Cycling
This is what you need to know about the sport of cyclocross
To the uninitiated, the bike sport of cyclocross can be quite the confusing spectacle. Find out more about the exciting winter-based cycling discipline with this insightful guide.
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On the face of it, cyclocross can seem a bit strange to those who've never seen the sport. Why would you race what is essentially a normal bicycle around a field that's often very muddy and do all this in the freezing temperatures that come with winter in Northern Hemisphere. However, there are cyclists who take delight in doing just that and race against like-minded individuals in competitions and contests around the globe.
2 min
What is cyclo-cross?
Hear from the pros as they reveal what skills are required to be successful at cyclo-cross.
Racing a mountain biking on similar terrain seems so much easier, but cyclocross has a certain pull. To some it's a mixture of the best elements of road bike racing, mountain biking and a touch of cross-country running in one sport. Despite what appears to be a tough mental and physical challenge, the general consensus is that the sport is fun to do.
At a professional level, for many years the sport was seen as being for specialists – athletes who just raced the cyclocross season (which is usually from September to January) and would then not compete on the road or in mountain biking come the rest of the year. That's changed a lot in the last decade, with a fair amount of athletes crossing over from the road and mountain biking. In some cases, there are athletes who compete in all three.
Let's find out what is cyclocross exactly in more detail below:
01
What is cyclocross?
It's sort of like a steeplechase in horse racing, but with a bike. At its most simple level cyclocross is an offroad form of bike racing that will see racers encounter barriers or obstacles on the course. Typically, a modified road race bike is used by competitors to race and terrain raced on can be grass, dirt, gravel, meadowland, woodland or even sand. Due to the seasonal weather, it's mostly mud on the ground.
The typical cyclocross race location
© Dom Daher/Red Bull Content Pool
Obstacles can mostly be ridden over, but if a rider can't, they'll have to get off their bike and carry the bike around or over the obstacle. Similarly, if a part of the course is unrideable, then the rider can dismount and run with the bike on their shoulders. This is a common occurrence and athletes have to train to be good runners as well.
Obstacles like bunny hops can't be avoided!
© Diego Cagnato/www.diegocagnato.com.br
Some courses even feature stairs, which you'll have to run up
© Twila Federica Muzzi/Red Bull Content Pool
02
The origins of cyclocross are?
Cyclocross, also known as CX, dates back to cycle racing in France in the early 1900s. In those days, there were very few roads, so riders would more often then not go offroad to get to a finish line. This often meant riding through farmers' fields, forests and up hills. On these routes riders would have to clamber over fences and other obstacles to try and get the better of their competitors. Wading through river streams wasn't uncommon!
Cyclocross in those early days
© Vicente Martín/Wikimedia Creative Commons
By the 1950s, races became more organised and simplified, with courses becoming much shorter and based on circuit racing. Cyclocross 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 than it's set the parameters and rules for cyclocross.
03
Everyone loves cyclocross because it's so accessible
Cyclocross is a big sport in northern Europe, but is beginning to make inroads in the United States in terms of grass-roots participation and competition. Belgium and the Netherlands are the heartlands of the sport and TV audiences for cyclocross events are on par with football in these countries. It's the perfect spectator sport given its length and the wacky races nature of it. As with mountain biking races, cyclocross is renowned for its lively atmosphere at events. Heckling is encouraged.
There's always someone in your ear at races
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
In terms of participation, cyclocross can often be the introduction for kids to go into other forms of cycle sport. At grassroots level, you can even enter races on a mountain bike or a BMX if you want. For adults and children alike, cyclocross appeals to a sense of fun. Who wouldn't want to ride their bike through mud. For those who already road cycle, cyclocross is perfect off-season training.
Training for cyclocross is like training for no other bike discipline
© Kramon
Many cyclocross races are organised outside the normal rules and for those anything goes. Courses can be as imaginative as you want and you can wear what you want. Fancy dress cyclocross has to be seen to be believed.
Fun and games at the Bilenky Junkyard Cyclo-cross race
© Matt Stanley/Red Bull Content Pool
04
What's different about a cyclocross bike?
From it's early origins to now, very little has changed in terms of the bicycle used to ride cyclocross. To the naked eye, the cyclocross bike looks a lot like a road bike. It has drop handlebars for instance. However, the geometry of a cyclocross bike is very different and it will give you a very different feel when riding it compared to a standard road bike. The geometry of a cyclocross bike takes into account the specific conditions you would encounter if out riding offroad. So, for instance, the top tube angle is closer to that of a mountain bike, while there's also a slacker headtube angle for better offroad handling.
