Cycling
This is what you need to know about the sport of cyclo-cross
Cyclo-cross is growing in popularity as a competitive bike sport, but can appear quite confusing to the uninitiated. Find out more about CX with this essential guide.
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On the face of it, cyclo-cross can seem a bit strange to those who have never seen it before. Why would you race what is essentially a road bike around a field that is often very muddy, all in the freezing temperatures that come with winter in Northern Hemisphere. But there are cyclists who take delight in doing just that, and race against like-minded individuals in competitions and contests around the globe.
Racing on a mountain bike on similar terrain seems so much easier, but cyclo-cross has a certain pull. To some it is a mixture of the best elements of road bike racing, mountain biking and just a touch of cross-country running in one package. Despite what appears to be a tough mental and physical challenge, the general consensus is that CX is fun to do.
The typical cyclo-cross race location
© Dom Daher/Red Bull Content Pool
So what exactly is cyclo-cross?
Think of it like a steeplechase in horse racing. Only with the horse replaced by a bike. At its most simple level, cyclo-cross is an offroad form of bike racing that sees racers encounter barriers or obstacles on the course. Competitors typically use a modified road race bike rather than a mountain bike, and the terrain can be grass, dirt, gravel, meadowland, woodland or even sand. And due to the seasonal weather, there’s guaranteed to be mud.
Stuck in the mud
© Joolze Dymond
Obstacles can mostly be ridden over, but if a rider can't they will have to dismount and or carry their bike around or over the obstacle. Similarly, if a part of the course is unrideable (either through too much mud or being too steep), then the rider can dismount and run with their bike over their shoulder.
Obstacles can't be avoided!
© Diego Cagnato/www.diegocagnato.com.br
The French dreamt it up
Cyclo-cross, also known as CX or ‘cross, dates back to bike racing in France in the early 1900s. In those days, there were very few paved roads, so riders have to venture offroad to get to a finish line – often riding through fields and forests while having to clamber over fences and other obstacles to try and get the better of their competitors. Wading through river streams wasn't uncommon.
Cyclo-cross in its formative years
© Vicente Martín/Wikimedia Creative Commons
By the 1950s, races became more organised and standardised as courses were made much shorter and based on circuit racing. Cyclo-cross was also starting to be seen as a autumn or winter sport. The UCI got involved in 1950 with the racing of the first World Championship and since then it has set the parameters and rules for cyclo-cross.
Everyone loves cyclo-cross because it is so accessible
Cyclo-cross is a big sport in northern Europe but is beginning to make inroads in the United States in terms of grass-root participation and competition. Belgium and the Netherlands are the heartlands of the sport, and TV audiences for cyclo-cross events are usually on par with football. It's the perfect spectator sport given its circuit-based nature, and as with mountain biking races, cyclo-cross is renowned for its lively atmosphere – heckling is encouraged.
There's always someone in your ear at races
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
In terms of participation, cyclo-cross can often be the introduction for kids to go into other forms of bike racing. At a grassroots level, you can enter races on a mountain bike or a BMX if you want, and for those who already road cycle, cyclo-cross is perfect off-season training.
It's raced on modified road bikes
From it's early origins to now, very little has changed in terms of the bicycle used to ride cyclo-cross and a modified road bike with drop handlebars is most commonly used in top-level racing. The main alterations are a slightly different geometry, knobbly tyres to help with grip on non-road surfaces and lower gear ratios as most of a cyclo-cross race isn't played out at breakneck speeds.
The geometry of a cyclo-cross bike takes into account the specific conditions you would encounter if out riding offroad. This translates as a slacker head angle on the handlebars for better offroad handling, an increased clearance between the tyres and frame for improved mud-shredding capabilities and a higher bottom bracket to avoid obstacles. There is also no outward suspension on a cyclo-cross bike but manufacturers build technology into their bikes to try absorbs shocks and vibrations.
The cyclo-cross bike is dedicated to the specific challenges of the sport
© Patrik Lundin/Red Bull Content Pool
Cyclo-cross bikes have to be fairly light so they can be carried, and most have flattened top tubes to aid comfort when shouldering. Brakes are now typically disc brakes, while double-sided clipless pedals are prefered to road bike ones.
When it comes to kit, it’s something of a mishmash between road and MTB. The shoes are borrowed from the latter as they are less rigid and have some form of grip to help with the running elements of the race. The helmet, jersey and bib shorts meanwhile is of the lycra variety.
Many cyclo-cross races are organised outside the normal UCI rules, and for those anything goes. Courses can be as imaginative as you want and you can wear what you want. Fancy dress cyclo-cross has to be seen to be believed.
Bilenky Junkyard Cyclocross 2013
© Matt Stanley/Red Bull Content Pool
It isn't totally wacky racers, there are rules
Modern-day cyclo-cross races are mainly offroad but the UCI also regulates for road sections to be included for its World Cup and World Championship races. The regulations state a course should have terrain that alternates in such a way as to encourage changes in the pace of the race, and courses are typically between 2.5km and 3.5km in length.
In terms of obstacles, UCI races can't have more than six artificial ones on the course – planks and steps are allowed, as are non-natural sand pits. Races are generally based on a set time, which for the UCI World Cup is around 60 minutes. The total number of laps is calculated during the race by officials depending on how fast the field completes the first couple of circuits, with the riders and spectators then informed mid-race.
The chaos of a cyclo-cross race
© Diego Cagnato/www.diegocagnato.com.br
There's a UCI World Cup every year
A UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup competition starts each September, ending the following January, and consists of eight-to-nine rounds. The UCI also organises an annual World Championship. This season's races started in the USA in September with World Cup's in Iowa City and Waterloo, with racing coming over to Europe in October for the rest of the rounds.
- December 22 – Namur, Belgium
- December 26 – Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
- January 19 – Nommay-Pays de Montbéliard, France
- January 26 – Hoogerheide-Provincie Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
- February 1-2 – UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Dübendorf, Switzerland
Who will come out on top at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup races?
© David Robinson/Red Bull Content Pool
Apart from the UCI World Cup, there are two other key cyclo-cross series – the Cyclo-cross Superprestige and the DVV Trophy – that take place during the season. The former races exclusively in Belgium and the Netherlands, while the latter just in Belgium. Riders tend to participate across all three of these major series.
These riders are worth following
Wout van Aert
© Kristof Kramon
Every sport needs it heroes and cyclo-cross is no different. The most successful racer of all time is Belgian male rider Sven Nys, who scored 140 victories in his career. In the current crop, Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van der Poel are the stand out men's racers in the sport, while Belgium's Sanne Cant and Dutch racer Denise Betsema are the big women stars.
As it comes during the off-season for road and MTB riders, there is quite a lot of crossover in cyclo-cross. Van Aert, for example, races on the road, while Van der Poel also excels in both road and mountain biking. On the women's cycle-cross circuit, MTBers Jolanda Neff, Eva Lechner and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot are regulars when their schedules allow. US rider Ellen Noble is doing her best to raise the profile of the sport in her country.
Ellen Noble
© Chris Milliman/Red Bull Content Pool
In terms of talent for the future, Britain's Tom Pidcock is heavily tipped to step up from U23 level and make a mark in the seniors during the 2019-20 season, as is fellow Britain Evie Richards in the women's.
Tom Pidcock wants podium finishes during first elite cyclo-cross season
© Charlie Crowhurst/Red Bull Content Pool
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