Denis Lesenkov: mountain bike in Novgorod, equipment and health training

Guest

Useful from the issue

1. Don't start with heavy cross-country

   The first race on a difficult XC-track can discourage the desire to ride. Denis advises starting with bike marathons and short distances, and leaving cross-country for later.

2. It is better to not train enough

   If you are one of those who need to be slowed down, and not adjusted, it is normal to miss a day. Denis believes that it is better to do less than more.

3. On the descents in XC, rest

   In cross-country skiing, the descent is a place to recover. Go through it steadily, and play back the time in the ascent, where the difference is greater.

4. Cadence is not lower than 90

   On asphalt, Denis keeps 90-100 revolutions, comfortably about 95, and never rides at a low cadence.

5. Need a muscular corset

   The bike loads mainly the legs, and the back and arms become numb. Pull-ups and exercises with your own weight several times a week, according to Denis's experience, help to avoid minor injuries.

6. On tour — without a backpack

   Four days on the Valdai trail with backpacks convinced Denis: all the equipment needs to be mounted on a bicycle.

7. Banihop — a week of purposeful practice

   You don't need much strength, you need time. Highlight individual banihop or jumping workouts in the plan and repeat until you succeed.

8. Watch out for the maintenance of the plug

   Modern forks do not forgive missed service. After a dirty season, the fork should be sorted out, and not hung up for the winter.

9. Train the slalom and flat turns

   Ilya and Denis agree that it is useful to place cones and practice turns: it is easy to put the wrong foot under load if the skill is not brought to automatism.

How it all started

Denis had a lot of bicycles as a child, but it had nothing to do with sports: the nineties, the yard, no sections. An adult bicycle appeared in 2008 at the suggestion of his wife Natasha — to go to work, and not to sit in a stuffy bus. I didn't want to take a cheap bike from a car dealership right away: Denis was fond of high-fi and understood that you need to pay extra for normal equipment. On the advice of a friend, he bought an Italian hardtail and then gradually improved it.

The first race was a cross-country in Zelenogorsk near St. Petersburg — and this, according to him, was the hardest thing he experienced: steep climbs, technical descents, an unsuitable cassette, a bent star and a broken chain. I was especially hurt by the way the leader drove the ascent, along which Denis walked. He set a goal in a year to learn how to drive that track entirely without dismounting — and began to train.

He remembers two races as the moment when the training paid off: the marathon, in which he unexpectedly rode almost the entire distance in the group of leaders, and the local race, where he beat those who had previously been noticeably stronger.

Cross-country vs. enduro

Denis calls himself not exactly a cross-country athlete: his soul lies in enduro and descent disciplines. In cross-country, according to him, it is always hard and at the limit, and in enduro there is less physical fatigue and you need a technique two heads higher. He talks about the Russian enduro series in Karelia: live stones, wet roots, a lot of injuries among the participants, a broken spoke, which an unfamiliar mechanic helped him replace. The enduro race lasts for several days: first, training runs, where the track is memorized, professionals even take it on camera.

Hence his claims to local highways. The technique for him is not "picking" at the roots, where the bike does not ride, but a flow: let it be hard, but passable, with jumps, counter—slopes, drops, on which the person who knows how wins time. If the drop has a detour that takes only a couple of seconds, the ability to jump loses its meaning, and the race comes down to who has more watts.

A curious observation about the descents: you should not go to the limit on cross-country, as in enduro, — this is a place to relax, and it is more profitable to win back the time in the ascent. Therefore, Denis does not see the point in a two-suspension or even a seat drop for local marathons: excess weight does not pay off.

Training based on how you feel

Denis's plan is the most usual: first the volume, then the intensity, the races serve as training. He doesn't have a power meter — he doesn't like to change equipment until it has served its time, but he feels very thin. He calls the ability to hear his body the most important thing for an athlete. It also happens that you feel bad, but you drive great: this may be the peak of the form.

