During our time at Sea Otter, I sat down with each member of the Stans-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis to discuss their pre-race routines and ask some of the questions you submitted for them.
First up is team owner and bonafide MTB legend, Chloe Woodruff! Chloe is an Olympian, multi-time National Champion and bonafide legend in the cross-country mountain biking space. As the owner and manager of the Stans-Pivot Pro Team, she has a unique perspective and set of responsibilities that provide a ton of learning opportunities for us.
Topics Covered in This Episode
Chloe’s pre-race dinner of choice
How to get better sleep the night before a race
Chloe’s morning routine
Best pre-race breakfast
Pre-Race warmup routines
Pre-riding tips
Why you should practice your starts
Mental tips to “get in the zone”
How Chloe balanced training and studying at university
Chloe’s favorite places to ride
Chloe’s favorite post-win indulgence
The one thing Chloe wishes she did more of in her early years as a pro
Stay tuned for the other three interviews over the next three days, and if you have any questions for Chloe regarding her approach to training, racing, equipment, nutrition, etc., reply below!
I’d never heard of oatmeal with an egg before this interview, and I eat some form of oatmeal for breakfast just about every day. Tried it for breakfast this morning. Yep, that’s going in the regular routine.
This year I tried to get into the gym three times per week November-January. One of the days was on the lighter side. That’s more than I’ve done before but I have some strength imbalances to address. Now it’s two days per week, or once every 10 days when I’m traveling and racing. I feel the benefits are significant.
I do some high cadence intervals early in my base phase, but I naturally pedal with a very high cadence so getting in high torque/force work is more the work I need. Luckily I get that in on the mountain bike, which I can ride year round here in Arizona. The skills work I find most beneficial are simply the basics of bike handling (cornering, braking, pumping, jumping, etc).