Ffion Drake started the British cyclo-cross National Trophy Series with a quarter of wins. In Derby she took first by 23 seconds, in Falkirk by one minute, 52 seconds and in Clanfield she won by one minute and 14 seconds. Once she’d crossed the line in West Bromwich in first on 16 November, the overall title was already hers - despite another two rounds to go.

But the 26-year-old’s first real hurdle this season came at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Flamanville - Drake’s first ever. Her wheel buckled underneath her, sending her straight over the handlebars and landing flat on her chest. It was only when the last embers of adrenaline had left her that she realised the extent of her injuries. She still managed to finish 18th, somehow.

‘When you have a lung contusion, it feels like you've got a chest infection without the fever and the phlegm, so it's just not very nice, really,’ Drake said in what I learn is a typical nonchalance when it comes to diagnosing her own injuries - despite being a trained doctor.

“It's really hard to be objective about yourself, especially as an athlete like you just like, Ah, I'm sure it's fine.”

So, who is this cyclo-cross star? Talking to Drake away from her bike, the first thing you notice is her energy - she’s light and funny and humble. I ask her what it’s like competing at these events knowing that the field is missing some of its big names - Xan Crees, Zoe Bäckstedt, Cat Ferguson.

“I remember racing Zoe at my first national championships in 2023. That was insane,” Drake laughed. “I am nowhere near that level but it doesn't mean that I don't aim to be there. I've got a long way to go. But, you know, I like to aim high. Having the ability to race someone like that, even if you hang on for a quarter of a lap the first time, and then it's half a lap the next time, and then it's a lap the next time… It's a stepping stone.”

Drake’s first stepping stone was laid when she was a young child, razzing about on her Isla bike, out cycling with her Dad. Her chosen hobby flipped when she turned 12, and she ditched the bike to become a county swimmer. But it was in the slog of medical school, and the ensuing mental health challenges that accompanied its intensity, that she took up cyclo-cross.

It was around this time that she met her now-husband, Giles, too. A cyclist himself, he built Drake’s first adult bike in 2020. By 2022, she was competing in her first national cyclo-cross race.

“As someone who'd never really paid much attention to cycling, it just looked a bit silly and fun. And I think it came at a point in my life where I needed something else. I was struggling quite a lot mentally throughout university, and that continued into when I was working as a doctor as well, and having something new and exciting that diversified my mind and mentally gave me a break from stuff... I think that was one of the biggest draws for me.”

“You could be thinking about a billion different things on the start line, but as soon as the whistle goes, you're fully 100% focused.”

In her first two and a half years as a doctor, she completed her first three seasons of cyclocross on the national scene. In her first year, she finished in the top five at the Paignton round of the National Trophy Series.

“To be honest, it was a massive struggle to even train after work, because I was doing nights. One week I'm pretty sure I did a 72 hour week, and then the following week I had a race. It wasn't healthy.

“The next year, I had an hour commute one way. So I was commuting two hours, whilst training and trying to race. I ended my season early because I got so burnt out, and mentally I was in an absolute hole. And the year after, I just about managed to get a bit more of a balance. I didn't race very much. I was still struggling mentally and still struggling to get all the training in."

In December 2024, Drake stopped working as a doctor. “Not because of the cycling, it was a personal decision that I'd made that it just didn't work for me anymore,” she said.

“I just want to sort of clear the air and say I wasn't able to race at this level when I was working full time as a doctor. It was not possible. And I don't think it's healthy for anybody to try and do that.”

Drake is currently working in a bike salvage and insurance shop. Working part time in a flexible job means that she can fit training around her work in a way she never could before. There are still parts of competitive cyclo-cross racing she finds difficult - the technical nuance needed to corner, dodging the elbows that come out in continental racing ("historically, I've been quite a gentle competitor"), working out optimal weight distribution and shifting.

But right now, she’s recouping after her Flamanville crash at home on the Wirral, saving her strength for the last round of the National Trophy Series in Irvine next month. In this pre-Christmas pause before racing picks up again, she's allowing herself to enjoy the season's success.

“Going into the season, I'd said to the other half that I never actually felt like I'd won anything,” she said. “I'd won local stuff, but to be able to win it against the best in the country is another feeling and something that I really wanted this year. Passing that line, knowing that I'd done everything I could since last cross season to be in the best shape possible… it was an amazing feeling. It sort of felt like, actually, I do belong here. I have things that I need to work on, but I am good enough to be here.’

Sprinting off-road, then running uphill, hoisting your bike onto your shoulder and leaping over obstacles - cyclo-cross is not for the faint hearted. It puts serious demands on the body, and the bike. So, logic might follow that you’d need a very specific bike to race… right?

Cyclo-cross was often a way for road racers to train in the off-season, long before the first mountain bikes were cobbled together in North America. These downtime road racers would use modified road bikes to race across hills, through fields and over fences. A discipline now largely contained to the darker months, CX boomed in popularity in the 1970s, after its debut World Championships in Paris twenty years before.

The barriers to enter the sport are low in amateur racing. Anything that rolls, can race, whether that is a cyclo-cross-specific Specialized Crux ('highly coveted as one of the best 'cross platforms going', according to Cycling Weekly), or a bike with tyres thick enough to keep you vertical through mud and winter off-road slop.

“In cyclo-cross the bike needs to be super responsive when accelerating out of corners, handle smoothly on steep descents and be light and comfy when shouldering the bike,” Spectra rider, and the rider currently second-place in the National Trophy Series, Toby Barnes, said.

A cyclo-cross bike is usually defined by its light frame (perfect for carrying up-hill, or over styles), short wheelbase, wide-ranging gears (between 40-44t), powerful brakes and high bottom brackets - all designed to aid manoeuvrability and comfort across 45-plus minutes of off-road racing. A bit more room above the tyres is also common, to allow for a few layers of dirt to build up on wider tyres (anywhere between 28-35mm wide - though for UCI sanctioned events, 33mm is the maximum width allowed).

“Half the battle with a cycling team, let alone a cyclo-cross team, is the equipment and having high quality equipment,” Spectra team manager, Gina Ball, said.

Though a CX specific bike can prove a decisive edge against competitors, Spectra’s riders will instead compete on Pearson’s On&On Race gravel bike for the coming winter season. The gravel bike is equipped with an Omnia carbon wheelset and Shimano GRX 815 groupset. With a combined race-day weight of 7.88kg when rigged as a gravel bike, the weight would exceed UCI cyclo-cross competition regulation - with these cyclo-cross modifications, the On&On Race has been approved by the cycling body.

And the On&On Race has already proved successful for Spectra’s riders. Irish National Champion, Esther Wong, rode the On&On Race in the Hope Supercross Series in September: “She went from riding a cyclo-cross bike she had for years to the Pearson and was off the front immediately, eventually finishing second,” Bell said.

Two of their riders have already been selected for the first two UCI Cyclo-cross World Cups of the season.

“Although the On&On Race isn’t an out and out cyclo-cross bike, it still holds its own against the 'big' brands in terms of weight, agility and responsiveness that the riders really enjoy,” Ball stressed.

Already having secured a first at the Derby round of the National Trophy Series' under-23 category (and second in the elite women’s) aboard the On&On Race, Elena Day is shifting her focus towards the continent. “For this season, my main focus is earning selection for the World Cups,” the Spectra rider said. “I aim to build on my early-season form in races across the UK and Belgium, and gain as much international racing experience as possible.”

Might this unlikely CX bike go on to podium at a World Cup race? Pearson are hoping so.

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup begins in Tábor, Czech Republic on 23 November.

Inclusion in the Winter Olympics has the potential to rewrite the landscape of cyclo-cross, says GB national coach Matt Ellis.

"From a GB perspective it's massively exciting," he told Cycling Weekly this week. "It would, I believe, dramatically change everything."

He was responding to recent comments by Sebastian Coe in a Guardian interview, in which the International Olympic Committee member, and IAAF president, hinted strongly that the discipline could be included in the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.

“I think there’s a good chance it’ll happen,” Lord Coe said. “And I think it’s come at the right moment, because [IOC president] Kirsty Coventry is certainly prepared to think differently about the programme....”

This latter point is good news, because a new take on winter sports would be necessary from the IOC were give cyclo-cross the green light. As it stands, only sports practiced on snow and ice are allowed in the Winter Olympic Games. Coventry has been reexamining this.

There is precedent for running cross on snow and ice – the current Val di Sole event, for example. But it isn't cyclo-cross as most of us know it – or as the world's top riders train for.

Coe also said that cross-country running, which campaigners have long backed for Olympic inclusion, could share the same course as the cyclo-cross.

Ellis, who has headed up British Cycling's cyclo-cross programme since 2017, added: "It would take time to have a knock-on effect, but I think on all different levels, it will massively change it.

"From the GB perspective, there's potential to put in place development programmes and more of an official funded pathway," he added.

The effects, he said would extend all the way down to the youth riders.

"You would open up the pool of development, he said. "You're going to broaden the pyramid at the bottom for development – there will be more riders involved in our pool of talent.

"There's a lot of short-term excitement," Ellis added, "but then once it starts getting a bit more notoriety, and then you get the actual Winter Olympics. Suddenly, you've got a whole new audience – a shop window for more people to come and get involved."

He cautioned about getting too excited about the prospect though, and referred back to a time during his career when precisely the same thing was being discussed – to no avail.

"When I raced, my first World Championships were in Slovakia. They were doing it there to showcase that cross could be run on ice, with an eye on trying to get it into the Winter Olympics," he said. "There's always been small rumblings, but this has been by far the biggest thing I've ever heard about."

As to when we would be treated to a definite answer, Ellis does not know, and the goalposts keep changing.

"They said it was going to be announced at last year's cross Worlds, and they said it might be announced in March after the IOC presidential election. And then I've heard again, it could be sometime in the autumn. At this point," he said, "I would hope sometime this winter."

British pro Cat Ferguson has decided to put her cyclo-cross and track racing on hold to focus on her road career.

The 19-year-old, a current world champion in the cyclo-cross mixed relay event and a double junior world champion on the track, will forgo both cyclo-cross and track programmes this winter, and instead use the time to train towards her second season with WorldTour team Movistar.

The decision, Ferguson explained, comes as a “trial” to see how she finds devoting herself to one discipline.

“I’ve grown up on lots of different bikes, and I really enjoyed that, and I would recommend that to anyone to try all different bikes,” she said. “I think, for me, road is my priority and also my favourite type of cycling. I was doing track and also cyclo-cross before, but I have made the decision for next year to just do road.

“It’s not that I’ll never come back to either of them. I’m 100% sure that I will come back to one of them. But for me, it was something I would have done eventually in my career, just focusing on one discipline, and I’ve chosen to do that now.”

Last winter, Ferguson rode eight cyclo-cross events, placing second at the British National Championships, and delaying the start of her road campaign to mid-March.

“My last cross season was definitely not what I’d hoped for,” she said, “and I didn’t want to end it, partly because I didn’t want to seem like I was giving up on it after a bad season, but within that season, I had no preparation for the races, and that’s not me.

“If I’m going to do something, I want to do it 100%, so for me it was either I really commit and do a full cyclo-cross calendar and start much earlier than I did last year, or I don’t do it and I fully focus on road,” the Brit added.

“If I miss it, and I still have the desire to do it and want to commit to it 100% as well, then I’ll do that next year.”

Ferguson is not the first multi-disciplinarian to trim down her racing commitments. Last winter, Tom Pidcock opted to skip the cyclo-cross season to prioritise the road, following his switch from Ineos Grenadiers to Q36.5 Pro Cycling. He went on to score his first Grand Tour podium at the Vuelta a España this month.

Other riders, like Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, have reduced their cyclo-cross calendars in recent years, while Olympic mountain bike champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot has not raced a mountain bike event since returning to the road this season.

Reflecting on her first full year as a pro, Ferguson said it’s been “what I’d hoped for” but also “much more challenging” than she anticipated.

“To be honest, I’ve found the times when I’ve had to race myself [as a leader] much more easy to deal with, but then when I’m racing with the team, and it’s pressure I’m putting on myself to perform for someone else, that’s something that I’m still learning to deal with,” she said.

Her results count a first WorldTour win on a stage of the Tour of Britain Women, victory at the one-day Navarra Classic, as well as third place at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and a string of top-10s.

The reigning junior world champion in the road race and time trial, Ferguson will travel to Rwanda later this week for the UCI Road World Championships, where she will take part in the under-23 women’s road race.

“Of course, I would love to be in the top five, that would probably be a goal,” she said. “I’ve never done an under-23 race, so I think there’s a lot of unknown things... The dynamic of the under-23 race is something new to me, and I’m really excited to see what it’s all about.”

The under-23 women’s road race will take place on 25 September.

British national cyclo-cross champion Xan Crees remembers a moment this season when she got changed for a race in the back of a Vauxhall Corsa. Now, aged 24, she’s set to become a professional rider for the first time in her life.

With her new project, OGT p/b USE, Crees has recruited her own sponsors to allow her to pursue a full-time career in cycling. She will ride this coming cyclo-cross season as part of a “one-rider team”, though she hopes to recruit more team-mates within three years.

“For me, being a professional cyclist is obviously being paid to ride your bike,” Crees told Cycling Weekly at a launch event in London on Thursday. “While I’ve had equipment support and team support, I’ve never actually been paid to ride my bike.”

Crees’s maiden national championships win, in which she held off WorldTour talents Cat Ferguson (Movistar) and Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike), cast her into the spotlight this January. At the time, she had been “threatening retirement”, she says, and was working three days a week at Hunt Bike Wheels, travelling over the weekend to events across Europe with Spectra Racing.

Though Crees still has the same job today, she expects she will swap to being a full-time cyclist in a “not-so-distant future”.

“We’re really missing a link for British professional cyclo-cross,” she said. “As a British rider, it’s really, really hard to make it as a professional rider, but I didn’t want to put my fate in someone else’s hands and let a team come to me. I wanted to make my own way, and this is how I was going to do it. I was going to force my way into being a professional cyclist.”

The idea to launch her own project came following a family bereavement late last year. “It put bike racing into perspective,” she said, “but it also gave me that ‘life’s too short’ [feeling].”

Crees then went on to win the national title at the start of 2025, a victory that proved a “huge kick” in growing her status, and gave her confidence to approach sponsors.

“If you’ve not done it before, asking someone for money is a really difficult concept,” she said. “You almost need to ask 1,000 people for one or two of them to say yes.”

Crees’s team this year will bear title sponsorship from energy bar brand OGT and cycling components manufacturer USE. Her employer, Hunt, will also provide her with wheels.

“The main focus will be on the UCI World Cup series,” she said of her calendar, which she expects to include around 30 races, beginning with the UK’s Hope Supercross series on 13 September.

“My three-year plan is ideally to have three riders [signed to OGT p/b USE],” Crees added. “We want this to really be their full-time job, with all the support they need. From there, if we could make it bigger, we would.”

The Summercross series in Herne Hill drew to a close on Friday 1st August, after four weekends of racing at the outdoor velodrome in South-London. Part hosted by the Australian apparel brand, MAAP, and part by Herne Hill Velodrome itself, the series marked a new kind of entertainment gripping the capital this summer - the out of the pub and onto the start-line, kind.

“There are no plans for world domination here. Summercross is about getting together at the Velodrome, watching or racing, sharing a bev with mates and listening to some good tunes,” Hamish Paine, MAAP’s marketing manager for the EU and UK, told Cycling Weekly.

On any one of the four race days, the velodrome would be loud with the sound of clanging bells and cheers, of spectators grabbing beers and food next to racers hyping themselves up for a few frantic laps. Crowds clustered at the top of the first hill climb and around the finish, near the winding grassy course that spelt “MAAP” in great, sweeping block capitals.

The Summercross series are special races. They're cyclo-cross events held not in the dark, muddy months, but in the heat of July, looping around the city's only outdoor velodrome. And it’s for anyone who fancies giving it a go (unlike other races, you don’t need a British Cycling licence to race).

“I don't think you really need to have any knowledge of what’s going on,” Emily Stainer, crowd member and budding cyclo-cross racer said of the event.

“It’s not like football or cricket where there’s all this lore and history. There are no real rules, it’s literally just people racing, and most of the time we don't know who is in the lead, so when any rider goes past you, you just cheer them on.”

Stainer had positioned herself on the hill, spotting riders to support based on how much she thought they’d benefit from the additional moral support, (“it’s a bit like horse racing”) or how much they looked like they were enjoying themselves. Beer in hand, she joined in the chorus lining the racetrack with a crowd of friends all themselves steadily becoming cycling fans.

“I think we can all be a bit guilty of taking our riding a little too seriously,” Paine said.

“We wanted the focus to be on having a good time, listening to some great DJ’s and just getting people together.”

Dubbed ‘The Ultimate Cycling Party’ by digital creators Ferwee CC, the race was captured in over-exposed, bright, blurred imagery, the cheers of the crowds almost palpable through the twisting photos.

“A lot of what you see across the imagery and video content is shaped by local creators who share MAAP’s vision in capturing the event in a way that reflects its energy,” Paine said in reference to the frenetic, chaotic energy that ripples from course to camera.

“We don’t want to mislead riders through our social channels for the in-person experience to fall flat. Hitting a sweet spot between the hype and creating a fun event is something that has developed over the past four years and in a way, has shaped Sumercross’s identity.”

But the Summercross series wouldn’t be possible without the venue itself. Now over 100 years old, the Herne Hill Velodrome is a stalwart of the London cycling scene. In the run-up to the four race days, the team at the velodrome hosted a series of courses ranging from cyclo-cross skills to a women-specific introduction to the sport, in an effort to encourage new riders to what remains a predominantly male discipline.

“It’s the work of a small team of people coming together and putting the hours in! The crew at Herne Hill Velodrome [...] are experts in hosting races - they handle the timing, course prep and run-of-the-show," Paine explained.

"For MAAP, we focus on cultivating everything that surrounds the racing to make sure the vibes are high and everyone can have a good time. We just provide the means for people to come together (and of course the beers…)”

And, according to Herne Hill local, Emily Stainer: “The best races are always at the velodrome!

“It’s such a fun spectator sport, it’s very welcoming. You can stroll in and anyone can watch, it’s very chilled, feels super community orientated. I'm in my early 20s and this is what I'm choosing to do on my Friday night - it’s light, it’s warm, it’s something to do that isn’t just going to a pub.

"For me, I'd love it if more of my friends got into watching cyclo-cross.”

It does seem that free events like the Summercross series are attracting a devoted - and growing - community of cycling fans, attracted part through an increased online presence and old-fashioned word of mouth. Stainer has been watching from the side-lines for two years now, but next year is determined to race herself.

“As for [MAAP London Summercross]...The ideas for next year are already flooding in but you’ll have to be down at the velodrome in 2026 to see what happens.”

"Build it and they will come" is the mysterious message spoken to Kevin Costner’s character in the 1989 film ‘Field of Dreams’. Now, Tim Ferguson is hoping to do the same for his land in Yorkshire, but rather than ghosts of baseball all-stars, he wants to attract a crop of up-and-coming cyclo-cross talent.

Ferguson, father of British Movistar pro Cat and manager of women's junior team Shibden Apex RT, has begun plans to open a centre of excellence for cyclo-cross and mountain biking this year.

The site will operate as a training and racing venue, and will be free of charge to use, funded instead by sponsors. There’s no catch, Ferguson stressed, just a desire to encourage and increase competition opportunities for keen racers.