He divides people into those who need to be slowed down and those who need to be adjusted, and he himself belongs to the first. With experience, he realized that it's better to do less than more: sometimes it's wiser to skip a day, and wisdom, he jokes, comes after a couple of failures.

Cadence on the asphalt at Denis never drops below 90, comfortably — about 95. About age, he says that cycling is not ballet: over forty you can be strong, the main thing is not to lose motivation and not get injured. Moreover, the age category after forty at marathons is now one of the strongest.

Recovery, food and health

There are no special recovery methods. Denis bought a massager a year ago and at first almost didn't use it, but this season he helped with a chronically clogged muscle in his leg — without him, he wouldn't have survived a multi-day trip. At the same time, in his opinion, it is not worth using it every day.

He has no diets: the main thing is not to overeat. If you don't overeat, Denis believes, you won't want to eat junk food, and a small proportion of sweet doesn't matter. He does not take the fashion to fight proteins, fats, or sugar seriously. Stretching is done a little after the workout, not before.

Two coronaviruses once had almost no effect on the results, but the flu on New Year's holidays hit hard: the complication on the ears lasted about three months, and it is still difficult to restore the previous form.

Cycling and group race

Tourism is new experience for Denis: last year he traveled to Staraya Russa, this year — along the Valdai Trail, about 400 km in four days. The main conclusion: riding with a backpack is a bad idea, everything needs to be attached to the bike.

On the Tour de Selishchi, he rode a mountain bike and unexpectedly stayed in a group with road riders. Group road riding was a novelty for him, he felt like a guest and tried to be as careful as possible — he didn't even sprint before the finish line so as not to interfere with anyone, especially since he was already the first in the MTB category.

Denis also praises Ilya's SLUGGISH MARATHON — the track where he helped with reconnaissance and marking — and the Novgorod cyclocross: there was so much dirt there that the bike became heavier by several kilograms, and the dirt rubbed the varnish on the carbon feathers.

I'm my own mechanic

Denis has not been giving bicycles to anyone for several years. At home he has seven bicycles, all with shock absorption: three two—suspension and four hardtails - it is unjustified for craftsmen to carry so many forks, and in Novgorod no one seriously works on forks. In addition, it is important for him to experiment with oils and compression for the race and weather.

He goes through the forks to his friends not for the sake of earning money, but because he feels sorry for the equipment: modern forks are light and work well, but skipping maintenance is critical for them. After a dirty race, the fork, according to him, can not just be hung up for the winter.

The team he is chasing is called "Runaway Bears" — the name, as Denis jokes, is so bad that it is already good.

Banihop and technology

Denis taught himself the technique: videos have a problem — the explanation doesn't always match what the body does. The mistake many people make is thinking that you're actively working on the bike, but in reality, there's almost no amplitude. You don't need special physics for bunny-hopping — you need time for focused practice, for example, to work on it for a week.

In his opinion, there are no rules on how to do it right: if it is more profitable to dismount or put your foot down, do it. He himself lands more on the front wheel to enter the turn immediately. The banihop itself is not always needed: if it does not save time, it is an extra waste of energy. Another thought of Denis: after thirty, you can't do without a muscular corset, so pull-ups and exercises with your own weight are needed so that your back doesn't hurt. The main advice at the end is practice, practice and practice again.

Timestamps

1. 00:49Acquaintance
2. 05:40The first race in Zelenogorsk
3. 12:21Races that are remembered
4. 16:23Cross-country vs. enduro
5. 22:06What should be the route
6. 26:15Training without a power meter
7. 31:09Recovery, food and disease
8. 38:28Cycling and the Valdai Trail
9. 40:59Tour de Selishchi on MTB
10. 49:58VYALOMARATHON and Novgorod cross
11. 55:48Enduro in Karelia
12. 1:07:21I'm my own mechanic
13. 1:14:37Plans for the season
14. 1:22:00Age and muscular corset
15. 1:27:11How to learn the technique

Mentioned in this episode

Runaway Bears · SLUGGISH MARATHON · Tour de Selishchi · Tsar Grader · Michurinsky Bike Marathon · Valdai Trail · O-time