Good hand eye coordination, ability to learn or adjust quickly at a different track and most importantly you need to know your bike well, know how it will respond to every situation that may be thrown at you in a race. The best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice!
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Fitness (strength and cardio), together with a balanced diet, lots of seat time on your bike and mental preparation, are the key to success in this sport. There are several links for training programs but they want you to buy their program, you can check out this free link below.
Here is a link with some good info on riding skills: http://www.dirtrodders.com/tips/dirtech.html