“I'm a passionate cyclist, and involved in so many different parts of cycling. This is a giving back thing,” he told Cycling Weekly. “We won’t be charging for race organisers to hire the venue. There will be no bureaucratic red tape, because we own the land.”

Ferguson’s plans for the project became serious when his company, outdoor centre High Adventure, purchased adjoining land beside its location near Skipton, North Yorkshire last March.

Development is already underway, with the new area set to become the ‘Woodside Cycle Centre’, a state-of-the-art hub.

“I think we’re crying out for it, and a lot of these venues as well, not just one,” Ferguson said.

Having secured permanent jet washes courtesy of Muc-Off, he is now seeking “sponsors for cash, sponsors for material, and people who are prepared to help with labour” for the project.

A Crowdfunder page has been created with a goal of raising £30,000 for the centre. Among other things, this money will go towards constructing a 200m gravel road to act as the start-finish straight, a path leading into the 'Hell's Steps' feature – "a big, big set of steps," Ferguson said – a commissaires cabin, and a podium.

The vision is to host cyclo-cross races potentially as early as this summer.

Donations can be made to the Woodside Cycle Centre project now on Crowdfunder.

Great Britain got off to a golden start at this year's UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, earning the nation's first-ever victory in the mixed relay on Friday.

The team of Zoe Bäckstedt, Cat Ferguson, Thomas Mein, Oscar Amey, Zoe Roche and Milo Wills won by just two seconds ahead of the Italian sextet in Liévin, France.

Great Britain had finished second in the event in the previous two editions of the championships.

The mixed relay is a six-lap event in which nations compete in teams of six, composed of elite, under-23 and junior riders. It is up to the teams to decide their own racing order.

This year's race proved a close-fought affair, with five seconds separating first-placed Great Britain and third-placed France on the podium. The US, having led into the final lap, finished fourth, eight seconds down.

Bäckstedt opened the effort for Great Britain, the only female to do so across all 10 starting nations. The Brits sat in seventh place at the halfway point, when the two newly crowned junior national champions, Roche and Amey, exchanged the baton.

Seventeen-year-old Amey then catapulted his team into second place, before handing over to Ferguson, who held on to a podium position.

Mein, a former national champion and the only elite rider in the squad, led the charge on the final lap, where he clocked the team's fastest time. The 26-year-old's winning margin of two seconds gave him enough time to sit up and salute his teammates, who celebrated together beyond the line.

"I was feeling a bit nervous as there were quite a lot of elite riders on the last lap, so it wasn't going to be an easy ride home," Mein said afterwards.

"I had two in front, some wheels to chase, but it was just about trying to hit every line correctly like we did in practice and trying to be smooth with it, to not get full of the pressure of the last lap.

"Heading over the finish line first was an incredible feeling," he added.

The mixed relay marked the opening event of this year's UCI Cylo-cross World Championships.

The competition continues on Saturday with the junior women's, under-23 men's and elite women's races. Sunday will then bring the junior men's, under-23 women's and elite men's races.

There will be no British riders competing in the under-23 men's or elite women's races. According to British Cycling, this is because "there were no riders who met [the] objectives strongly enough to be selected" for the two events.

Bäckstedt, the defending under-23 world champion, will vie to keep her title on Sunday, despite being eligible to compete in the elite race as the fourth best ranked woman in the world.

"I don’t want to jump too early into elite and potentially regret my decision," the 20-year-old said, "so I decided this year that I will battle for the under-23 title.

"It’s going to be super-tough and super-close racing, but I’m really excited to push for that title again and see what I can do."

Twenty-year-old Zoe Bäckstedt has said she wants to continue enjoying competing in the under-23 ranks before stepping up to the elites at the UCI World Cyclo-cross Championships.

The Brit, the current under-23 world champion, will defend her title this Sunday at the event in Liévin, France.

Bäckstedt goes into the race as the best ranked under-23 rider in the world, having just won her age category overall at the UCI World Cup. She is also ranked fourth in the UCI elite standings, but is not tempted to make the jump just yet.

"I have my whole career to race elite,” the 20-year-old said. “Once I move up, I can’t go back. So if that means staying in under-23 this year and next year to hold onto the category for a little longer, then so be it.

“I don’t want to jump too early into elite and potentially regret my decision, so I decided this year that I will battle for the under-23 title. It’s going to be super-tough and super-close racing, but I’m really excited to push for that title again and see what I can do."

If Bäckstedt were to race in the elite category, she would be the youngest rider in the field by two years. Still, it is not uncommon for 20-year-olds to compete among the elites – Fem van Empel, the reigning world champion, won her first elite rainbow jersey at 20.

Bäckstedt will line up alongside three other Brits – Cat Ferguson, Imogen Wolff and Ella Maclean-Howell – in the under-23 race, for which she is the outright favourite to win.

"Of course, it’s a big race, and there’s a lot more at the end of it, but at the same time, it’s just another bike race,” she said. “You have to think of it as another fun day on the bike and go out to really just enjoy it. If you focus too much on it being Worlds, the pressure can get to you."

There will be no British representation in the elite women’s race at this year’s Cyclo-Cross World Championships. According to British Cycling, this is because no riders met the criteria for selection, except for Bäckstedt.

“We select riders who have the best chance of performing at World Championship level or gaining valuable and positive development experience,” a spokesperson from the national squad said.

“In this case, in the elite women and under-23 men’s categories, there were no riders who met these objectives strongly enough to be selected.”

Bäckstedt’s under-23 title defence is scheduled for 12:05 GMT (13:05 CET) on Sunday 2 February. Other contenders in the event include Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber, who finished a close second in the under-23 World Cup rankings, and Dutchwoman Leonie Bentveld, last year’s bronze medallist.

Bäckstedt is also down to compete for Great Britain in this Friday’s mixed relay event, alongside Ferguson, Thomas Mein, Milo Wills and recently minted junior national champions Oscar Amey and Zoe Roche.

Xan Crees is the British national cyclo-cross champion for 2025. Riding for Spectra Racing p/b DAS, she has competed in some of the top cyclo-cross events in the world. Crees is also a former British gravel champion.

This is part of our Q&A series, where we ask some familiar faces some big and small questions.

How did you get into cycling?

I was one of those who was inspired by the London 2012 Olympics. I did lots of different sports – I did netball, swimming and mixed martial arts – but hadn't really found my sport yet. I saw the Olympics and joined my local club, Derby Mercury, and they always pushed cyclo-cross, because it's really accessible.

Originally I thought actually the road was for me. I did a road season, and then I did a 'cross season, and I just fell in love with it.

What first appealed to you about cyclo-cross?

The very first thing that brought me into cyclo-cross was the community sense. I probably didn't realise it as a 13-year-old that it was the community, but it was the fact that I was out there riding with my friends, everyone was friendly, all the parents were cheering on everyone. You felt supported as a rider that people were willing you to do well.

The cyclo-cross race every weekend was a bit of a social. It was a chance to go see my friends and talk to people, as well as have a bike race.

Do you remember your first ever race?

My actual first ever race was a Go-Ride race. I think the course was probably 300m, if that. It was probably about a 10-minute bike race.

My first ever cyclo-cross race was a Notts Derby round, and I remember it quite well. I ended up in third, but with fourth place very close behind, and I dropped my chain coming up to the line. Even though I'd only just started cyclo-cross and hadn't had much practice, I just grabbed the bike and ran to the finish line. When I think back to that, I think maybe I was always naturally going to come and do this, because I had some kind of cyclo-cross instinct.

You won your first elite national cyclo-cross title last weekend. Has it sunk in now?

It's still quite surreal, to be honest. I think everyone saw on the day how emotional it was, and that kind of carried on. I woke up the next day in Belgium to do a race, and I was pretty much crying within the first five minutes of waking up again. Everyone racing at a high level always dreams of having a National Championship title, and it's just come at a point in my career where I probably wasn't expecting it. It just is absolutely insane.

Tell us a bit about your bike set-up for the British National Cyclo-cross Championships.

I was riding a Pearson On and On, which is actually a gravel bike, but it has proven itself time and time again in 'cross races that it can meet those demands. I was on the Schwalbe X-One Bite tyres, which are pretty much the grippiest, muddiest tyres you could ever imagine. Honestly, they were perfect. Having a tyre that grippy gives you so much confidence. I knew when it was icy that I was going to be running that tyre.

I also had a 1x set-up on my bike, because I prefer it in a 'cross race, and also a chain guard, because chain drops are an absolute nightmare, especially in a muddy race like that.

We had the Ere Research Omnia wheels, which are actually road wheels, but again, they've absolutely held up in terms of being on a 'cross bike as well. Everyone's looking for speed.

You previously won the British National Gravel Championships in 2023. Was that a discipline you knew well?

Funnily, when I started doing gravel, I was actually planning to do mountain biking that year, but unfortunately we were struggling to find a mountain bike in my size that I could be competitive on [ed. Crees is 5'3"].

I wanted to do something other than just road racing that year, so I took a gravel bike, did my first UCI Gravel Series and finished fourth overall, third in my category. I did another race in Sweden, and then went into the Gravel National Championships having only done three races. I found myself quite at home with the transfer from 'cross, and it all pretty much came together on the day.

Who was your cycling hero growing up?

The main one for me was always Marianne Vos, because she was so spectacularly good at everything she did. She has titles in pretty much every cycling discipline now.

The other one was Mark Cavendish. Obviously being British, he was one of those you actually got to watch on TV, particularly when I was younger. We didn't get to see that much women's racing on TV, so he was one of those ones that you got to see constantly.

What's the best piece of advice that you've received in your career?

I had a friend who was a vet[eran] racer and was incredibly good on a bike, but I saw him at a race once and he was so nervous. To me, if you were nervous, that meant maybe you were doubting yourself, and he turned around to me and said: "It's ok to be nervous, because if you're nervous, it shows that you want this. If you're not nervous, then you don't care about it enough."

That allowed me to see that if I'm nervous pre-race, it's ok, it's because I want it, and I can still perform well on those nerves.

What do you do alongside racing?

At the moment I'm working three days a week for Hunt Wheels in the customer service and tech team, helping out our customers and our riders. We joked in the office that I should change my email tag line at the bottom and add British national cyclo-cross champion to it.

When Honor Elliott was tasked with making the spookiest costume she could for a Halloween cyclocross race, she asked herself a simple question. What’s the scariest thing in cycling at the moment?

The answer came to her quickly: "The state time trial helmets have gotten themselves into."

Together with her boyfriend, Theo Clarke, Elliott sketched out designs, prepped the papier-mâché, and mocked up a giant version of cycling’s most talked-about lid: the Giro Aerohead II, sported by Visma-Lease a Bike and Canyon-Sram.

She then wore it on Saturday evening as she competed at Rapha’s Muddy Hell event in Herne Hill, London, riding it to an impressive second place.

“I would say it was credit to the aerodynamics, but it wasn’t,” she laughed, speaking to Cycling Weekly. “It felt like I was wearing a massive sail on my head. If I rode in a straight line, I could feel the wind blowing me from side to side. When I was on the velodrome, people were saying it was wobbling.

“It was so funny, because it wasn’t a windy evening, but I put the helmet on and I could hear wind. I was like, ‘What are these massive gusts?’ But it was only because I had this huge wind blocker on my head. In terms of dexterity of my limbs, [it was] perfect, I could ride my bike well, but obviously it did slow me down.”

The idea, Elliott explained, came to her “a while ago”. Having dressed up as a snail and viral road rage driver Ronnie Pickering in previous editions of the event, she wanted something with more “structural integrity” this time round. The helmet was the perfect solution.

“I needed to come up with a concept that was funny and good, but also that would hold up,” she said. “It’s been in my brain for longer than I should really admit, but it was pulled together in the week before the race, very, very last minute.”

It took around six hours for Elliott’s boyfriend, Clarke, to make the helmet, also making one for himself, an oversized mock-up of the Kask equivalent worn by Ineos Grenadiers.

“I did the design and the concept, and he did all the manual labour,” Elliott said. “He was doing a layer before and after work each day, in his workshop. We completely underestimated how time-consuming papier-mâché is. I’ve never done it before, so I felt a bit sorry for him. He was going to work early and coming back at eight everyday.

“It’s literally just papier-mâché around a big balloon. We popped the balloon, cut it in half, and then we each had a helmet. We painted it, and it was taped to our actual helmets with velcro tape. It’s pretty simple engineering.”

When Elliott revealed the helmet for the first time, lining up in it to race, “everyone was staring and pointing,” she said. “I felt a little bit awkward, but I knew it was because I had a big helmet on my head. It got a lot of laughs.”

Both amateur racers, Elliott and Clarke are also keen content creators, and share videos from cyclocross and gravel events to their YouTube channel. The Halloween-themed Muddy Hell, held under darkness at London's Herne Hill Velodrome, is one of their favourites to attend. “It’s fun and silly, but also competitive,” Elliott said, but this year’s edition ended in controversy for the pair.

“The helmets didn’t win best costume,” she added. Instead, the awards went to a rider disguised as Corpse Bride, from the Tim Burton film, and another dressed as a centurion. A fan dressed in Tour de France polka dots won the prize for best spectator costume.

“The whole evening was so intense, we didn’t really get much chance to actually soak it in,” Elliott said. “Cyclocross is so silly, but we can all take it seriously as athletes. But you can never take it that seriously, because you’re rolling around in mud half the time, and Muddy Hell is kind of the epitome of that. It’s just a more extreme version of that.”

Video footage from this year’s event will be shared on Elliott and Clarke’s YouTube channel in the coming weeks.

Cyclo-cross rider Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) was disqualified from a race and fined after he stomped on a fellow competitor’s bike.

The Belgian champion planted his foot onto the back wheel of Fenix rider Ryan Kamp’s bike after the pair crashed together at Saturday’s Exact Cross event in Beringen, Belgium. Following the incident, a race official pulled Iserbyt from the course, and he was later fined 100 CHF (£89.09).

The initial collision came on the fifth of eight laps of the muddy circuit, when Kamp and Iserbyt went shoulder-to-shoulder on a sharp downhill section. Iserbyt crashed into a wooden pole, with Kamp falling beside him.

Writing on X afterwards, Iserbyt said he was overcome with a “rage of anger” that led him to stomp on his opponent’s bike.

Kamp had to run back to the pits, holding his bike which appeared to have a broken rear derailleur. The Dutchman ended up finishing 22nd, three minutes and 50 seconds behind the winner, Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions).

Shortly after the race finished, Iserbyt shared an apology message on X: “I understand the decision of the jury to dsq me today in Beringen. My acts after the hard crash were made in a rage of anger and don’t belong in this sport. For this I want to apologise to everyone involved. Now I’ll focus on the positive things and look forward to the next races!”

Iserbyt also gave an interview to Belgian publication HLN, in which he said his reaction was “not necessary”, but came after something Kamp had said to him. Asked what the comments were, Iserbyt said: “I’m not going to repeat that, but yes it was dirty.”

The duo were teammates at Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal for five years until Kamp joined Fenix – a racing arm linked to his road team Alpecin-Deceuninck – earlier this year. According to Iserbyt, tension between the two had been “simmering for a while”, with incidents of “cutting up” and “pushing” last season.

Kamp was also approached for comment about the incident in Beringen. “The smartest thing is to say nothing. Worse things will come of it,” he told HLN.

“We were riding next to each other in the corner, nothing more happened. There was contact, but that's part of cross, I think. I'm not going to say anything more about it. It's fine,” Kamp added.

Hoping to attract more international competition, American cyclocross race series USCX has added the two-event TREK CX Cup as the series finale on October 4th - 6th, creating a race block of four consecutives UCI race weekend on U.S. soil.  

Trek has stepped up as series sponsor as well as the host of the final race weekend with its Trek CX Cup, colloquially known as the “Battle Among the Cattle”, taking place at its Waterloo, Wisconsin - based headquarters. 

This is the first time in the series' four-year history where the race series features all four of its race weekends consecutively, starting in Roanoke, Virginia, in mid-September and ending at the October Trek CX Cup event. Previously, breaks as long as a month sat between races. All the events will feature UCI-registered races for elite riders, C1 on Saturdays and C2 on Sundays, as well as amateur events. 

The hope is that this consecutive format will entice more European racers to attend the series in full and spend some time across the pond in the U.S. racing cyclocross. Additionally, North American athletes who hope to also compete at the Cyclocross World Championships in Belgium will now be able to complete their U.S. season well before needing to head to Europe. 

There will be a $15,000 total prize purse for the man and woman who top the standings at the end of the four week series, split evenly between the two. Last year, Canadian Maghalie Rochette (Canyon Collective) and American Curtis White (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing) won the women’s and men’s elite USCX titles, respectively. 

The 2024 USCX calendar:

• September 14-15: GoCross in Roanoke, Virginia
• September 21-22: Rochester Cyclocross in Rochester, New York
• September 28-29: Charm City Cross in Baltimore, Maryland
• October 4-6: Battle Among the Cattle in Waterloo, Wisconsin

Cameron Mason is a cyclo-cross racer for the Belgium-based Cyclocross Reds team. He is the current British national cyclo-cross champion, winning the title for a second time this January, and is a rising star in the discipline. Mason hails from Scotland and races in mountain biking as well as CX.  

What was your first bike?

The first bike I remember having is a silver Ridgeback, 20-inch I think it was, and it had mud guards on it but then as I got more serious I realised mud guards weren't cool. Ten-year-old me took off the mud guards and then I felt like I had more of a race bike. And then a bike after that was a Scott Voltage, a bright red Scott Voltage, and that was proper sendy. It felt like a dirt jump bike but I did loads and loads of Scottish racing on that bike as well. 

What was the first race you ever watched?

Well, my cousin used to race at a pretty high level in the UK. So the first race I was probably at would have been a national British mountain bike round, probably in Wales or down south somewhere. But watching him, watching my uncle do the bottles in the pits and all that. That's my first kind of racing memory with my cousin, Callum, racing a national round.

Who was your first cycling hero? 

Danny MacAskill. I would have had posters on my wall of Danny. That was because of YouTube videos, from seeing him live in show in Scotland. We used to go to the Fort William Downhill World Cups. Danny MacAskill would have been my first cycling icon and he still is today, even though he's not really actually connected to racing, which is a bit different.

What is the best place that your career has taken you to?

South Africa, Stellenbosch area, for the Cape Epic which I did with Specialized Racing in 2022. Those two, three weeks were just crazy, amazing trails, such different cultures. Good bits and bad bits of the culture, obviously. It was just totally unlike anything I've done before because I've been very kind of Europe based, so that was pretty insane.

What first appealed to you about cyclo-cross? 

It wasn't a conscious decision. When I was 11 or 12 years old, I was really enjoying racing cross country mountain bike, and I just wanted to do more racing. So naturally, when I got to September, and October, and the mountain bike racing stopped, I was like 'Ah Mum, Dad can we go to some more bike racing?' And the only bike racing that was on was cross. We learned where the Scottish cross series races were, and then just started going to them. We got an Islabike from the club and then started going there. 

What would you be doing if you weren’t a cyclist? 

I would probably be another sort of athlete, probably. Or, I'd quite like to be like a chef or a cook, like a personal chef. I'd quite like to help people and give people good food in some way. Or I'd be doing social, outdoor enterprise type stuff so like helping kids discover the outdoors. I think a lot of people in disadvantaged situations don't get to experience how amazing being outdoors is and I can credit a lot of what I do to that. So I'd like to help other people get into the outdoors.

