Imagine the very best cross-country mountain bike racers and road racers on the planet going head to elbow in what could seem like a sadistic real-life video game, blasting on insanely skinny tyres through axle-deep mud, shimmering over snow and ice, hammering through dunes, flipping over and under barriers at near road race speed. All of this is being played out before half-hammered and much-enamoured hordes of paying fans, many downing the finest Belgian brews and munching frites as they cheer. Ahh, yes, this could only be Belgian cyclocross racing at its finest.
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Yet, for some reason, many mountain bikers, particularly the gravity inclined, either snub the very idea of Lycra-clad skinny folk on dropped bars, or are at least blissfully unaware of cyclocross – and they really don’t know what they’re missing.
As a spectator sport, cyclocross is perhaps the best one hour of winter bike race viewing that anyone cycling fan could possibly watch, and right now there’s plenty of it to see on YouTube – and mostly for free! That said, British Cycling just decided to put this weekend’s national championships behind a paywall – a decision which will stir up some strong and mixed emotions.

This past few weeks have produced some of the best televised cyclocross racing I’ve ever seen, with the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse, plus a whole load of the best road, pure cyclocross, and mountain bikers in the world battling it out in a way that you could say mixes the best of XCC short track racing and four cross, all laced with a touch of skinny tyre iced slalom. It’s skills and thrills from the off, and given the nature of the circuits, the TV coverage is superb too – with live feeds from organisers, the UCI and TNT, plus highlights to be found everywhere.
The sport’s origins are somewhat muddy – as with mountain biking. However, as far back as 1900 (even earlier) during winter, cyclists would race cross-country between villages for training, and the first French Championships came around in 1902. However, it would be 1950 before it had its first official world championship race.

Belgium and the Netherlands are the undoubted heartland of the sport, and they also pretty much donate to the sport. That said, cyclocross thrives in many parts of Europe, in the USA, and also has traction as far afield as Japan and China. The season primarily runs from September to February, with the World Championships being the last (almost) big bash of winter, which is at the end of January this year.
Although it originated as a way for road riders to stay sharp during the winter, it soon became apparent that it was also a great way to hone your bike handling skills – a truth that remains true today. Icing trails at full speed on skinny tyres and dropped bars – with no suspension really does leave no room for mercy on the skills front, and it’s great fun to ride too.
Hang on a minute, have a go at it? Yeah, that’s what I said, and if you’re unaware of it, you’ll be amazed just how welcoming and grassroots cross is, not to mention the aforementioned inherent benefits of blazing all out for an hour in the depths of mid- winter.
Plus, it isn’t just for elite XC types either; many a young rider (me included) cut our teenage racing teeth in the freezing mud of UK cyclocross. Many of the all-time greats of mountain biking also hail from a cyclocross background, including MVDP, Tom Pidcock, Thomas Frischnecht, Puck Pietrese, Evie Richards (all past CX world champs) and more. It may also come as a surprise to note that Hattie Harnden is also a former British CX Champ, while gravity racing doyenne Tracy Moseley is also an accomplished ‘cross racer, and is still hammering away through the mud of a ‘cross season as I write.

Give it a blast, you might well become addicted. There’s still time and races out there to be tamed this winter, and for most local and non-national series races, you can also ride on your mountain bike, but do check specifics before signing up.
If that sounds a bit intimidating, you can always stock up on Belgian beer and tune in to the World Championships at the end of the month. I promise you it’ll be an armchair ride you wish you’d have taken earlier.
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- What’s behind Isla Short’s best season yet? The Scottish XC star talks ADHD, “racing against people on six-figure salaries”, and refining her approach to training and racing
