent of your long rides on the mountain bike.
• Ride trails similar in profile to the racecourse. If the course has long climbs and you only have access to short climbs, it may mean doing hill repeats with limited recovery.
• If your best training hills are on the road, do your hill training on the road bike.
• Ride the mountain bike with a set-up similar to what you plan for race day. For example, if you plan to ride the race with a loaded pack on your back, practice this in training. Some riders make the mistake of riding with only bottles in training, refilling frequently at park trailheads. Then on race day when they ride with a hydration pack full of fluids, food and clothes they can experience back and shoulder pain that was not present during training. Sadly, it can mean the debilitating end to a race.
• On the mountain bike training days, include some rides with the intensity you plan to ride at on race day.
• The road bike is great for recovery rides and rides that require more structure (like threshold intervals) as well as some of the early long endurance training days. Use this to your advantage.

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The short answer is no, I don't believe you need to be riding your mountain bike 100 percent of the time in order to be successful on race day. Many riders are quite successful using a mix of training on the road bike and mountain biking on trails.

Enjoy the rides.

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