What do you like doing in your free time when you’re not racing or training?

Nothing that exciting because you can't get your heart rate or your adrenaline going too high. Probably charity shopping. I love going down charity shops and just having a browse, seeing if I can get lucky and get some bargains and cool things. Scottish high streets are really good for that because they're just bargains and you're just shopping with loads of grannies and stuff. That's very like low stress and very far away from bike riding, so that's a good off-the-bike activity.

Cameron Mason has said he’s ready for anything at Saturday's British National Cyclo-cross Championships and is not fazed by the pressure that comes with racing on home turf. 

The Scotsman is the reigning male national champion, after his dominant display in Milnthorpe last year, and will aim to defend his title on his local course - Callendar Park in Falkirk, Scotland - this weekend. 

Mason told Cycling Weekly that he’s still feeling the effects of a recent crash in Belgium during a UCI World Cup round but that he is still well prepared for the upcoming action in Scotland. 

"It's going to be really cool," the 23-year-old said. "I only live about ten kilometres from Falkirk and the course. So actually, it's going to be quite an easy weekend for me. It's usually always so busy with travelling and living abroad, so to come home and do literally a home race for your national champs is a bit of a gift.

“There's naturally going to be a bit of extra pressure,” he added. “But it's for a reason, I can't say it's a bad thing, it's because I've been doing so well and that's awesome. So it's a cool thing, and I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow especially with home crowds as well.

“Tomorrow, I think I'll just be trying to manage any stress so I can get to the start line in the best place possible and just do what I can do.”

Racing for the Cyclocross Reds team, Mason has established himself as one to watch in the school of hard knocks that is the winter cyclo-cross circuit in Belgium and the Netherlands. 

He told Cycling Weekly that despite a spell of wet and cold weather across the UK, the course in Falkirk should provide quite the spectacle. 

“Callendar Park is always quite firm, the ground is quite firm which is quite a good thing for cross," he said. "We're so used to National Champs and British races being just like running races and such a bog, cold and foggy. 

“But Callendar Park is like a proper country park so it's slick on top. There's heavy sections and run ups and things. But I think it should be a good race track, and I'm excited to race on the Saturday as well and get a good go at the course and get it done as well.

“I think everyone's going to have to measure their effort,” Mason added. "In any hour of cross racing at this time of year if you go too early, there's a chance of blowing up. So I've just got to see what kind of day I'm on and what I can do with my legs, and then I'll probably try and take the race on but if that's after one lap or if that's after five laps, I don't know yet. We'll see."

The British National Cyclo-cross Championships take place this weekend, 13-14 January, and will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and the British Cycling YouTube channel. 

Zoe Bäckstedt has opted not defend her title in the elite women's race, scheduled for 11:25 on Saturday. The elite men's race will then follow in the afternoon, at 13:15. 

Youth and veteran categories will race on Sunday. 

Tom Pidcock is set to start in just 10 cyclo-cross races this winter, with the former world champion beginning his season on 16 December at the X2O Trofee Herentals.

The 24-year-old will ride six UCI World Cup events during his campaign, which takes place over December and January but will skip the World Championships in Tábor in February. 

The ten events where Pidcock will race are:

- X2O Trofee Herentals, 16 December
- UCI World Cup Namur, 17 December
- UCI World Cup Antwerpen, 23 December
- UCI World Cup Gavere, 26 December
- Superprestige Diegem, 28 December
- UCI World Cup Hulst, 30 December
- X2O Trofee Koksijde - Vlaamse Duinencross, 4 January
- Hexia Cyclocross Gullegem, 6 January
- UCI World Cup Zonhoven, 7 January
- UCI World Cup Benidorm, 21 January

It means that it is only at the Antwerp, Gavere, and Hulst World Cups, and the X2O Trofee at Koksijde, where the 'big three' of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Pidcock, will race. It had already been established that van der Poel, the world champion, would ride 15 races this season, while van Aert is down to ride just six at present.

Pidcock and van der Poel are also set to clash at Zonhoven and Benidorm and January.

Last season, Pidcock won two races, the X2O Trofee Kortrijk, and the Superprestige Boom, as he took part in 14 events. In the races he didn't win, he often finished behind the other two members of the 'big three'.

It had already been reported that Pidcock was set to skip the World Championships, an event he won in 2022, as is van Aert. It is thought this is in order to fine tune preparation for the Spring Classics and the road season.

“He contests a number of races during the busy end-of-year period. And then it doesn't last very long after that. A bit similar to last season. The World Championships? No, I don't think so," his coach, Kurt Bogaerts said previously.

>>> Are we witnessing the death of the multi-discipline star?

In Pidcock and van Aert’s absence, Mathieu van der Poel will be the outright favourite to retain the World title that he won in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands in February.

Earlier in November, UCI President David Lappartient brought up the idea of banning cyclo-cross riders who skip UCI World Cup races from participating in the World Championships, after Thibau Nys chose not to ride at Dendermonde, the third World Cup round, on Sunday. Nys rode a Superprestige race on Saturday. 

"If a rider prefers to ride a national event during World Cup rounds, you won't ride the following World Cup rounds and therefore you won't ride the World Championships," Lappartient told DirectVelo. "The World Cup is not a competition in which you can pick and choose as you please. Every rider has to play the game."

None of the past three world champions - Van der Poel, Van Aert, or Pidcock, have yet raced a World Cup this season. However, if they aren't riding the World Championships anyway, Lappartient's threat is empty.

Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel could face each other at just six cyclo-cross races this season, with both riders' initial schedules published.

The pair are the two biggest names in the CX world, having shared nine out of the last ten World Championships between them, and have been head and shoulders above the rest of the field for most of that time. 

Earlier in December, Van der Poel released his calendar for this cyclo-cross season; the Dutchman will not race until 22 December. Now, Van Aert has published his schedule for the season, with his first race the Exact Cross at Essen on 9 December, 

While Van der Poel has 15 races down on his schedule, Van Aert has just six at the moment; it is unlikely that the World Championships in Tabor on 4 February will be added into the mix, but his Jumbo-Visma team said that his participation in the Zonhoven and Benidorm World Cups in January was uncertain at this stage.

Van der Poel and Van Aert tend to dominate races that they take part in. In the 15 races that Van der Poel, the reigning world champion, took part in last year, he won seven, but of the eight races he didn’t win, only two weren't won by Van Aert.

It is the same with the Belgian: of the 14 races he took part in, he won nine. Of the six he didn’t win, all were won by Van der Poel.

It is thought that Van Aert has been cutting down cyclo-cross commitments in order to focus on the road season, which next year are likely to include the Classics, the Giro d'Italia, and then the Olympic Games, and the Road World Championships in Zürich.

The six races that Van Aert is currently scheduled to race, which all include Van der Poel too, are: 

- 22 December: Exact 'Cross Mol
- 23 December: World Cup Antwerp
- 26 December: World Cup Gavere
- 30 December: World Cup Hulst
- 1 January 2024: X2O Trofee Baal / GP Sven Nys
- 4 January: X2O Trofee Koksijde

The other member of the 'big three' of cyclo-cross, Tom Pidcock, is also yet to race, and has not released any schedule of his appearances this winter to date. 

Over the weekend, UCI President David Lappartient brought up the idea of banning cyclo-cross riders who skip UCI World Cup races from participating in the World Championships, after Thibau Nys chose not to ride at Dendermonde, the third World Cup round, on Sunday. Nys rode a Superprestige race on Saturday. 

"If a rider prefers to ride a national event during World Cup rounds, you won't ride the following World Cup rounds and therefore you won't ride the World Championships," Lappartient told DirectVelo. "The World Cup is not a competition in which you can pick and choose as you please. Every rider has to play the game."

None of the past three world champions - Van der Poel, Van Aert, or Pidcock, have yet raced a World Cup this season.

This year Black Friday is running from November 24th - 27th. We've rounded up all the best Black Friday bike deals we’ve found in our main hub page. With deals spanning components, tech and riding kit, you're guaranteed to find a bargain. 

Good morning, welcome back to The Leadout. I hope you’re well on this cold November Tuesday. It feels so far from the road season at the moment that it’s time to talk about that wintry sport: cyclo-cross. Remember, if you aren’t already, subscribe to this newsletter. Email me on adam.becket@futurenet.com if you’d like to chat.

Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock are the fifth, sixth, and 14th best cyclo-cross riders in the world, according to the UCI’s ranking, but they are the big three, the trio which dominate the discipline, when they take to the start line. No one else has won a World Championships since 2014, and wins tend to be shared between van der Poel and van Aert especially, whenever they take part.

However, they have to take part to win, something which is rare, especially in the early season. Last week, van der Poel released his calendar for this cyclo-cross season; the Dutchman will not race until 22 December. It is unknown when van Aert or Pidcock will join him. 

In this gap, the riders a rung down - from van der Poel and van Aert certainly - have flooded in, using their absence to battle for wins. Lars van der Haar and Thibau Nys have won the two rounds of the World Cup to date this season, with Nys also taking a round of the X2O Trofee and Eli Iserbyt winning the two Superprestige races to date; meanwhile, Michael Vanthourenhout won at the European Championships at the weekend, and the British rider Cameron Mason has impressed, finishing in competitive places so far.

The problem with all this racing, while it has been fun, is that it very much feels like everyone is just playing around, waiting for the big boys to join in. In the 15 races that van der Poel, the reigning world champion, took part in last year, he won seven, but of the eight races he didn’t win, only one wasn’t won by van Aert or Pidcock.

It is the same with the Belgian: of the 14 races he took part in, he won nine. Of the six he didn’t win, all were won by van der Poel. Meanwhile, Pidcock might not yet be quite at the same level yet, but out of the 14 races he took part in, just three were not won by van der Poel or Pidcock.

This is not new, and it has very much been the pattern of men’s cyclo-cross racing for the last few years, but as the road calendar of the big three has taken on more importance, the difference between the early season and the late season has become increasingly stark.

It makes a mockery of season-long competitions like the World Cup, the Superprestige and X2O Trofee, as there is one group of riders - battling each other - who are doing well in October, November and early December, before van Aert, van der Poel and Pidcock get involved. It might as well be a completely different sport, such is the change in the podium cast.

November feels like tennis of the 2010s without Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer, or Formula One without Red Bull and Mercedes. 

Is it good for the sport, though? There appears to be a widening gap between the haves and the have nots, with little prospect of these CX specialists taking the battle to the multi-discipline stars. The big three are undoubtedly good for raising the number of TV audiences and fans when they are introduced - hence the large appearance fees they get - but would the action not be more exciting if there was tighter competition when they appear?

Cyclo-cross cannot rely on van der Poel, van Aert or Pidcock, but it seems stuck with the big three coming back and dominating again.

Then again, having multiple riders dominate is better than having one, I suppose, as we are seeing in the elite women’s category at the moment. In the absence of Puck Pieterse, Shirin van Anrooij and Lucinda Brand, Fem van Empel has won every race she has taken part in, a 12 race run that actually stretches back to the Dutch national championships last January. 

Enjoy the exciting men’s racing for now, before the big names return to ride away with all the silverware, again.

The European Cyclo-Cross Championships have been rescheduled due to the ongoing effects of Storm Ciarán.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, the day before the events were due to take place, the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) said that the races will now take place on Sunday instead; it is not known what the impact on the schedule will be. The Team Relay still took place on Friday, however.

The women's elite, under-23 men's and junior women's races were due to be held on Saturday in Pont-Château, France, but with Meteo France predicting gusts of up to 90km/h on Saturday, along with rain, the events have been postponed. The weather does not look much better for Sunday, 5 November.

A tweet from the UEC read: "Due to the extreme weather conditions forecast in Western France, the local authorities (Prefet de la Loire-Atlantique) have decreed that no events can be held tomorrow (4 Nov.). All EuroCross23 events will now be rescheduled for Sunday A new schedule will be announced soon."

There are now men's and women's elite, under-23 and junior races to be rescheduled to Sunday now, all in one day on one course. Among those impacted by the move are the defending champions Fem van Empel (Netherlands) and Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium), as well as Great Britain's Cameron Mason and Anna Kay.

Pont-Château, which has previously hosted the World Cyclo-cross Championships in 1989 and 2004, has provided a three kilometre long course with three stair sections.

Among the other favourites for the women's elite race include last year's second place, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, and Inge van der Heijden, both of the Netherlands. It is hard to look past Van Empel, though, who has now won every raced she has lined up in this season, including this week's Koppenbergcross.

Meanwhile, in the men's race, Vanthourenhout and Mason will be expected to be up there with Lars van der Haar (Netherlands), and Thibau Nys (Belgium), who won the Koppenbergcross. Nys' fellow Belgians Laurens Sweeck and Eli Iserbyt will also be marked men.

Young British duo Cat Ferguson and Imogen Wolff headline the women’s junior start list, an event which will now take place on Sunday too.

It is not the first event to be called of this week because of storms, with organisers forced to cancel the Dutch National Headwind Championships – due to high winds.

"We've been closely monitoring the development of Storm Ciarán and unfortunately [it has become] so strong that we can't start. Everyone's safety is our top priority,"  the organisers said on social media.

"We were really looking forward to it, but have had to make this decision in cooperation with different parties and with pain in our hearts."

The road season is winding down, the nights are drawing in, which means cyclo-cross season is about to kick into gear. 

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup calendar opens this Sunday with the first of 14 rounds. This year, the calendar begins in Waterloo - no, not the major train station in London - the city in the US state of Wisconsin, and the chosen home of bike brand Trek.  

The day’s racing will begin with the women’s event at 12:40 local time (18:40 BST), with the men’s event following at 14:10 (20:10 BST).  

Sadly for road cycling fans, none of the power trio Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock will be on the start line, but here are five other names to keep an eye out for in their absence. 

Eli Iserbyt

Last year’s winner in Waterloo, the diminutive Eli Iserbyt is a consistent performer on the cyclo-cross circuit. The 25-year-old, a two-time world champion at under-23 level, has lived much of his senior career in the shadow of Van Aert and Van der Poel, but savours his opportunities to shine. 

Eight victories last season followed the Belgian’s most illustrious campaign to date, when he won 14 times across the winter of 2021-2022, and claimed the overall UCI World Cup.

In Waterloo, Iserbyt will no doubt be encouraged by the absence of the reigning World Cup champion, Laurens Sweeck, who is recovering from a muscle tear in his calf. 

Thibau Nys

Thibau Nys, son of cyclo-cross great Sven Nys, is the one of the most promising new kids on the block. 

At just 20 years old, the Baloise Trek Lions rider won his first elite race last weekend, taking victory on his season debut in Beringen, Belgium. What’s even more impressive is that he beat a field containing the top four UCI-ranked riders in the world; Sweeck, Lars van der Haar, Michael Vanthourenhout and Iserbyt . 

Victory stateside might not come as easily to Nys, but expect the under-23 world champion to be in the mix throughout. 

Fem van Empel

In the women’s race, world champion Fem van Empel is the standout favourite for victory. The Dutchwoman was almost untouchable last season, finishing on the podium of every event she took part in, save for a DNF at Val di Sole. 

It will take a lot to match the 17 victories she amassed last winter, but her tally is already underway. Last weekend in Beringen, Van Empel laid waste to her competition, winning by one minute and 18 seconds over her compatriot and runner-up Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. 

The only question mark over the 22-year-old’s head is her level of fatigue. Riding for Jumbo-Visma, she completed a road calendar for the first time in her career this season, and took part in the recent UCI Gravel World Championships, where she earned herself a bronze medal. 

Shirin van Anrooij

Like Van Empel, Shirin Van Anrooij is another who balances cyclo-cross ambitions with a career on the road. 

This year, the Dutchwoman reached new heights with Lidl-Trek, as she won her first WorldTour race in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, and claimed victory in the debut edition of the Tour de l’Avenir Femmes. 

Her cyclo-cross prowess is also developing. Van Anrooij is currently the third-ranked rider in the world, behind Van Empel and Puck Pieterse, and is the reigning under-23 world champion. 

Zoe Bäckstedt

Nineteen-year-old Zoe Bäckstedt has already been out racing in the States for the past week, and has two wins under her belt, both taken at the Major Taylor Cross Cup.

Still a handful of years younger than the rest of the field, the British national champion’s goal this season is likely to score her first UCI World Cup podium. She came close last year, with fourth place finishes at Gavere and Besançon. 

Now, there’s a feeling that the breakthrough elite ride is just around the corner for the former junior world champion. The muddier the better for Bäckstedt. 

Cyclo-cross rider Toon Aerts has expressed his disdain for the UCI, sending the governing body a “big and heartfelt middle finger”, after he was suspended for two years following a positive anti-doping test. 

The Belgian returned a positive result for the testosterone-boosting drug Letrozole in an out-of-competition test in January 2022. After a one and a half year investigation, the UCI found Aerts guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, and served him a two-year suspension, backdated to February 2022. 

In a “final statement” shared on social media on Monday, Aerts maintained his innocence and took aim at the UCI. 

“1.5 years I had to wait for this final verdict,” he wrote. “I may have typed in the word Letrozole on Google 5,000 times during this period… hoping to find the missing piece of the puzzle. But we didn’t find it. Now where on earth did it come from? I still don’t know exactly how this got into my body. But I can’t blame myself. I threw thousands of euros at it, visited several universities, had several reports written by experts.

“Never was I invited by the UCI or given the chance to speak to anyone physically. Everything was via email or registered mail. We were always bound by tight deadlines to reply within a few days, which often included holidays. But on the other hand, we always had to wait weeks, sometimes months, before we could receive anything back.”

Aerts's defence claimed the substance was ingested involuntarily in a contaminated food supplement. However, the UCI deemed that he "had failed to establish how the prohibited substance entered his body". 

Earlier this year, the Belgian took up a job as a physical education teacher in a school. He wrote in his statement that his character has changed since his provisional suspension, becoming “unlovable” and “los[ing] a bit of faith in humanity”. 

“After a year and a half in a legal tug-of-war, now portrayed as a chaeter. Along with my entire family and surrounds suddenly labelled losers. It hurts and it doesn’t feel right,” Aerts said. 

“Well here UCI, a bit and heartfelt middle finger! You could have made us the happiest people on earth… But who is Toon Aerts in the big circus of cycling?” 

The Belgian’s compatriot Shari Bossuyt, with whom he shares an agent, is also at the centre of an investigation surrounding Letrozole, having tested positive for the drug in March. 

“I only hope my case rings a bell with everyone,” Aerts said, “because I am holding my heart for riders and athletes who may go through exactly the same thing. My heart is bleeding for Shari who is in the same situation.” 

Aerts closed the statement by saying he will “definitely” return to racing once his suspension comes to an end in February 2024. “Hopefully one day we will also receive the appropriate apology,” he added. 

The UCI has said its decision may be appealed before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within a month, and that it will not comment further on the matter.

Calm, happiness, focus, aggression, excitement, awareness and confidence. According to Canadian pro cyclocrosser, Maghalie Rochette, those are the seven emotions all racers experience throughout the World Cup race season. 

Everyone may have their own version of these, some favoring one emotion more than the others, but all seven come together to create the bike racer’s mindset, she argues.

And for Rochette, a three-time Canadian and Pan-American champion, it is when these key emotions come together just right that she finds her winning formula. 

