Characteristics of the Sport

Overview

Mountain biking has rapidly developed from a recreational activity to a serious sport with cross-country events now being included in the Olympic Games.  Competitive mountain biking involves a number of disciplines including cross-country and downhill and is contested in a number of different formats including circuit, stage, trials, 4 cross and dual slalom.   Serious athletes tend to specialise in one discipline only.  Cross-country mountain biking requires strength, endurance and anaerobic capacity.  Downhill is primarily a strength, power and anaerobic sport.

 

Training

Elite cross-country mountain bikers need a good endurance base as well as a high degree of skill.  Training commonly involves a combination of road and cross-country riding.  The cross-country season includes a relatively small number of events compared to the road season, therefore cross-country mountain bikers often compete in a number of road events throughout the year to supplement their training.  Elite downhill riders typically do the majority of their training on the trails.  Some riders include some aerobic work in their programs in the form of cross-country riding.  Others include a strength component to develop power.  As the sport becomes more competitive, downhill riders are taking a more professional approach to training and including more land-based training in their programs.

Recreational mountain bikers like to ride regularly.  Most riders enjoy a variety of types of cycling including road, cross-country and downhill (provided they can afford all the bikes!)  Many improve their fitness and skills through regular rides but don't tend to view this as 'training'.

 

Competition

The focus at the elite level is the World Cup series and World Championships.  These events are held at a number of locations worldwide.  Riders qualify for events by accumulating points in events such as the Australian Championships, Oceania Championships or NORBA series (national series held in the USA).  Some riders are involved in professional teams.  Others compete individually. In Australia, various mountain biking associations organise a variety of events Australia wide.  Some of these events contribute to national points, others are merely to encourage participation.  Events cater for a range of abilities with novice, sport, expert and veteran classes commonly available.

The format of events varies widely.  Common formats are described below:

 

Cross Country
Circuit	Competitors race on a circuit for a designated time period.  The circuit must be at least 6 km and the race duration typically ranges from 1-2 hours depending on the level of riders.  Twelve and 24-hour events are also popular, with riders competing solo or in teams of 2, 3, 4, 6 or 10.
Point to Point	The course starts in one location and finishes in another.  The course distance is usually between 25-100 km.  The race may be conducted as a mass start or time trial format.
Short Course	This event is similar to Circuit however each lap must be a maximum of 6 km.
Enduro	This event takes place over one or more days and incorporates speed averages and special tests such as bike handling and mechanical skills.

 

Downhill
Downhill	Solo competitors race downhill over a distance of 1.5-3.5 km.  A run typically takes 2-5 minutes to complete.  Very little pedalling is required.  The course is usually a mixture of rapid and technical sections and includes a mixture of single track, forest roads and rocky tracks.
4-Cross	A downhill event where 4 riders compete against each other and must pass through a series of gates.  The course typically takes about 30-40 seconds to cover.
Dual Slalom	Two riders race head to head down two parallel slalom courses.  Conducted as a series of elimination races.  Each run is typically 20-45 seconds.

 

Other
Observed Trials	A highly technical event where competitors must make their way around a series of obstacles.  Points are deducted for mistakes in clearing sections.
Hill Climb	A point to point course containing at least 80% of uphill riding.

 

Physical Characteristics

Elite cross-country riders are generally lean and lightly muscled.  Low body fat levels help keep the power-to-weight ratio high which is important for hill climbing.  Downhill riders tend to be larger and more muscular.  A larger body weight may result in greater speeds due to gravitational effects.  Surprisingly, downhill riders have demonstrated high degrees of aerobic fitness in testing conducted at the AIS.

Common Nutrition Issues

Training Nutrition

The long hours of training undertaken by elite cross-country mountain bikers calls for a high-energy diet - high in protein, vitamins and minerals, and high in carbohydrate for muscle fuel stores.  Adequate carbohydrate during prolonged rides is important to maintain a strong immune system and prevent riders breaking down mid-season.  Daily recovery between heavy training sessions requires a high total carbohydrate intake, but also clever timing of meals and snacks to enhance muscle glycogen restoration. 

Carbohydrate and other nutrients such as protein and vitamins immediately after a long training session will kick-start muscle glycogen synthesis and prepare fuel stores for the next training sessions, as well as promote other recovery processes.  Recreational riders also need a diet that is proportionally high in carbohydrate and sufficiently varied to provide enough protein, vitamins and minerals.  Total needs are lower than elite cyclists and vary according to training loads.

Iron status may be an issue, particularly for female riders.  Often the desire to maintain low body fat levels can cause female mountain bikers to over-restrict their food intake and miss out on nutrients such as iron.  Riders need to include sources of iron such as lean red meat, chicken, fish, green vegetables, wholegrain cereals and fortified products such as breakfast cereal regularly in the diet.  Iron supplements should only be used when a blood test indicates an iron deficiency.  Inappropriate use of iron supplements may weaken the immune system.