The cyclocross bike is dedicated to the specific challenges of the sport
© Patrik Lundin/Red Bull Content Pool
There are other marked differences. A cyclocross bikes's rear axle and forks feature a much wider clearance than on a standard road bike to allow for the wider tyres that are commonly used. A higher bottom bracket is also evident, as this allows the bike to avoid obstacles/terrain and slice through mud. There's no outward suspension on a cyclocross bike, but manufacturers build technology into their bikes to try absorbs shocks and vibrations.
Cyclocross bikes have to be fairly light so they can be carried, so anything which helps that comes into the design of the bicycle. You'll see most bikes have flattened top tubes. Brakes are now typically disc brakes, while another element taken from mountain biking is that the pedals used are double-sided clipless pedals. Given what they go through cyclocross wheelsets have to be extremely tough and durable. Cycling shoes for cyclocross tend to be less rigid than road shoes and have some form of grip on them allowing you to run on them. Just like the road, lyrca cycling kit is the kit of choice at top level racing.
Wout van Aert rode the Cervélo R5 CX during the 2021-22 season
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
A cyclocross bike doesn't have to be confined to offroad. It's also seen as a good road machine for commuters who want a bike that can handle the worst that any Northern Hemisphere winter can throw at them.
05
What are the rules for top level cyclocross racing?
Modern day pro cyclocross races are still 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. Courses are typically between 2.5km and 3.5km in length.
Obstacles continue to be a part of modern cyclocross, but UCI races can't have more than six artificial obstacles on the course. Planks and steps are allowed, as are non-natural sand pits. Races are generally based on a set time. For the UCI World Cup this is about 60 minutes. Laps are calculated during a race by officials and then announced.
The chaos of a cyclocross race
© Diego Cagnato/www.diegocagnato.com.br
06
The UCI is the governing body and run a World Cup every year
A UCI Cyclocross World Cup competition consisting of at least 10 to 15 rounds takes place every season, with races starting in September and ending in January. The UCI also organises an annual World Championship. The World Cup races tend to start in the USA in September, with racing coming to Europe in October. The bulk of the season's races are still to come, including the sport's busiest period through December.
As mentioned, Belgium and Netherlands are the heartland of cyclocross and most World Cup races takes place there. The 2022-23 calendar features 14 stops including Dublin in Ireland, Benidorm in Spain and on the snow in Val di Sole.
Apart from the UCI World Cup there are two other main cyclocross series that take place during the season. These have huge profile worldwide. They are the Cyclocross Superprestige and the DVV Trophy. The former races run exclusively in just Belgium and the Netherlands, the latter just in Belgium. Riders tend to participate across all three of these major series.
1 min
Men's recap – Bern
Catch up on the best of the action from the men's cyclo-cross event in Bern, Switzerland.
07
Who are the best cyclocross athletes?
Red Bull athletes involved in cyclo-cross
Every sport needs it heroes and cyclocross is no different. The most successful racer of all time is Belgian male rider Sven Nys with 140 victories. He's now retired, but the sport is in still rude health. As mentioned above, athletes tend to compete in a number of cycle disciplines and the big hitters of the sport on the men's side do just that.
Belgian Wout Van Aert, Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel and Great Britain's Tom Pidcock are the standout men's racers in the sport and are also known for being successful on the road with their own achievements at the Tour de France in recent years. Van der Poel and Pidcock are also big athletes on the cross-country mountain bike circuit and Pidcock is the current Olympic champion in mountain bike and the reigning cyclocross world champion. All three will race at certain points in the 2022-23 season and may target the UCI World Cyclocross Championships specifically as the one race they want to win.
Wout van Aert won 7 cyclocross races in the 2021-22 season
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
Tom Pidcock is the current UCI World Cyclocross Champion
© Twila Federica Muzzi/Red Bull Content Pool
Elsewhere, with the men there are specialists who will only ride cyclocross. Top names here include Belgians Michael Vanthourenhout, Eli Iserbyt and Laurens Sweeck.
For the women, Belgium's Fem van Empel is seen as the new emerging breakout talent. She's just 20-years old, but is already in the senior ranks and winning races. The Dutch women have some strong athletes in Lucinda Brand, Annemarie Worst and Denise Betsema, as well as world champion Marianne Vos.
Kate Blanka Vas is women's cycling's new multi-disciplinary talent
© Mark Somay/Red Bull Content Pool
The crossover of cycling disciplines is also very much prevalent with the women. Former world cyclocross champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is back on the women's circuit this season, having won world titles in mountain bike and gravel in 2022. Mountain bikers Evie Richards and Jolanda Neff will dip into cyclocross when their schedules allow, while another young road and mountain bike star Kata Blanka Vas finished third at the recent European Championships.
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