She’s certainly not alone in this and to take a deeper dive into the racer’s mindset and its blend of emotions, Rochette —a frequent podcaster— has launched a ‘Emotions of Racing podcast sub-series where each episode is dedicated to one of the seven emotions. For every episode, Rochette is joined by another athlete who strongly identifies with the emotion of discussion. These athletes include Life Time Grand Prix podium finisher Sarah Sturm, US national cyclocross champion Clara Honsinger, Canadian downhill mountain bike champion Miranda Miller and more. 

The interplay of Rochette’s race emotions served as the inspiration for apparel manufacturer Rapha’s new Pro Team collection. For the limited edition colourway, each one of Rochette’s identified emotions was given a color. The end result signifies the synesthesia of associating these colors with her emotions. 

“Looking down at this kit  while racing helps me channel the emotions associated with each of those colors and create the ideal racing mindset,” the 29-year-old Quebec native said in a press release.

The new Pro Team collection includes a Pro Team Aero Jersey and Pro Team Training Jersey —available in Men’s and Women’s— plus Pro Team Socks, Cap and Lightweight Snood. 

Canadian cyclo-cross racer Michael van den Ham dislocated his finger in Sunday’s Cyclo-cross World Championships race, before snapping it back into place and remounting his bike to ride on. 

The 30-year-old suffered the injury in the opening minutes of the men’s elite event in Hoogerheide, Netherlands. As he sat in the dirt with riders careering past him, Van den Ham then composed himself before briskly yanking his finger back into position. 

Captioning a video of the incident on Instagram after the race, the Canadian wrote: “Sometimes you just got to snap out of it.

“My race was actually good barring this one… Mishap… but this will always be the race where I dislocated my finger and put it back in.”

After the event, Van den Ham splinted his finger with a ballpoint pen and some black electrical tape. He then took to his Instagram stories to provide more context on his gnarly injury. 

“I hear it was on TV that I dislocated my finger and that’s true,” he said. “It popped out and it was pointed at the grossest 45-degree angle, my index finger towards my pinky, my left hand.

“There’s no way I ever could have done this outside of the first lap of the race, but I grabbed it, reefed it in, popped it back into place, did the rest of the race. Crazy.” 

The Canadian, a four-time national cyclo-cross champion, eventually placed 33rd of the 40-rider field, having been pulled from the race with two laps to go. He told his Instagram followers that finishing the race early was “disappointing”, but it gave him the chance to watch Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert sprint for the title. “Which was like insane,” Van den Ham said, “can’t believe it.” 

In the end, it was Van der Poel who took the glory after a tense 10 laps of racing. The Dutchman kicked ahead of his long-term rival Van Aert on the course's final bend, sprinting on the hoods and staying away to the line. 

The victory earned Van der Poel his fifth rainbow jersey in the discipline.

Raph Tabiner, a 17-year-old cyclo-cross rider from Warrington, nearly gave up cycling all together after a shocking collision with a tractor landed him in hospital last year. 

Tabiner recently made a return to cyclo-cross and finished tenth in the junior men’s category of the British national championships last weekend in Milnthorpe, the Lake District. 

However, Tabiner told Cycling Weekly that he very nearly didn’t make the start line at all after the horrific incident in Wales. 

“I remember I’d had a cracking week of riding around Snowdonia. I set off one Sunday morning and met up with my uncle for a ride. We were about 80 miles into it near a town called Denbigh, then a tractor suddenly pulled up next to us at a junction,” Tabiner recalls. 

“We needed to get across the junction, and the tractor couldn’t. I didn’t think anything more about it at the time but then two minutes later down the road I was just riding along when suddenly I was just catapulted into this layby.”

“I lay there for a moment stunned thinking ‘what on earth has just hit me?’ I was pretty much knocked out. I can’t remember much after,” Tabiner says. “It came back to me in the weeks after and I just remember looking up and seeing this huge tractor and realising it was that.” 

Tabiner explained that the horrific incident, which left him requiring hospital treatment meant his confidence in riding his bike disappeared into thin air. 

“It was the main reason I stopped. I just couldn’t get on my bike for weeks after,” he explains. “Even if there was nothing behind me, if I even sensed a large vehicle, a van, tractor, whatever I’d just quickly get off my bike and get on the pavement.”

“It’s still like it to this day. If I get something like that behind me, it’s always in the back of my mind. Is this going to happen again?”  

Tabiner added that the most shocking thing about the whole incident was that the driver claimed he could not see the 17-year-old and his uncle. 

“There was just no good excuse for what happened to me. A guy who looked about 20 got out and just said to us ‘sorry, I just couldn’t see you’ . It's so scary that he said he just couldn’t see us,” he says. 

After the collision, the 17-year-old was checked over by an off-duty paramedic and then taken to hospital for treatment for a series of wounds that he’d obtained. 

“My bike got me in the stomach and I’ve still got marks on my arms and legs too,” Tabiner adds.

Once he had got back into riding, Tabiner achieved several high placings in cyclo-cross national trophy rounds which convinced him to enter the national championships. Once the junior men’s race was underway in Milnthorpe, Tabiner soon realised that racing without any expectation meant he was on his way to a top ten finish. 

“I got there and saw the course and knew it would be tough. It was literally only once I got to tenth that I believed I could do something,” he says. “I was in ninth and chasing eighth but then I got overtaken. Luckily I held on for that tenth.”

The 17-year-old explains that in his time around junior cycling he’s also noticed a “big problem” involving too much pressure and it being taken “stupidly seriously” soemthing which he says began to effect him.

“There is a big problem in youth cycling and junior cycling with people taking it stupidly seriously, particularly in the last couple of years,” Tabiner says. “I just got caught up in it all and people don't see it going on.” 

“It just takes over and if you get one bad result it’s like a week ruined,” he adds. 

After a difficult period, Tabiner says that support from his parents and coaches enabled him to re-capture what, to him, was the most important element of cycling. 

“Nowadays I’m just there racing for a laugh. You’re just riding around and having a laugh, obviously still going hard though,” he says. 

If Tabiner can maintain his new found freedom “having a laugh” in cyclo-cross, the likeable 17-year-old may just find that he laughs himself onto a national championship podium next year. 

Cameron Mason, the newly crowned British national cyclo-cross champion, has said that the top cyclo-cross riders like Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert deserve their big appearance fees.

The fees paid to the star riders on the European cyclo-cross circuit have been criticised in recent weeks by other riders on the start-line who have said they have to race for free because there is not enough money to go around.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly in Milnthorpe on Sunday, Mason said that he believes riders can have few complaints about the situation. 

Furthermore, the Scotsman said he felt the trio of cross’ galacticos, Wout Van Aert, Mathieu Van der Poel and Tom Pidcock receive large fees from race organisers for a reason. 

“It’s no secret that when Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom [Pidcock] turn up at races the crowds are then bigger,” Mason said. 

“As a kind of financial thing, it 100% adds up. Organisers are getting more people through the door when the big guys turn up,” he added.

“I’ve raced in races where those guys weren’t there and yeah, I think the difference is really noticeable so I think it’s just part of it.” 

Throughout recent weeks during competition in Belgium, multiple riders and former riders have spoken out against the high appearance fees handed to the trio by race organisers.

According to Het Nieuwsblad, some competitors including Czech rider Zdeněk Štybar have on occasions been forced to race for free due to there simply being no money left after the aforementioned trio have signed on. 

However the British national champion believes that most riders receive enough money during the season as it is. 

“I think riders are definitely making enough money as it is from their teams anyway, so surely start and appearance money is just extra,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Mason was full of confidence after overcoming a difficult start to land the British national title and explained that he has “big goals” at the fast-approaching world championships in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands. 

“I’m feeling great and confident after that,” he said “I’ve got some big goals now for the Worlds so I just need to keep this going.”

However, the Scotsman explained that in order to be competitive against the likes of Van Aert and Van der Poel in the Netherlands there will be little room for mistakes. 

“The technical aspect with those two is often overlooked. They have this ability to consistently nail sections lap after lap and make very few mistakes,” Mason said. “That’s what makes the difference.”

“I think Tom [Pidcock] has found that this winter,” he added. “Physically he’s at a high enough level to be at the front of races, but you can’t afford to make mistakes that cost you a few seconds against those two.”

Zoe Bäckstedt annihilated all competition to become British female elite national cyclocross champion and under 23 champion in Milnthorpe this afternoon. 

As she sprinted away from the start line, Bäckstedt didn’t look back and soon opened up a huge lead leaving her fellow competitors to scrap for second and third from the start.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly after the race, Bäckstedt explained that getting a good start was crucial on the heavy course in the Lake District. 

“I had a fast start which I was really happy with. Coming onto the first section it was pretty sketchy as there were a lot of ruts forming in the mud so I knew how important getting it right from the start was,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of good starts in races recently, so I just went from there.” 

On Saturday as she surveyed the course, the 18-year-old predicted that she would need to do a lot of running in order to maintain an advantage. Once the racing was underway on Sunday afternoon, Bäckstedt’s prediction soon appeared to be correct and post-race she explained that the sections involving running were where she could really push on. 

“It was a fast course. There were several places out there, particularly on the climb after the pits, where you could put a fair bit of power down, although the running was where I could really make up a fair bit of time,” she said. 

After dominating proceedings on home soil, Bäckstedt explained that with the cyclocross world championships in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands just around the corner, she would be fully focussed on a podium finish. 

“I’m feeling full of confidence after getting the national title today, but the worlds is another thing altogether,” Bäckstedt said. “There’s going to be a lot of different riders there and different competition but honestly, I’m looking forward to it so much.” 

“Let’s try for the podium out there now. Why not?” 

CAMERON MASON OVERCOMES DIFFICULT START TO LAND MEN’S NATIONAL TITLE 

Meanwhile Cameron Mason overcame a difficult start to land the men’s senior national title. 

The Trinity Racing rider was slow off the start line and soon found that last year’s winner, Thomas Mein, had built an early advantage. 

Mason was able to remain level-headed and calm, and soon clawed back the deficit to the early frontrunners to pull himself back into contention for the title. 

The Scotsman’s natural ability and skill soon shone through as he pushed on through the technical sections, involving a fast downhill chicane, before disappearing into the distance. 

Once he had finally taken the lead, Mason didn’t look back and sped around the fast and sweeping course to lap his nearest rival Mein and land a spectacular win. 

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Mason explained that he had learned from past mistakes where he had “attacked the course too early” and the difficult start soon worked in his favour as his rivals tired. 

“I’d made the mistake last year of trying to attack the course a bit too much fairly early on,” Mason said. “This year I wanted to let the race come to me. I had a terrible start which is what it is, but then my pace really started to show after a few laps. All I had to do was string a few corners together and ride at my own level then once I had that gap, I just went into time trial mode as much as I could to the end which paid off.” 

Elsewhere Seb Grindley also overcame several mechanical issues to secure a superb junior men’s national title and explained post-race that his preparation had been far from ideal.

“It was hectic out there! I had a shocking start but managed to make my way through to the front of the pack after about a lap,” he said. “I then dropped my chain which was really stressful, so I just had to keep my head on to be honest and claw my way back and stay smooth through the race.”

“It’s certainly not been the best prep for me before the race too. I was pretty ill for about a week and it’s only recently cleared up. Today I felt great but I’ve missed a fair bit of training. In the end everything turned out good though so I can’t complain. 

Imogen Wolff took the junior women’s national title with a dominant performance which she explained left her hoping she would make the selection for the upcoming world championships. 

“I’m chuffed with this today. It’s been a long time in the making. With world selections coming up next week I’m really hoping that I’ll have done enough to be able to pull on the stripes out there,” she said. 

Seven years ago, things were going swimmingly for Ben Frederick. The then 25-year-old had just ridden to his best finish at the USA cyclo-cross National Championships, 12th, and he was on his way to fulfilling his dream of riding CX at an elite level, qualifying for World Cups and heading to the World Championships.

An innocuous crash on a training ride heading into the 2016 season changed all that; he hit his head in exactly the wrong place, suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and was forced to put not just his career, but his whole life on hold.

Fast forward to the present day, and Frederick is finally where he always wanted to be, racing some of the biggest races of his discipline, lining up on the same grid as Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Having gone the long way round to get here, he is enjoying it in a way that he never would have before, cherishing his moments in front of huge Belgian crowds, and seeking to raise awareness of both TBIs and mental health.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly before he headed home from his brief sojourn in the wet, cold and dark wilds of northern Europe in winter, the American explains that his recovery was not just "me trying to be a cyclist again, it was finding how to be a human being again".

"I had to let cycling go, I didn't get on the bike for a year and a half because it was too scary," he says. "I had to learn to drive, I had to learn to read, I was basically stuck in a dark room trying to recover for six months. Through that process, and having let go of the sport, I was able to come back to it with a completely different motivation, just to have fun. Nothing was riding on the result, training was training, and there was so much lower pressure."

With that new found motivation, everything is different: "This is my chance to see these races with a fresh perspective. I can go and be a tourist, who gets to drive the F1 car. I trained my ass off, I'm as fit as I've ever been, and yet I'm here with the goal of taking it all in and riding with my eyes wide open."

He is not just in Belgium on some kind of jolly, however, these are the hardest races he has ever done. Finishing 28th at the X2O Trofee Herentals might be his highest result, but that is surely impressive considering this is a man who had to learn everything again.

"These are the hardest races I've ever done, so why not race them back, to back, to back?" the 33-year-old jokes.

"Each one of these races I'm doing I've watched online for years, so it's a super awesome experience to line up and try these races," he says. "The physical toll is a lot. Just getting around some of these courses is hard, not to mention racing them. What I'm doing out there is a different sport to what the guys at the front are doing, they're at a completely different level.

"I got a nice little tap from Quinton Hermans when I got a better start than him at Herentals and he came through me at a million miles an hour, and instead of being mad I was like 'well that was pretty cool'. I had a bit of an opportunity to race these guys in America, but this is a completely different playing field.

"I get to ride up and down the start/finish line and see Wout, Mathieu and Tom [Pidcock], and it's pretty cool to be on the same start grid as those guys, knowing that I will very quickly get out of the shot on TV unless I do a somersault. It's like going out at Wembley or any other sportsball analogy."

He is racing partly in support of his own foundation, Small Monsters, which aims to destigmatise TBIs and mental health, while also raising money for those affected by TBIs, like he so severely was.

On his issues with anxiety and depression, Frederick says "I think the TBI just turned up the volume". 

"In the context, mental health issues can come up physiologically," he continues. "The makeup of your brain changes. That's not talked about enough. Beyond that, your sense of self completely shifts, and that's enough for anyone to feel anxiety or depression. I don't think the small monsters go away, but it's ok to have things to work on."

It is fascinating to see someone with a new perspective on life at the elite level of cycling, and his enthusiasm for the sport and for his situation is infectious. 

Frederick owed his place in Europe partly due to a bursary from the Flandrien Hotel in Brakel, which supports loads of different athletes with different stories; the American enjoyed his time there, and the camaraderie that came with it.

He has a full-time job, running customer service for a retail store, so his time in Europe has to dovetail with that. Unlike Van Aert or Van der Poel, there are no proper off days.

"Making the World Cup team was a goal/inevitability beforehand, but now I just wanted to give back to the community that helped me back on my feet," he explains. "People with brain injuries have to live a new normal."

As for the racing in Belgium, at races like the GP Sven Nys and Herentals, it is a brand new experience, very different to his history of riding 'cross in the US.

"No matter where you start in the field, all the way until you get pulled, there's a race, you're racing someone," he explains. "It's your own little bubble of noise and excitement, and it's a different race to the people four minutes ahead of you are doing."

"People will walk up to little old me and ask for pictures and autographs. The first night in Diegem was insane. I've found that the fans here really enjoy someone who interacts with them, and that it doesn't happen very often, because everyone is very focused on the race."

It is refreshing to find someone who is so into the idea of cycling as entertainment, that's what cyclo-cross is really. Frederick is just enjoying himself.

"How cool, how cool," that's what he is thinking when he's on the start line. All power to him.

Frederick was helped in his journey by the Flandrien Hotel, which provides a Scholarship Program for riders who do not “fit” into traditional team structures due to factors such as age or lack of UCI Points (which you can only get by racing), in an aim to to boost diversity and inclusion in the sport.

Wout van Aert won the 12th round of the Cyclocross World Cup in the sandpit at Zonhoven, his second win in two days.

The early stages of the race had suggested that it was going to be a battle between the top four, but Van Aert went clear and never looked back.

Mathieu van der Poel, who had spoken of his long term back trouble before the race, did appear to be grimacing at times but kept the pressure on to finish second.

Third and fourth places were taken by World Cup leader Laurens Sweeck and European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout  – who between them are battling for the overall World Cup win.

Men's Cyclocross World Cup, Round 12: How it happened

A frenetic start to the 12th round of the Men's Cyclocross World Cup saw the predictable move of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel to the front. The former had gone temporarily clear after the latter did a slow-mo crash on one of the sandy sections, before they came back together and had European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout in close attendance.

World Cup leader Laurens Sweeck was about to make it a lead quartet when Van Aert thundered down De Kuil quicker than anyone else and gapped his rivals. Van der Poel got back to the wheel of Van Aert, while behind Sweeck was pulling away from Vanthourenhout thanks to his abilities on the uphills: often staying on the bike when others were forced to run.

Van der Poel crashed, temporarily stalling Van Aert, but the Belgian dismounted and ran round his grounded rival to get ahead. Once he was ahead, he stayed ahead for the rest of the race. Behind, Vanthourenhout and Sweeck were back with Mathieu, chasing both the win on the day and the overall standings between the pair of them.

With four laps to go, Van Aert had pushed his advantage out to 36 seconds and looked the most comfortable on the course. Just one lap later he had over a minute on the chasing trio; he was descending the sandpit while they were crossing the finish line for the start of their next lap.

Van der Poel rallied, riding some sections better than anyone and dropping Vanthourenhout and Sweeck with relative ease. However, he was still 1:01 down on the lead and up ahead Van Aert was riding sections that he'd previously dismounted on.

In the late stages of the final lap, Van Aert even had time to wave to his adoring fans, raising cheers from an already vocal crowd.

Shirin van Anrooij won round 12 of the Cyclocross World Cup, conquering the sandpit in Zonhoven to take the victory. The race opened with plenty of thrills and spills, and it was Van Anrooij who was best able to cope with the course and capitalise on the errors of her rivals.

The main contenders for the overall World Cup win, Puck Pieterse and Fem van Empel, completed an all Dutch podium.

Women's Cyclocross World Cup, Round 12: How it happened

Drama from the start as Fem van Empel and Zoe Backstedt both took a tumble on the first time down De Kuil. Puck Pieterse capitalised to get ahead, despite having her own slight tumble soon after.

World Cup leader Van Empel went down again after getting stuck in the deep sandy rut near to where Pieterse had been forced to dismount and run not long before.

Running became a theme, as you might expect in a cyclocross race, but perhaps more time off the bike than the racers would have expected.

The next time round, Pieterse thundered down the sandpit to gain yet more time on all those behind her. Van Empel also had a much better time on the downhill as she appeared to be getting herself together after the early setbacks, although the 30+ second gap to the front of the race was staying stubbornly static.

After ceding the lead to Shirin van Anrooij, Pieterse went flying over the handlebars into the soft embrace of Zonhoven's sand. The gap between the lead pair quickly went out to 15 seconds and grew from there.

While struggling to make a dent in the time deficit to the front of the race, Van Empel was gaining places on the course, working her way towards the top five – important for her overall series points tally.

