Cross is coming. And the fitness that wins cyclocross races isn't built once the whistle blows. It's built now, in the weeks before your first race.

Count back 8 to 12 weeks from race one, and for most riders that date has already passed. That's the whole point: if you wait until you pin on a number, you're already behind the riders who started their base this month.

So picture your best cross season yet: strong off the line, smooth through every corner, still attacking on the last lap while everyone else fades. That rider is built starting today, with 20 years of the FasCat method and thousands of podiums behind you. The riders on the podium in October started now. Your move.

Sweet spot training is riding at 84 to 97% of your FTP, the balance point where you build the most fitness for the time you have. If you've got 6 to 12 hours a week instead of 20, it builds a bigger engine per hour than zone 2.

Frank Overton coined the term in 2005, and it's been the foundation of FasCat training ever since. Now it's all in one complete guide: how much to do, when to do it, and the workouts that make you faster.

You can absolutely still get faster after 40. And 50. And yes, after 60 too.

But here's the catch every masters cyclist eventually learns: you can't train the way you did in your 30s and expect it to work. Recovery slows down. Father time comes for your watts. And between work, family, and everything else, you don't have all day to ride.

None of that means you're done improving. It just means the approach has to change: train less, recover more, age-adjust your intervals, and let the data tell you when to push.

Coach Frank Overton breaks down the full FasCat masters playbook, 20+ years of coaching masters athletes to national titles and hard-earned PRs, including the 5 rules Bicycling Magazine featured and the recovery trifecta that beats any gadget.