Filippo Agostinacchio was in top form after finishing eighth in the cyclo-cross World Cup in Sardinia. The athlete from the Aosta Valley was only at his second race on the mud, in this particular winter season which will see him running with the colours of the EF Education EasyPost, before wearing even the mesh of Biesse Carrera Premac in spring. In Valle d'Aosta The cold is hitting hard and making itself felt, finding the space to go out on the bike and train is not easy and you have to take into account many factors. Yet the work done by the eldest of the two cycling brothers led him to see the top 10 in one of the most important races of his season on the mud (opening photo by Alessio Pederiva).
The assist is almost perfect and so together with the twenty-two-year-old from Aosta, who is meanwhile continuing his studies in Sports and Motor Sciences, we go to take a look at his "typical week" in cyclocross.
«The first thing I noticed – says Filippo Agostinacchio – is to be in good condition but to need a few more hours in the saddle, to improve your riding and techniqueThe knee that had given me a little trouble in November is now better and I can manage everything well between training loads and competitions."
So let's start with a typical week, let's start with the day after the race...
In theory, already after the Sunday race (at the moment Agostinacchio's calendar includes one race per week, ed.) I should do ten minutes of cool downWhen I run less, like during this period, I don't always do it. If the appointments increase and become closer together, then yes.
Are we getting to Monday now?
A rest day where I go for an hour and a half ride on my cross bike, fitted with road wheels, and pedal on asphalt. I prefer to keep the bike I use for racing so as not to have variations in the seat, the positions between cross and road always change a little. When I pedal, I try not to look at the numbers; let's say I'm just going for a walk. Sometimes the eye falls on the little computer which always marks between Z0 and Z1 in terms of powerIf I can, I pedal with friends and make the classic bar stop.
Is it Tuesday?
We start with a ride on the road in Z2 to warm up. Then I go and do specific work on a cross-country field that I have behind my house so that I can also keep myself trained on the basic techniqueOne lap of the circuit corresponds to three kilometers, so about seven minutes of travel if done at full speed. On Tuesdays I work on my VO2 Max and I divide the training like this: I do a lap at race pace alternating with a rest lap, three times.Once I'm done, I add thirty-second seated sprints.
Why sitting?
For cross-country it is more useful since in the race it is not often that you get up on the pedals to pick up the pace. These sprints help me simulate corner exits and situations that I encounter while racing.I also usually make some changes to my cadence to simulate the different terrains I find myself running on.
Wednesday?
It's the day of the long run, if I can I take the car to go towards Verres, where the sun rises earlier from behind the mountains and it's slightly warmer. For the long one I stay in the order of four and a half or five hoursOnly if there's an important race do I reduce the volume and do three and a half hours. It's an important workout to maintain an aerobic base and because it will be useful when I return to running on the road.. Even in this case, it's best to train in company and stop every now and then to warm up and socialize.
We enter the second part of the week…
On Thursday I return to the cross-country field to practice basic technique. But first I'll do a couple of hours in Z2 on the road, always using the cyclocross bike. Once I'm done, I enter the course and start riding at a good pace, I ride, I get on and off the bike, I carry the bike on my shoulder, I jump obstaclesIn short, I train all the technical aspects. At the end, I always include about ten short sprints, even less than ten seconds, to keep my legs trained.
What's on the menu for Friday?
I plan based on the trip, usually the race is on Sunday so on Friday we travel to the race location. If I can, I'll put in an hour of unloading, otherwise I take complete rest and move on to the next day.
Saturday, the eve of the race.
You do a workout of an hour and a half, maximum two, with an initial section on the road to warm up. Then we enter the course, and I take the first few laps slowly to study and understand how to approach the trickier sections. Once I've memorized it, I get into race pace to unblock my leg after the rest day. Once everything's done, I'll include a few practice runs and a few ten-second sprints. We'll run on Sunday, and then the week will start again.
Shall we open the gym chapter?
Right. I prefer to do it far from competitions because I've realised that I have a harder time recovering from this type of training, so I include it on Tuesdays.After cycling training I wait four hours and in the evening I go to the gym. I always do some work to strengthen the core and then the classic exercises: deadlifts, squats, and some plyometrics to train strength and speed. During the week I also always include two bodyweight training sessions, to strengthen the back: usually Monday and Friday.
Last question, do you also do any running sessions?
One a week. About thirty minutes before breakfast, just because it bothers me to run without digesting. I'm pretty flexible about when to include running; it's usually on Monday, or I do it on the day of the long run and remove thirty minutes of cycling.