Pieterse showed her skill by riding a technical uphill section that all other riders were forced to run.

Over the six-lap race, Van Empel had a very good race for all but the first one to one-and-a-half laps. She recovered to ensure her poor start wasn't terminal, but she could not cancel out the mistakes and bad luck of the opening circuits to get back to the front of the race.

All the while, Van Anrooij was doing her own thing at the front. Gritting her teeth with the effort, showing she wasn't easing up in the later laps despite the advantage she had over the chasers, she rode on to show that she was the best on the day.

Through the deep sand in Koksijde, two-time world champion Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) powered to his most commanding cyclo-cross victory of the season at this afternoon X20 Trofee event, winning by over a minute and a half ahead of his long-term rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck). 

The Belgian national champion broke clear at the midway point of the eight-lap race, before drawing out his advantage beneath the Flemish rain clouds. As he crossed the line, the 28-year-old dealt an uppercut to the air, marking the sixth victory of his impressive season. 

Speaking after the race, Van Aert said: “It’s always nice to win like this, especially because I felt really strong today and I was really eager to take this win.”

The Jumbo-Visma rider’s winning margin of 1-38 was his largest this campaign, almost doubling the 56-second gap he won by in Mol before Christmas. 

Van Aert continued: “In the second half of the race I showed my form is really good, so I could really recover in between the sand sections and avoid too many mistakes.” 

It was the 28-year-old’s compatriot, Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads), who got off to the best start in Koksijde. The Belgian formed a trio at the front of the race with Van Aert and Van der Poel, with all three battling for position in the course’s famous sand ruts.

On lap four, Van Aert made his move on a punchy incline. By the end of lap five, his lead had stretched to almost a minute. 

Behind, Van der Poel appeared to be in difficulty as the attrition of the sand took its toll. With his rival invisible in the distance, the Dutchman took a moment to stand on his pedals and stretch out his back, reminding onlookers of the ongoing injury that put him out of last year’s World Championships. 

The countdown to this year’s Worlds now stands at one month, with the event scheduled for 4 February in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.

Having led from the first lap in the women's race, 20-year-old Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) brought her tally to five wins this season. 

The Dutchwoman, who like Van Aert won on the similarly sandy Mol course last month, pulled away from the race favourites after the first turn and rode faultlessly for the remaining five laps. 

Van Anrooij's advantage was clawed back at times by European champion Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma), but the Baloise Trek Lions rider remained focused through the ruts to win by 14 seconds. 

Former world champion Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) crossed the line in third, 1-09 down on the race winner. 

There has been a lot of talk this winter about a 'big three' in the world of men's cyclo-cross, consisting of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). However, with Pidcock not beating either of the pair this season, a big two has seemed more inarguable, more real.

This was certainly the case on Tuesday afternoon, as in the absence of Pidcock, Van Aert and Van der Poel went toe-to-toe at the Herentals round of the X20 Trofee, and could not not be pulled apart. That was the case until Van Aert had a puncture on the last lap, which handed the victory to his big rival.

In the women's scene, there has been a less heralded big three this year, with Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma), Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions) and Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) dominating.

With the first two absent on Tuesday, it was Pieterse's day to shine, and she led from the first lap to the finish, such was her dominance.

The 20-year-old won her fifth elite race of the season in comfortable fashion, pulling away from the first bend and then consistently putting time into the people chasing behind.

Initially, Pieterse was followed by her Fenix teammate Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, but the latter quickly faded from contention for the win, and instead settled into a drawn out battle for second with Lucinda Brand (Trek Baloise Lions). 

After lap four, Brand managed to distance Alvarado, and Annemarie Worst (777) came into the battle for third. 

A second bike change for Pieterse almost went wrong as she clipped Rachel Rubino (Nice Bikes) as she was lapping people, but nothing bad came of it and Pieterse charged on towards victory. 

The young Dutch sensation has not been off the podium once in any cyclo-cross races she has ridden this season, and won in 51-33.

Behind, Brand finished 27 seconds behind, and Worst came third in 1-13. The X20 series leader, Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), had a puncture on her first lap, and ended up losing over four minutes, and the overall lead.

Van der Poel and Van Aert battle

In the men's race, it was clear from the beginning that Van Aert and Van der Poel would be the ones to beat in Herentals. It was the former's home race, and so he was determined to win. 

Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) was first round the opening corner, but he was quickly caught by the star pair and Jens Adams (Chocovit), who were the lead trio for the opening portion of the race.

Once Adams was finally distanced, Van Aert and Van der Poel led the race for the remainder, and never looked like being caught.

Behind, Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), Van der Haar and Pim Ronhaar (Trek Baloise Lions) were battling for the last spot of the podium, once Adams had been caught.

Despite Van Aert repeatedly attempting to distance Van der Poel, the elastic could not be snapped. The former definitely looked stronger on parts of the course, but the pair could not be split apart.

Right next to the pits on the final lap, Van Aert punctured, which gifted his Dutch rival the win, in 59-45. As a result, he didn't really celebrate as he crossed the line in first, but he ended the Belgian hegemony at the Herentals 'cross.

Iserbyt finished in third, 31 seconds down on the winner, ahead of Van der Haar, but one of the stories of the day was Cameron Mason (Trinity Racing) finishing fifth. The Young Briton has now had three top tens in a row at elite level.

Belgian cyclocross star Toon Aerts has revealed he is facing a two-year ban from competition, although he still insists he is innocent and hopes to compete in 2024.

Aerts returned a positive test result for letrozole during an out-of-competition doping control earlier this year, but still hopes to prove his innocence in the coming months. Letrozole Metabolite is used by people who use anabolic steroids and wish to block feminising effects or boost testosterone production. It is strictly prohibited in and out of competition and is considered a “specified substance” that does not require a mandatory provisional suspension. 

The out-of-competition test took place just before the UCI cyclocross world championships in Fayetteville, USA where Aerts finished in sixth behind the winner Tom Pidcock.

The Belgian could have raced on in 2022, although opted to stay away from competition while cooperating with the UCI to work through the case. 

In a press-conference in Belgium, Aerts explained that he had received a letter detailing the suspension as he broke down in tears. 

"I have to tell the world something that I actually don't want to. Unfortunately this week I received a letter from the UCI that no one wants to receive. It says that the UCI is proposing a 2-year suspension," he said. 

"That means that I can start a cyclocross race again on February 16, 2024 at the latest. But I want to keep proving my innocence. This is a very severe punishment. A much too severe punishment for someone who can say with a clear conscience that he is not a doping sinner.”

“I have never had the intention to use doping and I have never voluntarily taken doping products to improve my performance,” Aerts added. 

Lawyers for the Belgian rider believe that he tested positive due to contamination from a dietary supplement. Positive tests for a substance such as letrozole are typically punished with a two-year ban from competition but can be reduced if the rider is able to prove that the substance entered their body unintentionally. 

Aerts, who has not cut his hair since January, insists that the levels of letrozole detected in his system were so low that they could not equate to any kind of performance boost. 

"We can say with 100 percent certainty that that product ended up in Toon's body due to contamination," Yannick Prévost said, sitting alongside Aerts in the press conference. 

"We suspect the source of contamination, but that has not yet been confirmed. We will continue to analyse supplements and any potential issues that Toon may have taken during that time. Hopefully we will find a track on which we can continue working."

"Hair samples often provide a breakthrough in murder cases," Aerts added. "Now we will use it in a doping case, because the evidence is in my hair."

There was no official comment from the UCI on Thursday.

“I will continue to do everything I can to prove my innocence,” Aerts added. “I am convinced that I will take my place in cyclocross again. I have a lot of uncertainties, but one thing is certain: my second career will start on February 16, 2024 at the latest.”

Wout van Aert emerged victorious from another battle of the cyclocross ‘big three’ at the Superprestige Diegem night race in Belgium on Wednesday evening. 

It was Van Aert’s second victory in a matter of days over his rivals after winning the Superprestige Heusden-Zolder on Tuesday. 

Van Aert capitalised on an error from Tom Pidcock in the final corner of the circuit's decisive staircase to take the victory, with Pidcock in second and Mathieu van der Poel finishing 33 seconds behind in third place. 

Spectators were treated to a spectacular race between the three cyclocross galacticos, but with Van der Poel losing momentum in the final lap, the race came down to a two-up duel between Van Aert and reigning world champion Pidcock. 

The British rider led Van Aert into the course's final lap as the two were locked head to head, with barely anything appearing to separate them. 

In the end it came down to a slight error from Pidcock which gave Van Aert a decisive gap to then push on for the victory. 

After coming across the line in first place, Van Aert explained that earlier moves from his rival Mathieu van der Poel had left him thinking the victory was out of reach. 

“Today has shown again that it is close together,” Van Aert said. “The sand was my pain point in the beginning and that started playing in my head. I actually gave up and thought Mathieu had gone flying. But after that I still had Mathieu in sight. The race started back and I started to believe in it again.”

Reflecting back on the race, Pidcock admitted that he could only marvel at Van Aert’s speed in the closing stages as the Belgian disappeared up the stairs before sprinting to victory. 

"I thought the last time I went over him, I was a bit complacent. I had the lead into the final stairs, and Wout came passed me in that last bit before the final bridge, so at that point, I was never going to beat him. He ran up those stairs and jumped on his bike before I even looked up. It was a shame I couldn't pull it off," Pidcock said.

PUCK PIETERSE DOMINATES TO TAKE VICTORY IN WOMEN’S RACE 

Meanwhile in the women’s race, Puck Pieterse of Alpecin-Deceuninck was able to relax a little more than Van Aert as she faced a less challenging battle to take the victory in the women’s race. 

Pieterse pushed on in the first lap of the course and never let up to take a resounding win. Shirin van Anrooij of Baloise Trek Lions finished in second, 30 seconds back on Pieterse with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado in third place. 

Afterwards in a post-race interview, Pieterse admitted that at one point she felt Van Anrooij was a little too close for comfort. 

"At a certain point, I noticed that Shirin was getting close, and I started to stress...I decided to go full steam ahead," she said. “I decided not to hesitate anymore and to go into the last two laps full gas, I couldn’t ride in the sandbox, and I know Shirin is good in the sand. But then I was able to pull away again.”

"Sometimes, I'm looking forward to it so much, and I start a little too hard, then you just have to keep going,” she added.

Great Britain’s Zoe Bäckstedt came home in seventh place, just under two minutes behind Pieterse. 

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) emerged victorious from the mud of Gavere after a tight three-way battle with Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) which put minutes into the rest of the field on Boxing Day. 

Within just five minutes of racing, it was the powerful trio of Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pidcock who were away from the bunch, showing their cards early and boldly - and it was a lead they would hold onto for the entire race. 

It was back and forth between Pidcock and Van der Poel for the race lead, with the two repeatedly catching then dropping each other, whilst Van Aert held back in third position for much of the race.

Eventually, Van der Poel grabbed hold of the lead, spending the last two laps solo to take the win. Finishing third in the end, Tom Pidcock is left still waiting for a World Cup win in his rainbow bands. 

“I just really wanted to win,” Van der Poel said at the finish. “In Mol [Exact Cross on Friday] I was not really satisfied, but I was determined to do a good result today.”

“I think a lot of factors [decided the race]. This course is really hard but also technical. For me, at least, it was a really nice race, I enjoyed it, lots of people. I’m happy with my victory."

HOW IT HAPPENED

Despite a long, mud-soaked race ahead of them, there was no hesitation from the favourites as Mathieu van der Poel hit the front early, stomping his dominance on the race in front of Tom Pidcock and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan Fristads). Sweeck was soon replaced by Van Aert, putting three of the biggest names in the lead just one lap into a rare meeting of all three cyclocross heavyweights. 

Crossing the finish line for the first time, Van der Poel and Pidcock were together, with Van Aert nine seconds back. A flat tire at the start of the second lap saw Van der Poel drop back from the lead, but he was able to pit quickly and hold onto second position. As a result, Van der Poel was joined by Van Aert, whilst the world champion Pidcock was solo in the lead, but with a relatively slim advantage. 

On the third lap, Pidcock was caught on the lap’s biggest climb, his choice to stay on the bike losing out to the running Van Aert and Van der Poel. After the catch, it was Van der Poel who took the opportunity to accelerate, saving a near-miss on the steep descent to claim the race lead, a handful of seconds ahead of Van Aert as Pidcock slipped to third. At the halfway point of the race, Van der Poel crossed the line 14 seconds clear of the chasers Van Aert and Pidcock, with Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels-Sauzen) another 10 seconds behind. 

A number of small but repeated missteps from Van Aert on the fourth lap allowed Pidcock to slowly edge away from the Belgian, and as a result begin to close down the gap to Van der Poel. However, it proved difficult to fully close the gap, with Van der Poel maintaining a six second lead going into the final two laps. It was in the pits of the fifth lap that Pidcock was finally able to catch the Dutch rider.

The two looked to be riding away from Van Aert, but a big effort from the Belgian saw him come back past Pidcock, who was perhaps paying for his earlier chasing efforts. With Van Aert chasing, Van der Poel pressed on, finally building a solid solo lead. Van Aert slowly clawed back a few seconds in the final lap, but Van der Poel’s strength proved unassaible, and he arrived solo to the finish to take his third World Cup win of the season. The top three remained the same as it had since the opening lap, with Van Aert in second and Pidcock settling for third. 

The trio put over a minute into fourth place finisher Michael Vanthourenhout, seemingly a level above the rest of the field. Series leader Laurens Sweeck finished sixth to extend his stay in the leader's jersey. 

In their final battle before Christmas, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) took an assured victory at this afternoon’s Exact Cross race, powering beyond Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) under the lights in Mol, Belgium. 

The Belgian national champion said before the race that he wasn’t feeling “fresh”, but looked to be in a league of his own as he took his second win from two races this season.

World champion Tom Pidcock finished in third, completing a podium many predicted ahead of the event. 

The race brought a familiar sight for followers of the winter sport. At the halfway mark, Van Aert and his long-term Dutch rival broke away on the sand-covered course, not to be seen again. 

The duo spent the ensuing few laps trading places at the front of the race, while easily picking off the riders at the back. With two laps to go, the Belgian pulled away from Van der Poel, turning the screw to draw out his advantage. 

From there, the victory was all but sewn up. By the time Van Aert reached the finishing straight, he was alone on the road. It would be almost a minute before Van der Poel crossed the line in second, by which time the Belgian had dismounted his bike and moved on to his media duties. 

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad on Thursday, Van Aert said: “I come from a team training camp in Spain, did material tests in Roubaix on Wednesday and now I have the [Jumbo-Visma] team presentation.”

Still, despite the fatigue, the three-time world champion was unbeatable.

In the women’s race, Shirin van Anrooij claimed her second victory of the season, finishing 47 seconds ahead of her Baloise Trek Lions team-mate and former world champion Lucinda Brand.

The 20-year-old Dutchwoman looked comfortable throughout the race, mastering the course’s deep, sandy ruts. As Van Anrooij passed the pits for the final time, she took a moment to exchange a celebratory smile with her mechanics.

Annemarie Worst (777) completed the podium, with junior world champion Zoe Bäckstedt (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) crossing the line in fourth. 

Ahead of the 2022 USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships in Hartford, CT, this past week, organizers, racers and fans alike braced themselves for another showing of protests against trans athletes competing in women’s categories.

During the 2021 championship event in Illinois, a group of “Save Women’s Sport” demonstrators took to the cyclocross grounds holding signs and heckling trans athletes.

The group is “a coalition that fights to preserve sex-based eligibility standards for participation in female sports” and strongly opposes USA Cycling’s admission of trans women athletes in its women’s races. 

The protests at that time were part of a nation-wide campaign that had sparked a social media outrage. Some condemned the protestors, but most condemned cycling’s governing body, USA Cycling, for either not putting a stop to the protests or conversely, for allowing trans women to compete in the women’s categories.

This led to USA Cycling amending its Fan Code of Conduct this year to include prohibiting “displaying signs, symbols, images, using language, or making gestures that are threatening, abusive, or discriminatory on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, ability, or sexual orientation.”

In the end, the pre-event worries never materialized. Instead, last year’s hostilities led to a showing of love and support with images of kids in rainbow hats and signs bearing “We love our trans athletes” messages coming out of Hartford this year.

Online, however, the anti-transgender sentiment and protests continued across social media. Twitter in particular was a buzz after Austin Killips (Nice Bikes) —a target of last year’s protests— made history when she rode herself into the bronze medal in the women’s elite race behind three-time winner Clara Honsinger (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) and Raylyn Nuss (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing), thereby becoming the first transgender woman to podium at this event. Jenna Lingwood (Point S Nokian), another trans athlete, rounded out the top five. 

“We braced for the worst but the only energy that filled Riverside Park was love and support for everyone racing their hearts out. Sometimes, thanks to careful planning and kind souls the best possible outcomes happen,” Killips commented in a post-race message.

“I just want to live in and help make a world marked by love, solidarity, and grace and the cyclocross community was able to realize that for an afternoon here. I'll hold days like this close to my heart when my faith in the goodness of others wavers.”

With two trans women in the top five of the cyclocross national championships, transgender athletes have rarely been so visible. And while the internet is easily incensed, the question of fairness in competition ought to be posed to the athletes currently competing with and alongside trans athletes.

And so, Cycling Weekly reached out to Anna Megale of Comp Edge Racing, who finished just outside the top-five in sixth place.

When asked if it matters to her just who the five racers in front of her are, Megale responded with a simple, “no it doesn't.”

“This is a super hard topic and there's a little part of me that feels conflicted on what women athletics should and shouldn't be but at the end of the day, I'm super supportive of all athletes out there,” the 32-year-old Oregon native said.

“I think we all deserve an opportunity. I'm so happy for all five athletes and I'm proud of them. I think they worked just as hard for it as anyone else did. This is what the game is right now so, what does the sixth person think? I think we all raced well."

Fifth at last year’s event and sixth this year, Megale has been a consistent performer since breaking through the UCI ranks.

She grew up a swimmer and like so many cyclists out there, started cycling due to an injury. She was introduced to bike racing by her husband in 2014, and quickly started making her way through the local scene in Boise, Idaho.

In 2018 she began tackling national level UCI races, chasing that first UCI point. She garnered an impressive 57 UCI points that first year and by the end of the 2021/22 season, she was sporting a USA skinsuit and lining up at the UCI World Cyclocross Championships.

Megale said the controversy and protests surrounding nationals these past two years not only detract from the racing, she also fears for her fellow competitors’ safety. 

“I'm glad USAC put out a Code of Conduct for that because it's scary. I worry that it's not safe and I want it to be safe for everyone,” she commented

“I truly believe we all need a safe place to discuss this topic. I want all people, no matter who they are, to feel heard and loved. Like most things, there is no perfect answer and continuing to work towards fairness for all is most important. I am grateful for my cycling community and feel every athlete I have lined up with this year has raised the bar and pushed us all to be better. Most importantly, there is no room for hate, ever." 

Ahead of the race, Pan American Champion, Raylyn Nuss, called the trans athlete debate "the big elephant in the room” and also championed further discourse on the matter.

"I almost wish we could just have a panel discussion with [the trans women] in a safe space. And we could all just ask a bunch of questions, and just clear the air more or less, and then just proceed on as normal,” she told Cyclingnews.

"The rules are what they are. So we cannot sit and just think about what advantages she might have."

