What the hell is cyclocross? I hear you ask! You have probably heard of motocross and you’ve probably heard of cycling…well, you’ve definitely heard of cycling, and Cyclocross is a wonderful amalgamation of both. Popular in mainland Europe, particularly Belgium, Cyclocross is basically an hour of kicking crud, cycling through crud and running up steep steps… covered in crud…in November. Cyclocross bikes are identical to road-bikes to the uninitiated but have chunky tyres, different brakes and greater frame clearance, however being a student, and poor, I rode this year’s BUCS event held in Durham on my friend’s mountain bike and O. MY. GOD. the pain.
I wrote in the summer about watching the Olympic Mountain Biking and being astounded at the amount of pain the riders appeared to be in. I remember describing it as wrestling a bear. This time I was wrestling a really muddy bear, and the bear had me in a half-nelson and pounding me into submission after the second lap.
I have never raced off-road before in my life so it was somewhat of an unknown entity and it was with major apprehension that I took to the start-line on a cloudy day at 3pm on 18th November. I’d been talking to my friend Dave about how to ride ‘cross given his far greater experience in the discipline, but as soon as the starting bell went it went straight out the back of my head as the first lap progressed, and resembled what can only be described as the opening scenes of “Saving Private Ryan” …on Bikes. The course itself was “apparently” not very technically challenging but whoever told me that is apparently unaware of Purgatory. I was sodden and mud-coated by the end of the first lap and by the second lap the unfamiliar position on the borrowed mountain bike caused my back to seize up leaving me to hobble up the banks and steps like someone who had just crapped themselves whilst making the noises a newborn Pterodactyl would make. Fun Times.
In my defence I do think I did myself justice coming halfway down the results after 3 weeks training and on a mountain bike, but I was 1.5 mins a lap slower than the leaders. With regards to the leaders the race was fought out between three riders, Dave Nichols from Loughborough and his brother Andy from Sheffield and Liam Glen from Bath University. In the end it was my good friend Dave who pulled clear in the final lap to win by 10 seconds ahead of Glen with Andy Nichols coming third to bookend the podium for the Nichols’. Team honours were again contentious with Sheffield being given gold on the night but a second amendment putting Loughborough 1st, Edingburgh 2nd and Sheffield 3rd. This rounded out a cracking day for Loughborough (who, incidentally, walk on water) with Christina Wiejack also being the fastest female on a mountain bike.
All in all Durham University CC put on an excellently excruciating event, opening my eyes to yet another facet of the wonderful sport that is cycling, although it was absolutely freezing. In short Cyclocross is a race equivalent of a glass of MTFU.
Bike-Minded Individuals. 