Less is known about the nutritional requirements for downhill mountain bikers.  Needs will vary according to the degree of training undertaken.  A varied diet that includes sufficient carbohydrate and protein to meet training needs, optimise strength and maintain a healthy immune system is important.  The diet should also provide a wide variety of vitamins and minerals and moderate to low amounts of fat.

 

Body Fat Levels

Most elite mountain bikers take care of their body fat levels through heavy training.  In some situations, particularly in the case of female athletes or athletes coming back from a break, there may be an additional effort needed to help lower skinfolds.  Riders needing to lower skinfolds should target excess kilojoules from fat, alcohol, refined carbohydrate and other energy dense foods.  It is important to maintain an adequate intake of nutrient-dense carbohydrate such as bread, cereals, fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.  Some riders fall into the habit of consuming large quantities of foods when in heavy training then fail to cut back when they are less active.  Recreational riders can overestimate carbohydrate needs and consume too many products such as gels, sports drinks, bars and powders.

Some mountain bikers have unrealistic goals for body fat.  It is true that reducing body fat can help to improve performance especially when hill climbing.  However the level of improvement achieved is often only noticeable at the elite level when performance is very consistent.  Most recreational riders would gain greater improvement from improving technique and fuelling strategies than from small losses of body fat. Striving to maintain an unrealistic body fat level can have adverse implications on long-term health and psychological well-being.  It can also be detrimental to factors such as power and strength.  Riders need to judge if the effort really is worthwhile.

 

Fuelling and Hydrating Pre Rides

Whether you are out for a social ride or aiming to perform your best during an event, you will enjoy the mountain biking experience a lot more if you begin the ride with well-stocked carbohydrate and fluid stores.  There are many suitable options for the pre-ride meal.  The most important considerations are to consume carbohydrate and fluid and to allow adequate time for digestion before riding.  Use the following suggestions as a guide and experiment to find the best routine for you:

• Have a normal-sized meal approximately four hours before riding and a snack one to two hours before riding (see below for suggestions).
• If you are riding early in the morning, have a high-carbohydrate meal the night before and a snack one to two hours before riding.
• Choose high-carbohydrate, low-fat foods to ensure easy digestion and to top up carbohydrate fuel supplies.
• Experiment with the type, timing and amount of food that works best for you.
• Drink 200-600ml of fluid approximately 2 hours before riding.  Follow this up with another 200-400 ml of fluid immediately before hitting the trails.  This helps to prime the stomach and improves gastric emptying during the ride.
• If you find it difficult to eat before riding, try a liquid meal supplement such as PowerBar Protein Plus powder, Sustagen Sport or a fruit smoothie.

Pre-ride meal ideas include:

• breakfast cereal with skim milk and fruit + toast + juice
• muffins or crumpets + fruit + yoghurt + water
• pancakes + syrup + fruit
• baked potatoes with low fat filling + juice
• pasta with low fat sauce + juice/cordial
• rolls/sandwiches + fruit + yoghurt + water
• liquid meal (supplements or homemade fruit smoothies)

Pre-ride snack ideas include:

• cereal bar
• fruit
• yoghurt
• toast
• sports drink
• fruit bun
• sports bar

What About Downhill?

As downhill events are over in a matter of minutes, many riders feel it is unnecessary to eat and drink before an event.  However, there is often a 2 hour period set aside for practice before an event and most events require at least 2 runs of the course.  When the time to travel to the event is added on, riders can be on the trails for a number of hours before riding.  Concentration, skill level and judgement are impaired by fuel depletion and quite minor levels of dehydration.  Therefore, it is important for downhill riders to eat and drink before competing.  Downhill riders do not require as much carbohydrate as cross country riders, however it is still important to drink regularly leading up to the event and to have a light meal or snack 1-3 hours before racing.

Recreational riders often spend hours in the bush looking for trails, setting up jumps and practising runs.  Often transport to the top of runs is not available, as it is during competition.  Riding or pushing a downhill bike uphill requires a large amount of physical effort.  It is therefore important to optimise fuel and fluid levels before heading out to the trails.  The guidelines above apply in these circumstances.

 

Should Cross-Country Riders Carbohydrate Load Before a Race?

In most situations, combining your usual carbohydrate intake with light training or rest 24-36 hours before racing will be sufficient to fully stock carbohydrate stores.  In some situations, special strategies to carbohydrate load may be required.  Carbohydrate loading is a method of eating which helps to optimise the amount of glycogen stored within the body.  It should only be necessary for very long or multistage events.  Carbohydrate loading requires an exercise taper combined with a very high-carbohydrate intake. 

Hints for carbohydrate loading:

• Plan an exercise taper.  Reduce your training load by 50% going into the last week before an event and then by another 50% over the last 3 days.
• Consume 8-10 g of carbohydrate per kilogram body weight for the 72 hour taper period.
• Be extra careful with fat intake.  This is not an excuse to binge.  Over consumption of food may cause gastric problems in the short-term, and weight gain in the long-term.

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Written by Michelle Minehan and the Department of Sports Nutrition, AIS © Australian Sports Commission 2004

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