These rules Nuss is referring to is the UCI's policy on eligibility and regulations for transgender athletes, which USA Cycling has adopted. Last revised in July 2022, these regulations state that those who transition from male to female (MTF) are eligible to compete in the female category as long as:

- the athlete has declared their gender identity as female,

- the athlete can demonstrate that their total testosterone level in serum has been below 2.5 nmol/L for a period of at least 24 months,

- and their total testosterone level in serum must remain below 2.5 nmol/L throughout the period of desired eligibility to compete in the female category.

Not all cycling nations have adopted this policy, which has led to conflict and confusion for elite trans athletes. British Cycling even went so far as to block trans riders from competing until it has reviewed and decided on a new licensing policy.

In the U.S. however, trans women are allowed to compete at all levels as long as qualifications are met, and for most cis women riders in the field, it's an accepted addition of competition. 

"[Trans women] are just competitors that I want to beat every single time I go to the line, someone that's strong, and is really giving me a run for my money," Nuss commented.

With the national championships now behind them, a contingent of American racers, including Megale, Honsinger, Nuss and Killips, now head to Europe for a block of racing. The riders will contest celebrated events like Superprestige Diegem, X2O Trofee Koksijde and the UCI World Cup in Zonhoven.

For weeks, cyclo-cross world champion Tom Pidcock has been to-ing and fro-ing about whether he’ll defend his title in February.  

The latest update he gave, in an interview after his third place in Dublin on Sunday, was as non-committal as all the previous ones. Asked if he’ll race the Cyclo-cross World Championships, the 23-year-old replied: “Probably not, but not definitely. I don’t know.” 

For Pidcock, the road season now takes precedence, as he targets a strong showing in the early-season Classics. Paul Delani, a cycling coach at trainSharp, sees no reason why he can’t do both. 

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Delani, who currently coaches British cyclo-cross rider Anna Kay, said: “It’s a matter of whether [Pidcock] decides to peak into the Worlds. I think the Worlds might be actually just be part of the journey for Tom.

“He can race cross races on road training,” he continued. "It can add quite well to a race season. 

“Tom can go out and do back-to-back rides, five hours day-in day-out and still ride a cross race.”

Asked about the effects of racing cyclo-cross on a predominantly road training schedule, Delani said: “[Pidcock]’s a bit lacking in skills, and obviously just lacking in a few of those explosive efforts. 

“Across races this year, he’s had quite a few mistakes. He’s been quite unlucky on a few occasions as well. The mistakes are probably just a case of lacking a bit more [training] time off road.”

Next year, the road season’s Opening Weekend comes exactly three weeks after the Cyclo-cross World Championships, with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad kicking off the European WorldTour calendar on 25 February. 

Is three weeks enough time to regain full fitness? "Yes, definitely," Delani said. “To be at the level Tom’s at, your recovery powers are amazing. There’s something special about you, you’re a very robust human being.”

Pidcock, too, might be even fresher now, having opted for an extended break over competing at the Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia.

Last season, three-time cyclo-cross world champion Wout van Aert decided not to travel to Fayetteville, USA for the Cyclo-cross World Championships, instead chosing to focus on his road season. The Belgian ended up winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by 22 seconds. Pidcock came 18th. 

Travel, Delani highlights, is likely to have played more of a factor that time round. “It’s these little things that add up and actually take away training days from your road season," he said. 

“I think for [Van Aert], it was probably a case of ‘I could lose a week, 10 days here maybe’. And that may be why he chose to stay away.”

This year, however, the World Championships will take place in the Dutch village of Hoogerheide, just an hour’s drive from Omloop’s start line in Ghent. 

Pidcock now has less than two months to make up his mind as to whether he'll race or not. “As probably part of his persona, I'm sure he wants to still challenge for the jersey,” said Delani. 

The coach then added that he hopes the Brit won’t give up his rainbow bands “without a fight”.

The elite races at the Cyclo-cross World Championships will take place on 4 February 2023. The European races on the WorldTour calendar begin with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad three weeks later. 

Tom Thewlis here, bringing you all the news from the world of cycling this Monday.

Key Developments

- 09:50 - WiV SunGod announce latest new signing
- 10:50- Remco Evenepoel's new Castelli-made rainbow jersey revealed
- 11:17- New Colnago V4RS launched
- 12:02- Tom Pidcock will "probably not" ride the 2023 cyclo-cross worlds 
- 16:26- Paris Cycling City AKA B & B Hotels-KTM officially not granted race licence 
- 17:23- Geraint Thomas confirms Giro d'Italia return

WiV SunGod bring in Kiaan Watts

WiV SunGod have announced their latest signing for 2023 this morning. 

The British UCI Continental team have signed New Zealander Kiaan Watts, formally of Global 6 cycling, ready for the new season. 

The Hampshire based squad enjoyed a sensational 2022 which saw them win a stack of races, including the national series, through various different riders. 

Kiwi rider Watts is a sprinter and was Junior World Madison Champion in 2019.

Last week, WiV SunGod announced that former Ribble-Weldtite DS Colin Sturgess would also be joining the team for 2023. 

REMCO EVENEPOEL'S 2023 WORLD CHAMPIONS JERSEY REVEALED

Remco Evenepoel has been pictured training in his new Castelli made 2023 Soudal Quick-Step jersey for 2023. 

He will also ride a white S-Works bike, featuring dashes of the colours of the rainbow jersey next season, similarly to when his teammate Julian Alaphilippe wore the rainbow jersey for the past two seasons. 

Evenepoel will pair his new jersey with black shorts to complete the classic look. 

In a short video released by his team, Evenepoel shared his thoughts on getting to wear the new Castelli jersey next season. 

“I can be really happy and proud to wear this jersey so early in my professional career. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

“I know it’s going to be a special year, with a lot of pressure and a different type of racing with the jersey.  But I’m just going to let everything come to me and just try to deal with it as relaxed as possible and enjoy this jersey for the upcoming season. That’s the best thing I can do, go with the flow.”   

NEW COLNAGO V4RS UNVEILED - IS THIS THE BIKE THAT WILL HELP TADEJ POGACAR RECLAIM THE TOUR DE FRANCE?

Colnago has launched the V4RS, the successor to the double Tour de France-winning Colnago V3RS. 

The new all-rounder lightweight aero bike was tested by Tadej Pogačar and the UAE Emirates team through 2022 in five different carbon layup configurations and was provisionally named ‘Prototipo.

Now the Italian brand has settled on a final version that’s ready for the team’s 2023 campaign, as well as that of women's WorldTour team UAE Team ADQ, and also of course for the market.

Norwegian designer Torgny Fjeldskaar, who has led design teams at Cannondale and BMC and has the original SystemSix and the Teammachine in his portfolio, was drafted in to help with the new machine. 

Read more about the new Colnago and the testing the new V4RS went through.

TOM PIDCOCK STILL UNSURE IF HE'LL RIDE THE CROSS' WORLDS

Tom Pidcock has said that he's still unsure if he will ride the cyclo-cross world championships next February, and look to defend the rainbow jersey he won in Fayetteville, USA in January. 

The championships take place next year in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands. Pidcock is aiming for a strong start to his classics campaign on the road, so has said that balancing both may not be possible. 

After finishing third at the Dublin round of the cyclo-cross world cup on Sunday, Pidcock said that he would "probably not" defend his world title. 

“Probably not, but not definitely. I don’t know,” he said.

“The ‘cross season I want to be at a good level, enjoy it and get the benefits from it, but I want to use that to go into the road season with a good base,” he added.

ANYONE CRASH OVER THE WEEKEND ON THE ICE? 

Getting out for bit of winter riding can be fun, but it can also be precarious in difficult weather. 

Last weekend was ridiculous in terms of the temperatures and frost around the country. 

I spent Sunday in A & E after coming unstuck on a spot of black ice on a descent. When it's icy out there you really want some of the best winter tyres available to ensure that you've plenty of grip on any frost covered corners. 

It's also worth making sure to invest in some of the best winter gloves around to give your hands plenty of protection from the cold. 

If like me you found yourself hitting the deck this weekend, then here's what to do if you end up with a bit of road rash.

ICYMI: BRITISH UCI CONTINENTAL TEAM MAKE PITCH FOR MARK CAVENDISH'S SIGNATURE

Ricci Pascoe, general manager of UK based UCI Continental team Saint Piran, has said that Mark Cavendish would be "welcomed with open arms" by the team should he find himself short of a ride next season.

Cavendish is still without a place on a team next season after leaving Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. He was heavily linked all summer to the now defunct B & B Hotels-KTM squad.

With B & B's demise, Pascoe has said that Cavendish would be welcomed by the Cornish team if it could help him achieve his Tour de France dream.

“I would obviously welcome him with open arms if the chance was there,” Pascoe said. “Who wouldn’t make space to take riders of that quality?” 

“Cavendish is a bike rider first and foremost and we’re all in the sport because we’re bike fans. I’d gladly give him a space if it meant he could keep turning his legs for a month, six months, whatever. Although he should be riding the Tour de France, end of story.” 

Cavendish is currently tied with Eddy Merkcx on 34 stage wins at the Tour which is the all time record. 

Next year he'll be hoping to land a 35th win which would see him pass Merckx in the standings. 

WILL PRIMOZ ROGLIC RIDE THE GIRO D'ITALIA? IT'S TOO SOON TO SAY ACCORDING TO THE MAN HIMSELF

Primoz Roglic is still unsure as to whether he will ride the Tour de France or Giro d'Italia in 2023. 

The Slovenian rider has only just returned to training on the road following on from shoulder surgery in October. He is currently at a Jumbo-Visma team training camp in Denia, Spain, but any decisions on his Grand Tour plans for next year are unlikely to be finalised before the new year. 

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Roglic is looking to return to racing in March at the earliest. 

“I don’t know when I’ll get back to racing, maybe in March. I’m very far behind,” he said. 

“2023 is a mystery: I don’t know if I’ll do the Giro or the Tour or the Vuelta, there’s no point in saying it.

"In January, we’ll understand more. I’ll certainly do a totally different programme, with fewer races in spring, and I’ll be better for the summer.”

Roglic underwent bone graft surgery in October to address a longstanding shoulder issue which has seen him suffer multiple dislocations. 

He dislocated his shoulder in a crash at the Tour de France this year, and suffered the same injury after a crash in the final stage of Paris-Nice in 2021.

HAVE YOU GOT SOME OF THE BEST WINTER GLOVES AROUND?

It was sure damn cold out there on the roads this weekend! 

Minus numbers in places and snow falling in various parts of the country. 

If you don't have some of the best winter cycling gloves around, you'll have no doubt struggled if you managed to get out for a ride. 

Keeping your hands and feet warm when you're out for a winter ride is absolutely crucial. Some of these numbers from Sporful, Castelli, Endura and Giro will more than do the job. 

Also with Christmas round the corner, now's the time to invest in some for the cyclist in your life to ensure you never have to listen to them moaning about cold hands after a ride again!

WHAT'S THE BEST PIECE OF KIT THAT YOU'VE USED THIS YEAR?

Over here at Cycling Weekly, our tech team have all been pulling together lists of the best kit that they've used this year for our Cycling Weekly Gear of the Year features, which are all part of Upgrade Your Ride Week. 

A whole variety of things have made the list, starting with Luke Friend's winter warrior kit picks.

If you're looking for some festive shopping inspiration, stay tuned this week to see our tech writers' favourites, and tag us in with your best cycling purchase over on Twitter.

REMCO'S RAINBOW JERSEY LOOKS THE BUSINESS!

If you want to check out some more shots of Remco Evenepoel's new rainbow jersey, head on over to the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Twitter feed to see more.

Evenepoel won the world road title in emphatic fashion in Wollongong, Australia and is certainly going to look the part thanks to Castelli in 2023. 

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR GERAINT THOMAS' TRADEMARK OAKLEY SHADES?!

Throughout his career Geraint Thomas has become synonymous with his trademark white Oakley sunglasses. 

Although will the Welshman be wearing his white Oakley's next season?

This afternoon Ineos Grenadiers, Thomas' team, announced a new long term partnership with British eyewear brand SunGod which will begin in 2023. The new partnership will see Thomas and his Ineos teammates sporting SunGod shades  on the roads of Europe next year as they go head to head with UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma at various races. 

Rod Ellingworth, deputy team principal of Ineos Grenadiers said: 

“INEOS Grenadiers is a performance-led team so we pride ourselves on working with the most forward-thinking, agile and performance-driven partners – that’s why we’ve chosen SunGod as our new, long-term eyewear partner. Their product quality and commitment to continuously raising the industry bar is excellent and we’re really excited by the pipeline of innovative products we will develop together."

ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE UPSET ABOUT UAE SWITCHING TO SHIMANO?

Colnago have launched a rather lovely new bike for Tadej Pogačar to attempt to retake the Tour de France title next year.... 

Is anyone else upset about the switch from Campagnolo to Shimano though?! 

ICYMI: LIBRARY IN THE NETHERLANDS OFFERS LOCALS A UNIQUE NEW WAY OF CHARGING THEIR E-DEVICES

In case you missed it last week, a library in Utrecht in the Netherlands has offered local people a unique way to charge their electronic devices. 

Stationary bikes are attached to a charging point within the library giving people the opportunity to read a book while pedalling and charging their phone. 

Has anyone seen anything like that in the UK, USA or down under?!

PARIS CYCLING CITY AKA B & B HOTELS-KTM OFFICIALLY NOT GRANTED RACING LICENCE

B & B Hotels-KTM, the team that was widely expected to be signing Mark Cavendish, has officially not been granted a licence by the UCI for the 2023 season. 

The demise of the team was confirmed last week, with multiple high profile riders including Cavendish, Cees Bol and Pierre Rolland facing a battle to find a new team for the coming season. 

Stevie Williams, formerly of Bahrain Victorious, was also linked with the French Pro team, but after B & B collapsed the Welsh rider was able to grab a place with Israel-Premier Tech. 

A press release from the UCI, which contained details of all the teams granted licences, explained the decision: "After we received the message that the team is not able to register itself with the UCI, the license commission has decided to refuse the registration of Paris Cycling City."

ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH PARTNER WITH EKOÏ FOR NEXT THREE SEASONS

Mike Woods and Chris Froome will both be appearing in fresh new kit for 2023 as Israel-Premier Tech have agreed a new three-year deal with French brand EKOÏ as their technical partner.  

Last week, several WorldTour teams shared details of their new kits online including a radical new change for French team Groupama-FDJ. 

Israel-Premier Tech will be at ProTeam level in 2023 after dropping from the WorldTour. 

Star rider Froome recent slammed the WorldTour relegation system calling it a "death sentence" for all the smaller teams. 

GERAINT THOMAS CONFIRMS GIRO D'ITALIA RETURN

Geraint Thomas has confirmed that he will ride the Giro d'Italia in 2023. 

The return of the Welshman to the Italian Grand Tour was widely anticipated and Thomas confirmed his participation via Twitter this afternoon. 

"Back to the Giro in 2023. Hopefully I get round this time. Can't wait," Thomas wrote. 

Thomas will face a duel with World Champion Remco Evenepoel for the Maglia Rosa after Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl recently confirmed Evenepoel's Giro plans. 

Thomas recently expressed disappointment at the 2023 Tour de France route due to its significant lack in time trialling kilometres. 

In stark contrast to the Tour, the Giro possesses over 70 kilometres of time trialling next year. 

The Welshman explained that he feels a sense of unfinished business with the Giro after crashing out of several editions previously. 

Right, that's all we've got time for here today folks! 

Join us for another live blog tomorrow. 

The elites took the stage on the final day of the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships in Hartford, Connecticut, on Sunday in snowy conditions. 

After four full days of age group racing, the nation's biggest cyclocross talent finally got their turn to vie for the coveted stars-and-stripes jersey in the UCI races.

By the time the women's elite category took to the start line, snow flurries were starting to come down and all eyes were on Oregonian Clara Honsinger. 

The EF Education-Tibco-SVB rider changed the face of American cyclocross in December 2019 when she trumped legendary rider, Katie Compton, to win the title, thereby ending Compton's 15-year winning streak and starting her own.

Unbeatable twice in a row, Honsinger went into the race on Sunday as the top-favorite.

"This race is honestly one of the highest-pressure races of the year for me because I really want to win this jersey, especially coming back for the third time," said Honsinger. 

"So the points I focus on are really where I ride well and what I can do well - I spend time studying the course finding the little seconds I can break out of it, and just trying to keep a clear mind and not letting all of the hype around it get to me."

Honsinger did not falter under pressure. 

The race got off to a fast start with all the top contenders entering the run-up collectively. A brief slip-up on the downhill off-camber section saw Honsinger hit the ground and slide underneath the netting. Pan American Cyclocross champion Raylyn Nuss (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing) tried to use the crash to her advantage and put some daylight between herself and the rest of the field. But Honsinger was quick to recover. By the start of the second lap, Honsinger was on Nuss' wheel and getting ready to make the pass. 

Once she passed, Honsinger was a goner. Staying out in front, Honsinger only built on her lead and ultimately crossed the finish line more than a minute ahead of Nuss to win the U.S. National Cyclocross Championship for the third time in a row. 

Nuss had to settle for silver a second time and Austin Killips (Nice Bikes) finished in third. 

A long-awaited win for Curtis White

In the men's elite race, fans were treated to the expected battle between defending champion Eric Brunner (Blue Cycles p/b Build) and the season-long runner-up Curtis White  (Steve Tilford Foundation Racing).

Brunner lined up for the Championship race coming off a bit of a winning streak, having gone unbeaten for six races in a row. At every one of those races, it was 27-year-old White, a veteran of the domestic cyclocross scene, nipping at Brunner’s heel but ultimately settling for second.  

Junior and age group competitions included, White was lining up at a national championship event for an 18th time. The last three of them resulted in silver; in Hartford he was hoping to finally strike gold.

As the men lined up for the start, snow was coming down in earnest and course conditions would change lap after lap.

But while everyone was talking about Brunner and White, it was L39ion of Los Angeles' Lance Haidet who led the charge in lap one. But a mistake in the pit saw Haidet lose precious time as the rest of the leaders passed by.

These leaders included Scott Funston (Blue Cycles p/b Build), Brunner and White. When Funston could no longer keep up with the pace, the awaited Brunner-White cat-and-mouse game unfolded with each taking turns on the front.

With a few laps to go still, Brunner put in a big effort to pull away from White, but he too suffered a mistake in the pits, allowing White to pass and take over the lead. And when White crossed the line for a final time, seconds ahead of Brunner, White had finally secured his long-awaited starts-and-stripes jersey and gold medal. 

“It truly means the world. This sport is beautiful. I've wanted to be a professional cyclocross racer my whole life. I've been chasing the stars-and-stripes jersey, but my peers didn't make it easy on me, and I thank them for that," said White post-race.

"Day after day, my family, my fiancée, my friends are sacrificing. It's freezing, my dad is motor pacing me, my coach is motor pacing me, we're in the woods training, and all the sacrifices have paid off. National Champion, finally, I’ve wanted that stars-and-stripes so bad, and I finally did it.”

Join me, Tom Davidson, as I round up all the news from the world of cycling this Friday. 

Key developments: 

9:51am - Bahrain Victorious and Groupama FDJ unveil new kits for 2023

11:29am - Assault charges dismissed against former Olympian Tony Lally

12:13pm - Jumbo-Visma lists 18 team bikes for auction 

15:55pm - Welshman Stevie Williams signs for Israel Premier-Tech

89-year-old wins US Cyclo-cross title

Fred Schmid won his 38th cyclo-cross title at the US National Championships on Thursday. 

The 89-year-old, who races in the over 90s category, was the only rider competing in his age bracket. 

In 2021, Schmid took on the 200-mile Unbound Gravel race but missed the time cut after the 120-mile checkpoint. 

Speaking to VeloNews this June, the American said: "I just enjoy riding and that’s why I want to keep doing it." 

Alé unveil Bahrain Victorious and Groupama FDJ kits for 2023

Cycling brand Alé have this morning shared the kit designs that WorldTour teams Bahrain Victorious and Groupama FDJ will wear next season. 

The Bahrain Victorious jersey looks very similar to that worn this season, now with added touches of black. Groupama FDJ, on the other hand, have decided to break with predominately white design that the riders have donned for the past five years. 

"The livery of the French team has been completely redesigned," Alé's press release reads, "and plays on shades of blue, with the flag following the zip route."

The kits are part of the brand's PR-S collection, which is reserved for professional teams. 

For more information on the 2023 team kits, follow our round-up here. 

Zwift racer banned after hacking UCI World Championships qualifier

South African Eddy Hoole has been let go by his team, Toyota CRYO RDT, and dealt a six-month ban after he was found to have cheated in a UCI eSports World Championships Europe and African continental qualifier. 

Hoole recorded a four-minute average power of 526 watts on the race's final climb, giving him a supposed power output of 8.5 W/kg and a VO2 max of over 90 mL/min/kg.

A statement released by Zwift's Performance Verification Decision Board on Wednesday said: "These values are significantly greater than those that have been measured for Olympic Pursuit Champions and World Record Holders (average power output over 4min, approx. 7.5 W/kg) or Tour de France GC winners (VO2max, approx. 85 mL/min/kg)."

Zwift's Decision Board therefore concluded that Hoole's power meter was "very significantly miscalibrated", adding that it was "highly unlikely" this was an accident. 

The statement continued: "The Board is comfortably satisfied that this was a result of deliberate manipulation of data, masked by the deliberate disconnection of the Zwift analytics datastream channel."

Hoole was retrospectively disqualified from the event. 

Assault charges dismissed against former Olympian

Tony Lally, who competed for Ireland in the road race at the 1980 Olympics, has had his assault charges dismissed after it was revealed he suffers from PTSD. 

The 68-year-old Irishman previously pleaded guilty to common assault after he insulted a woman who cut him off in her car while he was out riding in Sydney, Australia this July. 

Today, the Daily Mail reports, a court magistrate has chosen to dismiss the charges, finding that Lally suffers from PTSD from being hit by a car in the past. 

Thibaut Pinot targets Giro d'Italia stage wins

After a five-year absence from the race, Thibaut Pinot will return to the Giro d'Italia in 2023 with the goal of winning stages in the mountains. 

"The Giro will be my main season objective," the 32-year-old said in a graphic shared by Groupama FDJ. "My clear goal: beat the best on the mountains stages.

"This difficult Giro d'Italia [route] will probably be the hardest of the three Grand Tours next year, so it suits me the best."

The Frenchman came fourth at the three-week Italian race in 2017, before abandoning with fatigue after stage 20 the following year. 

Fancy owning Wout van Aert's bike? 

Jumbo-Visma have teamed up with online auctioneers Catawiki to sell 18 of the team's 2022 bikes. 

Among those available are Wout van Aert's green Cervélo S5, Jonas Vingegaard's Tour de France-winning R5 and Marianne Vos's bike from the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Each bike comes with a handwritten note from the rider it belonged to.

The current bid on Van Aert's special edition S5 is €10,000, which matches the bike's usual retail price. Vingegaard's bike is currently at €4,000, while Vos's is a relative steal at €2,600. 

The auction lots close on 19 December and all proceeds will go to "the development of cycling talent" within the Dutch team. 

Cyclo-cross dates for your diary

Cyclocross24 has put together a handy chart, combining the cyclo-cross calendars of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and world champion Tom Pidcock. 

The trio are set to line up against each other on five occasions, with the first coming on 23 December at the Exact Cross event in Mol. It's worth noting, though, that the Belgian is yet to confirm his January schedule, so there's likely to be a few more meetings.  

Van Aert's next race comes this Sunday, when he'll go toe-to-toe with Pidcock in Dublin in the next round of the UCI World Cup. 

Andrii Ponomar joins WorldTour with Arkéa Samsic

Ukrainian national champion Andrii Ponomar will ride for Arkéa Samsic next season, joining the French team from Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli. 

The 20-year-old, who won the junior European road title in 2019, is one of the peloton's most promising young talents and has already ridden to Giri d'Italia. 

"I think I can make podiums, win races in the pros, and I hope to do so next season," Ponomar said. "I'm a climber-puncheur-rouleur, I can handle climbs between 7 and 10 kilometres well. I also have time trial skills, a discipline that I like and that suits me. 

"All this will allow me to target good placings in stage races." 

Ponomar is the 29th rider on the roster of Arkéa Samsic, who will step up to WorldTour level for 2023.

New roundabout for cyclists sparks debate

A brand new roundabout for cyclists, recently installed in Salford, UK has been brandished a "ring of fire" by active travel campaigners. 

The roundabout, which forms part of a segregated cycle lane, has four pedestrian crossings built into it. 

Responding to his city's new feature, Harry Gray, who runs the group Walk Ride Central Salford, tweeted: "The pedestrian experience here is hugely compromised. You have to cross into a ring of fire to exit. Every desire line is away from the path you are supposed to take."

Salford Council's Mike McCusker said that, although the roundabout has created some debate, the council has had "a lot of positive feedback". 

McCusker added: "It has been designed to accommodate people on foot or in wheelchairs or pushing buggies. Cyclists circulate round it like a ‘normal’ road roundabout so they, too, can get round this junction safely without putting pedestrians in danger.”

Bike video game to launch next month

An adventure video game, in which users explore the world by bike, is set to be released on January 31st 2023. 

Designed by game developers Scavenger Studio, Season: A Letter To The Future is described as a "third-person atmospheric adventure bicycle road trip game". Users play through the main character Estelle with the aim of creating memories and uncovering the past. 

Pre-order is already available on Playstation, priced at $29.99. 

If you'd like a taste of the gameplay, here's the trailer. 

Stevie Williams pens deal with Israel-Premier Tech

26-year-old Welshman Stevie Williams has signed for Israel-Premier Tech, becoming the team's final rider for the 2023 season. 

Williams, who previously rode for Bahrain Victorious, won his first WorldTour race this year, taking victory on the opening day of the Tour de Suisse. 

"I’m proud to be joining Israel – Premier Tech in 2023 and really happy to be part of this project," Williams said. "I know a lot of the guys already so it has been really easy to fit in since joining the guys at team camp. I’m really grateful for this opportunity and look forward to getting stuck into racing next year."

The Welshman's career so far has been blighted by a long-standing knee injury. He raced just eight days in 2019, before undergoing surgery and missing most of the 2020 season.

"After getting the win at the Tour de Suisse this year, I feel like my career is back on track," he said. "I hope I can continue to score some good results in IPT colours."

Eddie Dunbar will lead BikeExchange-Jayco at 2023 Giro d'Italia

In an interview with The Irish Times, BikeExchange-Jayco head sports director Matt White has said his new signing Eddie Dunbar will be his "general classification guy" at the Giro d'Italia next year. 

The 26-year-old cyclist, who won stage races Coppi e Bartali and the Tour de Hongrie this season, recently left Ineos Grenadiers for the Australian WorldTour team. 

Speaking about Dunbar, White said: "Obviously he had some opportunities this year and he took them with both hands, winning two stage races.

"He’s taken opportunities when he’s had a chance, sometimes, and then other times he just hasn’t had the chance, especially on the Grand Tour front, to show what his worth is.”

At the 2023 Tour de France, leadership duties are expected to fall to British rider Simon Yates. 

USA Cycling has said that everyone attending the US cyclo-cross nationals will be subject to their fan code of conduct, after the prospect of fresh protests against trans athletes competing in women’s categories.

On Tuesday evening, Laura Weislo of Cyclingnews wrote that there are people posting on social media claiming dozens have signed up for a "secret" protest at the national championships.

Last year, the protestors were present at the nationals in Illinois, holding signs up at the course in opposition to the participation of transgender athletes in women's sport. 

The protestors, part of a group called "Save Women's Sport", were displaying messages such as “Say no to males competing as females” and “woman = adult human female" on signs at the event.

USA Cycling faced a barrage of criticism for failing to condemn the protestors; Mountain Bike Coordinator for the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Flyyn Leonard penned an open letter to the organisation demanding action. 

Cyclingnews said that they had been unable to determine the veracity of the new social media posts, and that Beth Stelzer, the founder of Save Women's Sport, refused to comment or confirm the plan, saying she had stepped down from the organisation.

Trans women are expected to be more visible at this years nationals, which happen this weekend. Austin Killips (Nice Bikes) is considered to be a contender for the title on Sunday.

In response to the reports, USA Cycling said that all spectators would have to abide by the USA Cycling fan code.

"After the protest at the 2021 Cyclocross Nationals and additional questions related to protests at USA Cycling events, our staff and legal counsel reviewed several policies related to conduct by fans, spectators, and participants from other national governing bodies and sports organizations," Chuck Hodge, the Chief of Racing and Events said. "As a result, we created and published the 'USA Cycling Fan Code of Conduct' this spring.

"We are aware of the possibility of protests at CX Nationals in Hartford and have worked with the relevant landowners and agencies to implement our policy on site, as we have at all of our National Championships since the implementation of the policy in early 2022."

Hodge continued: "There are many scenarios that affect our ability to enforce this policy including the type of property (private vs. public), how the event is permitted, and local rules and regulations. In Hartford, we will require that all attendees follow this policy or leave the event site.

"In addition to the Fan Code of Conduct referenced above, USA Cycling members are subject to our rules and policies, including our member Code of Conduct" which may lead to additional discipline.

The defending US national champion, Clara Honsinger, told Cyclingnews "it's just a really difficult situation" and "it's up to the UCI to make the proper call."

Raylyn Nuss, who finished second to Hosinger last year, and is Pan American champion, said that the issue was "the big elephant in the room".

"No one's coming to the athletes and asking us how we feel about it," Nuss said. "I almost wish we could just have a panel discussion with [the trans women] in a safe space. And we could all just ask a bunch of questions, and just clear the air more or less, and then just proceed on as normal.

"The rules are what they are. So we cannot sit and just think about what advantages she might have. We just need to prepare ourselves," Nuss said. "[Trans women] are just competitors that I want to beat every single time I go to the line, someone that's strong, and is really giving me a run for my money."

The USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships are taking place in Hartford, Connecticut, this weekend. This is the same venue as the 2017 championship event, which was won by Stephen Hyde and Katie Compton in the elite categories.

Between the age group and elite categories, there will be 34 national titles on offer in total, and all races will be streamed live.

The Course:

The Riverside Park venue has seen a lot of cyclocross racing over the years, including the 2017 national championships. For this year’s championship event, the windy 2.2-mile course will feature a newly added sandpit, which riders will pass through twice per lap.

Other features include stairs and a flyover.

Race time varies per category. The junior and U23 categories will race for 40 minutes. The Elite women and U23 men will lap around the course for 50 minutes and finally, the elite men will complete a full hour of racing. 

The Women’s Race:

In the women’s race, all eyes will be on two-time consecutive champion Clara Honsinger. The 25-year-old Oregonian changed the face of American cyclocross when she managed to interrupt legendary rider Katie Compton's 15-year national champion winning streak in December 2019.

She then went on to make a mark on the European cyclocross circuit as well with two breakout seasons in the World Cup, X2O Trophy and Superprestige series. Her stars-and-stripes skinsuit has become a common sight as she consistently places in the Top 10 and even a few podium spots in recent seasons. 

The 2022 season has looked a little different for Honsinger, who started the 'cross season late after completing her first season on the WorldTour with the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB road team. 

Honsinger’s cyclocross team, Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld, folded before the start of the cyclocross season, but the EF Education program stepped up, forming a cyclocross program to support Honsinger as well as new signee Zoë Backstedt. 

After netting a few victories on the domestic circuit, Honsinger started her European campaign in Nommay with two victories at the C2 level.

Her performances at World Cups and in the X2O Trophy series have been consistent with  top-10 placings and a season-best fourth place at the Koppenbergcross, a race she won in 2021.

She’s the top favorites going into the national championships race but she’ll be met with an unfamiliar field. 

"It's a little bit of a mystery because I've been over in Europe while a lot of the US riders have been racing in North America, so I don't know how fast they are, how they're riding their bikes. It's a little bit scary to go into this race and have no kind of race background with them," Honsinger told Cyclingnews.

"I feel that I'm regarded as the favourite having won this race and consistently being the top US rider. So to do well is really important to me.”

Competition will surely come from last year’s runner-up and current Pan American Cyclocross champion, Raylyn Nuss, as well as the likes of Sunny Gilbert, Hannah Arensman and Austin Killips. 

The Men’s Race

In the men’s race, we’re looking forward to another fierce battle between defending champion Eric Brunner and last year's runner-up Curtis White. 

After a stellar 2021 season, Brunner’s performance has proved consistent again this year. He won his second consecutive Pan American Cyclocross Championship title and seems to be enjoying a bit of a winning streak at the moment, having gone unbeaten for six races in a row, including both days of racing at the Really Rad Festival and the Northampton International Cyclocross UCI C2 events.

At every one of those races, Curtis White was nipping at Brunner’s heel, and ultimately having to settle with second place. 

At 27 years of age, White is an experienced veteran in the US domestic cyclocross scene with 35 UCI victories to his name including three Pan-American titles. He has represented the U.S. at nine World Championships, including the 2022 edition in January where he finished in 13th place. The elite national title keeps eluding him though. After three consecutive silver medals, he’ll surely be fired up and ready to come out ahead in Hartford.  

How to Watch

FloBikes will air all the races live beginning with the Masters on Friday, Dec. 9, through to Sunday, Dec. 11. 

Sunday Schedule in local tome EST (GMT-5):

8:00 a.m. Juniors Men 17-18

8:55 a.m. Juniors Women 17-18

9:50 a.m.  U23 Women

11:05 a.m U23 Men

12:35 p.m. Elite women

2:30 p.m. Elite Men

Mathieu van der Poel has said that even after winning a second consecutive round of the cyclo-cross world cup in Antwerp, he still needs to improve his performances in the weeks ahead. 

In the race in Belgium, Van der Poel was far too strong for his competitors, attacking on the second lap of the course, before eventually taking a resounding victory by 23 seconds from his arch rival Wout van Aert in second. 

His impressive showing was even more remarkable after the Dutchman had crashed and hurt his knee in a heavy fall, less than 24 hours previously, at the Superprestige Boom race won by Tom Pidcock. 

Van der Poel explained that if he wants to continue to have the upper hand over Van Aert, then his shape needs to further improve in the coming weeks. 

“It still needs to be better in the future, because Wout [Van Aert] will also continue to be better,” Van der Poel said. 

“Wout was immediately fairly strong for his first cross’, and he will also improve towards Christmas. I think there’s going to be a few really nice races in a busy period.”

On his knee injury, he added: “I was a bit sore, but it didn’t bother me too much during the race. There were no mistakes that I recall, which is a good thing. I was able to get a good gap and maintain it, so I’m pretty happy with today.”

In just three cyclo-cross races this winter, Van der Poel already has two world cup victories. 

Last weekend in Hulst, the Netherlands he put in a stunning display to land a victory at the first time of asking. 

The Dutchman threatened that his top level is still to come, and after being impressed by Van Aert’s performance in Antwerp, he explained that he needs to improve further once more. 

After three races and two wins, Van der Poel will now take a brief break from his cyclo-cross dominance for a road training camp in Spain with his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates. He is expected to return to cross’ action in the upcoming World Cup slot at Val di Sole in Italy. 

“It’s a pity that I leave for Spain tomorrow, as I’m just getting the feeling back, but after a few weeks of training in the sun, I’ll be back for a busy period,” he said. “I also want to have a good basis for the spring, which is still the most important thing for me, so we stick to the schedule.”

The Dutchman and Van Aert are both expected to target the UCI cyclo-cross world championships in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands on 5 February. 

If Van der Poel was to achieve success at the cross’ worlds, he would land a fifth cyclo-cross world title. 

British rider Tom Pidcock is the reigning champion, and both Pidcock and Van Aert are expected to compete in the next round of the cyclo-cross world cup next weekend in Dublin, Ireland. 

For over a decade, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel have locked horns in cyclo-cross races across Europe. The duo first met in the under-19 ranks, and have battled in one of the sport’s biggest rivalries ever since. 

On Monday, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider announced his winter program for the 2022-2023 season, which will see him compete in 14 cyclo-cross races - seven of which he’ll share with Van Aert. 

Their first encounter will come in Antwerp on 4 December, one week after Van der Poel makes his season debut at this Sunday’s World Cup event in Hulst. 

The pair will then join their respective road teams for their winter training camps, before returning to the mud for an intense festive period. 

From 23 December, Van der Poel and Van Aert will compete against each other five times in the space of a week. Both riders share an identical program for this period, with race participations expected in Mol, Gavere, Heusden-Zolder, Diegem and Loenhout. 

Although Jumbo-Visma are yet to release Van Aert’s programme for 2023, it is almost certain that the Belgian champion will line up against the Dutchman at the World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands on 5 February. 

The duo, who share seven world titles between them, met just twice on last season’s cyclo-cross circuit, after Van der Poel withdrew from racing with a back injury. 

Both riders have taken the start line together in 169 races since the start of their careers. Comparing their head-to-head results, the Dutchman prevails with the stronger record, having bettered his long-term rival on 115 occasions (68%). 

After beginning his cyclo-cross season this past weekend, world champion Tom Pidcock will also no doubt join Van Aert and Van der Poel in a series of races this season. Cycling Weekly understands that Pidcock’s full programme will develop on a week-by-week basis over the coming months, with the British rider likely to take part in between 10 and 12 cyclo-cross races this winter.

Although the final tally could be higher, below are the seven races that Van Aert and Van der Poel will both contest this season. 

Get your diaries ready, as we now know that the 'big three' of cyclocross are likely to return to face off against each other for the first time this season on 4 December.

This will be the Antwerp round of the World Cup, and will be when Wout van Aert heads back to off-road action; Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock have already or will already have started their seasons by then. Between them, the trio have won the last eight cyclocross World Championships.

Van der Poel is set to return to cyclocross this weekend at the Hulst round of the World Cup, his Alpecin-Deceuninck team confirmed on Monday.

Meanwhile, Pidcock started his first cyclocross races last weekend, finishing seventh at the Telenet Superprestige Merksplas, and second at the Overijse round of the World Cup.

He had an unfortunate time at the World Cup, but said: "I can be proud, but it was very frustrating".

Van der Poel's schedule up to the cyclocross World Championships, which will happen on home soil at Hoogerheide in the Netherlands.

His calendar is filled with World Cups in Antwerp, Val di Sole, Gavere, Zonhoven and Benidorm across December and January, with racing interrupted by road team camps in Spain from 5-14 December and 9-19 January. The team is yet to make a decision on what he will do the weekend before the World Championships.

The 27-year-old will also head to other cyclocross races, including the Superprestige rounds in Boom, Heusden-Zolder and Diegem, and the X2O Trophy races in Herentals and Koksijde, the Exact Cross in Mol and Leonhout.

The World Cup has already had six rounds, but Pidcock, Van Aert and Van der Poel have all had differing lengths of time off the bike, as a result of their hectic road seasons. 

Van der Poel last raced at the Giro del Veneto on October 12 after he retired from the World Championship road race in Australia after being arrested in connection with an altercation with two teenage girls in the Dutch team hotel. After being charged with two counts of common assault, the Dutchman was later fined £900 for the incident. 

Last month, he spoke of being close to burnout: “I think this year the mental fatigue is a bit bigger than the physical one. There’s not really a lot left. I will be happy if I can take a little break again after Friday.” 

The three men will all be targeting yet another rainbow jersey come January; Pidcock won his first title in Van der Poel and Van Aert's absences last year in Fayetteville. The former has won four rainbow jerseys in cyclocross, while the latter has won three.

"I think we are all curious about Mathieu's return to the field. That certainly also applies to Mathieu himself," Dutch national coach Gerben de Knegt said ahead of Van der Poel's return to the discipline.

"As a cyclocross rider you often need some time to pick up the technical skills at your first cross, but I am confident that Mathieu will soon get that routine back. Last weekend you also saw with Tom Pidcock that men of this calibre quickly make that adjustment."

Cyclocross world champion Tom Pidcock staged a gritty performance in this afternoon's World Cup event in Overijse, fighting back from a mechanical to take second place. 

The Brit lost out to European champion Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) by just three seconds in his second race of the season, bowing his head in frustration as he came across the line.

The race started disastrously for Pidcock. As the bunch came into the first corner, the rainbow jersey was nowhere to be seen, having fallen victim to a bike issue on the start line.

The 23-year-old, however, clawed his way up through the field, and despite nursing a long-term knee injury, soon found himself alone at the front of the race with Vanthourenhout. 

On the penultimate lap, Pidcock accelerated ahead, but a crash on a muddy cobbled section caused him to lose valuable seconds to the Belgian. The Brit went for broke on the final lap, but ultimately had to settle for second. 

On Saturday, Pidcock eased into his cyclocross campaign with a seventh place at the Merksplas Superprestige, his first race since winning the World Championships in January. 

“It was beetje moeilijk (a bit difficult),” Pidcock said after Saturday's race. “On the corners I was losing so much time. My level was OK, but I was losing time in a lot of places.”

The world champion took a tumble on the technical Merksplas course, before crossing the line almost a minute and a half behind race winner Laurens Sweeck.

“It was maybe not the best race to start with,” the Ineos Grenadiers rider said. “There were just a few too many mistakes, but I’m happy. I was not bad."

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, he added: “To win in this jersey would be nice.” 

Earlier this week, Pidcock hinted that he would not defend his cyclocross world title next year in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.

“The road season is so much more important to me,” he told Belgian publication Het Nieuwsblad. “In 2023, I especially want to perform consistently in those spring Monuments. If I succeed, the results will follow.”

The UCI Cyclocross World Championships will be held on 4-5 February 2023, three weeks before the road calendar's ‘Opening Weekend’ at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. 

Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC) are crazy. They are mayhem and they are anarchy, so when my friend asked me to sign up to race with her, there was a small moment of hesitation followed by an emphatic “yes.” 

The hesitation, I think, was justified because I had no experience cyclocross riding, I didn’t own a single speed bicycle and I’d never really partaken in a race, so, true to SSCXWC form, I dove into the deep-end hoping I’d make it out alive. 

I’m happy to say, after three days of riding around in a costume, consuming much alcohol, and pushing myself harder on a bike than I have in awhile, I am indeed alive; bruised knees, hips, elbows, and a bruised rib bone, but alive nonetheless. 

My Weapon of Choice: a 1980’s racing Peugeot

I started the weekend riding a bike that I owned but didn’t feel like my own because I’d actually never ridden it. 

A few summers back, I found a great deal on an old 1980’s racing Peugeot that had a broken derailleur, a rusty chain and frayed cables. I fixed the chain and the derailleur, rode it around the block to make sure everything worked, and then I let it sit in my garage until this last week before taking it into the bike shop and having them take off the derailleur, change the chain and turn it into a single speed. 

My first real ride on the Peugeot was Friday morning, the morning of the qualifying heat races. My friend and I rode and hike-a-biked up the steep dirt road to get to the top of the mesa with our backpacks full of beer, snacks and jackets. We each raced in a 10-minute heat in order to qualify to race the championships —which we did— and then continued on to our next stage.

The Fight for the Crown

Saturday was the big kahuna. After a night of parties, racers lined up —hungover or not— for a Le Mans start; in costume, ready to race —or at least ride— their bikes as much, as fast or as erratic as they could. 

The Loser’s Party Race was the unofficial start of the race party. It was a free-for-all for anyone who didn’t qualify for the championship race or anyone who just wanted to ride in total chaos. 

While we qualified for the championship race, my friend and I still opted in for a few extra laps, because, why not? It was a good warm up, a great way to wet our whistles, and get some free beer. 

Plus, we had agreed to each other that we were there to experience it all.

The races were each about 50 minutes of excruciating, but very fun, laps.

Half an hour after the Loser’s Race ended, the Women and Non-binary Championship Race began. 

My friend and I stuffed snacks in our faces, regained our composure, took a few sips of beer, and along with some familiar pro faces such as Marley Blonsky (pictured above), Sarah Sturm and Sunny Gilbert, re-entered the race course for a shot at winning/finishing. 

The championship race was chaos, but the best kind. 

The group of 60 plus women and non-binary riders were surprisingly cohesive, and even the pros were obviously there to partake in the whiskey hand-ups, the beer chugs, the dance parties and the wine pours. 

The course had a little bit of everything: very steep uphills, sharp off-camber turns and stretches of flat road and trail for moments of reprieve. 

There were playground slides going downhill, teeter-totters ready to fling riders off, beer keg obstacle courses and men dressed as knights in armor slapping racers with pool toys. 

There was a party tent with a D.J. and a group of folks dancing and pouring beer and wine, and a ring of bicycles that blew fire when you weren’t expecting it. 

The crowd-pleaser though was the bouncy slide where mayhem ensued and racers could show off (or not) as race organizer Dylan Stucki demonstrates above.

No matter which way you chose to get down the slide, it was a good time. 

It probably goes without saying, but neither I, nor my friend won the championships.

We didn’t get the tattoo but looking at how much fun everyone had —including eventual men's race winner Howard Grotts, above— I’d say everyone was a winner at SSCXWC. 

The race party continues next year in Santa Cruz, California.

For more SSCXWC content, Beth Ann Orton's race report. The retired pro roadie traveled to Durango, Colorado, only to get food poisoning. But she gave us a unique insight into the race weekend all the same. 

"Lest you think this race is sheer debauchery and hangovers, I assure you the racing was indeed legitimate," she pens. 

Thanks to a global pandemic, the Durango cyclocross community, rallied by race director Dylan Stucki, had two years to perfect their game for the 2022 Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC). If a hard-as-nails cyclocross course, keg stand shortcuts, sketchy gap jumps, course larpers armed with pool noodles, flame throwers, string bands and all-night crowd surfing are your jam, then please do read on.

The SSCXWC requires a fine balance of partying to racing: Too much party and your racing suffers, too much racing and you’ll quickly be shooed from the course by costume-clad fans armed with megaphones and an unlimited supply of Coors Light.  As Carl Decker (not in attendance in 2022) said in a recent instagram post reminiscing about SSCXWC, “Have fun and make bad choices, everybody!”. That about sums it up. 

If you think cyclocross is dying on American soil, a trip to SSCXWC might be just what you need to regain faith in the sport. One look at the Durango world champs venue blanketed in screaming crowds, with hundreds of spectators and racers in attendance, will make you believe in 'cross again. 

Cyclocross has always had a way of disarming and inspiring even the most rigid of bike racing souls, and SSCXWC takes this inspiration to the next ethereal level, with just a few presiding rules, namely rule number one: “Don’t be a dick”. 

Unfortunately, a sneaky case of common gastrointestinal staphylococcus, otherwise known as food poisoning, prevented me from racing in the garish tights and pink mesh I had planned for the championship race, but I did participate in the qualifying and “feats of strength” events preceding Saturday’s race. 

"Feats of strength" are a series of ludicrous activities designed as qualifying events for those who didn’t auto qualify as a Top-5 finisher in the qualifying heats, which consisted of one lap on Durango’s lung busting course. 

Saturday’s feats of strength included the now-famous Geoff Kabush beer chug and push up challenge, a Big Mac eating contests, carnal tug of war contests with waist securements and a petty cab tractor pull. 

I ended my day with more beers chugged and Big Macs eaten than during my entire road racing career. Imagine that. And remarkably, no bikes or persons were injured, though I can’t speak for the folks who voluntarily consumed 3 big macs as quickly as possible. I salute you. And your vomit. 

Lest you think this race is sheer debauchery and hangovers, Saturday was the big show, and I assure you the racing was indeed legitimate. 

Riders in attendance included Durango single speed legend Sarah Sturm, 2019 SSCXWC champion Sunny Gilbert, cyclocrosser and Fort Lewis College alumna Sophie Russenberger (Team S&M) and retired off-road pro and resident shredder, Teal Stetson-Lee. 

Similarly, the men's side was the Who's who of off-road American cycling with the likes of  brothers Todd and Troy Wells, Keegan Swenson, Stephan Devoust, Henry Nadel, and Howard Grotts all vying for the coveted tattoo in the championship race.  

New for 2022 was a non-binary championship category —a very welcome diamond in the SSCXWC crown— represented by ridiculously fast riders from the West Coast. 

Team S&M's Robert Cummings handily secured  the non-binary championship race in a fury of off-the-front riding after an infamous Le Mans start through a cactus and cow manure laden field, which lead to a steep paved incline approximately 1 mile from the original projected start point. Naturally. 

The women’s championship event was hotly contested by Sarah Sturm and Fort Lewis College’s Natalie Quinn, who navigated the course at preternatural speeds while their competitors fell folly to too many ham and whiskey hand-ups. 

Sturm was the race’s eventual champion after she rid herself of Quinn on the closing climb. Quinn took a well-earned second seat and Ellen Campbell was close behind in third place, completely unhindered by riding in a gold bodysuit, reminiscent of a 1990’s-era jazz team. 

While most adhered to the "don't be a dick" golden rule, it was disappointed to see WorldTour brothers Quinn and Colby Simmons, decked in full trade team kit, invite themselves onto the course in an act of attention getting during the women’s and non-binary championship race. Fortunately, they made a hasty exit at the bequest of crowd “boos”, and “read the room” and “nobody cares”. They also consented to a shotski, and I’m hopeful their sponsors will be tagged on social media in this nugget of disarmament. 

The men’s race for the single speed crown was a flurry of full throttle racing between top contenders Tod Wells, Howard Grotts, Cormac Mcgeough and Henry (Hank) Nadel. The remainder of the men’s field participated in an urgent chase for the top 10, and a display of all-out carnage on the inflatable gap jump, which experienced various phases of deflation and abuse from its passers by. Grotts was victorious in the end, with Wells in a close second and Nadel taking third. 

At Single Speed Worlds, each victor receives a champion's tattoo. In Durango, ink was dispensed at Durango’s Ska Brewing afterparty, followed by an all-night mosh pit.  What happens at SSCXWC, stays at SSCXWC. 

As with so many world class events, you may just have to see SSCXWC for yourself. And you can, next year in Santa Cruz. We’ve asked for water-themed feats of strength. 

My advice? Start shopping for your wetsuits. If their performance in Durango is any clue, the crew at Rock Lobster Racing is going to put on one hell of a show. 

Laurens Sweeck took a second consecutive World Cup win after an exciting Cyclocross World Cup in the Netherlands on Sunday.

After taking his first top level win just two weeks ago, the 28 year-old was an ever present in a front group which grew and shrunk on every one of the eight laps. With an equally aggressive Michael Vantourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) on the front for the whole final lap, Sweeck was able to sit on, only muscling his way to the front as they reached the tarmac final straight.

There, still on the tops, he opened a savage sprint powering to the line, Vantourenhout finishing a helpless third, and Lars van der Haar (Baloise-Trek Lions) in second.

After the earlier women’s race the new World Cup circuit at Beekse Bergen produced a second great, exciting race which waxed and waned throughout. The whole hour long competition saw the leading riders knocking chunks out of each other, creating a real spectacle in the Dutch sand.

After moving to the Crelan-Frsitads team from Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal for this season Sweeck appears reborn, transforming from almost ran to regular winner, Sunday being his third win in 11 starts during which his lowest placing is fourth.

Former team mate and World Cup leader Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) managed to finish fifth, enough to retain his overall lead though Sweeck is closing in, the next round at Overijse coming next week.

How it happened 

The fifth round of the UCI’s 14 round World Cup headed to a new race location, this week landing in Beekse Bergen, just south of the  Dutch city of Tilburg. There a large field of 50 men took on eight laps of a mostly flat, sandy and dry circuit, with a pair of barriers and a sand pit coming late in the lap. 

Despite having won three of the four World Cups so far this season, Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) had a terrible start, crossing the line 16th at the end of the first circuit, way behind Lars van der Haar (Baloise-Trek Lions) who led a small group of leaders.

A crash on the second lap handed Van der Haar and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads) a decent gap, with recently crowned European champion Michael Vantourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) briefly in no-man’s land before catching them before the end of the lap.

The three leaders began the third loop with an advantage of nine seconds on Toon Vandenbosch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who in turn led a large group of chasers. All three leaders have recent race wins this season, and Sweek, Van der Haar and Vantourenhout worked well, each taking their turn though with an aggressive Noris Nieuwenhuis closing in.

With Nieuwenhuis a team mate of Van der Haar, Vantourenhout was determined to prevent the Dutchman catching the leading trio, but half way through the fourth lap the leading group was four men.

After a brief lull at the start of the fifth a chasing group was closing in, passing the finish only 13 seconds down, and sensing the threat Nieuwenhuis attacked hard, the other leaders chasing, upping the pace. Nieuwenhuis stayed on the front, pushing the pace throughout the fifth lap, leading through the finish, but despite his efforts the leaders’ advantage was no bigger, Iserbyt stretching a small chasing group. 

With Iserbyt closing inexorably, his team mate Vantourenhout took over the lead, the pace easing slightly allowing the World Cup leader closer, and when Sweeck took a bike change he was able to follow, making a leading group of five. However, no sooner was he in the wheel than he crashed, leaving him dangling off the back.

Armed with a fresh bike Sweeck was in no mood to wait for his former team mate, and once he was on the front lifted the pace significantly, Vantourenhout desperately trying to close the gap, Van der Haar a second or so further back.

As the bell sounded for the final lap Sweeck, Vantourenhout and Van der Haar led Nieuwenhuis and Iserbyt by a paltry four seconds, setting up a stunning finish.

Despite team mate Iserbyt closing in, Vantourenhout kept the pace high, leading throughout the closing circuit but unable to gain any substantial advantage over Sweeck and Van der Haar. As they approached the barriers and sandpit at the back end of the circuit Iserbyt and Nieuwenhuis made contact with the leaders, but where unable to contest for the win.

ResultBeekse Bergen UCI Cyclocross World Cup - Elite Men 

1. Larens Sweek (Bel) Crelan-Fristads in 57-36
2. Lars van der Haar (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions at same time
3. Michael Vantourenhout (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal at 02 sec
4. Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions at 03 sec
5.  Ei Iserbyt (Bel) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal at 04 sec
6. Felipe Orts (Esp) at 17 sec
7. Niels Vadeputte (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck at 20 sec
8. Ryan Kamp (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal at 21 sec
9. Vincent Bastens (Bel) at 29 sec
10. Jens Adams (Bel) at 30 sec

Shrin van Anrooij took her first top level race win after an enthralling race at the cyclocross World Cup race at Beekse Bergen in the Netherlands on Sunday. 

The Baloise-Trek Lions rider attacked a leading group of three women at the start of the final lap, and built a slim advantage as the two chasers initially looked to each other.

Having won all four previous World Cup races so far this season, Fem van Empel (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) was left to chase, with Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) sat on her wheel. As the closing lap progressed it seemed like Van Anrooij would be caught, especially with the pursuing duo jumping barriers two-thirds around the lap.

However, Van Anjrooij was able to hold on through the ensuing sand pit and onto the tarmacced finish straight, eventually beating Van Empel by a solitary second, with Pieterse third.

Not only has 20 year-old Van Empel won all the previous World Cups, this season has seen a changing of the guard in women’s cyclocross, Sunday’s race being the second time the podium in a top tier race has been occupied entirely by 20 year-olds.

Meanwhile, in her fourth race of the ‘cross season, current and eight time world champion Marianne Vos was able only for finish fifth.

How it happened 

The fifth round of the UCI’s 14 round World Cup was held over six laps of a largely flat, sandy and dry course next to a lake just south of the Dutch city of Tilburg. 

Having won every round of the competition so far this year, along with last weekend’s European championships, Fem van Empel started the race as overall favourite, and sure enough, early on the first circuit the Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal rider was ahead.

Having taken two Alpecin-Deceuninck riders with her in the form of Ceylon del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Peterse, the leading trio crossed the line for the first time some five seconds ahead of world champion Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Kata Blanka Vas (SDWorx).

Despite having won Superprestige Niel on Friday, Alvarado seemed to be struggling early on, the two 20 year olds always just ahead, though the trio crossed the line together at the end of the second lap, still seven seconds up. 

Behind them Vos and Vas had been joined by yet another young Dutch superstar in the making, Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise-Trek Lions), who was best young rider at July’s Tour de France avec Zwift, and the chairs briefly joined the leading group.

As that group formed though, Peterse got a gap off the front, forcing Van Empel to chase, she and Alvarado eventually crossing the line at the end of the third lap with a four second deficit, Van Anrooij closing in form behind.

With her team mate ahead, Alvarado able to sit on the World Cup leader’s wheel and Alpecin-Deceuninck seemed in a good position, however, when Alvarado crashed after catching her pedal on a barrier, Van Empel was left to chase her Dutch compatriot alone. And she was soon back at the front, she and Peterse crossing the line, some eight seconds ahead of Van Anrooij, Alvarado with Vos further back.

Just onto the fifth lap Van Anrooij reached the front group making for three 20 year-old Dutch women at the front of a top tier race. The race was far from over though, Alvarado fighting hard to get back to the front, Vos hanging on and they closed the leading trio down, starting the final lap only only five seconds down.

But, as that closing circuit began, Van Anrooij, the Under 23 European road and time trial Under 23 champion, made her move, instantly gaining an advantage as Van Empel and Peterse look too each other.

Earlier in the day British rider Imogen Wolff finished second in the women’s junior race, her best result for eh season so far.

ResultBeekse Bergen UCI Cyclocross World Cup - Elite women 

1. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions in 47-02
2. Fem van Empel (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal at .01 sec
3. Puck Peterse (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck at same time
4. Ceylon del Carmen Alvarado (Ned) Alpecin Deceuninck at 25 sec
5. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 30 sec
6. Kata Blanka Vas (Hun) SDWorx at 46 sec
7. Lucinda Brand (Ned) Baloise-Trek Lions  at 47 sec
8. Marie Schreiber (Lux) Tormans at 1-06
9. Aniek van Alphen (Ned) 777 at 1-09
10. Denise Betsema (Ned) Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal at 1-17