Cyclocross is one of the most exciting disciplines in cycling to watch, and whilst TV does a great job of showing the action on the course, there’s an incredible world behind the barriers you don’t get to see while watching from your sofa.
Following my recent visit watching the X2O Trophy race in Koksijde, I share my insights into the lesser-known joys of cyclocross and the five best things about CX you won’t see on TV.
Food!
Belgium’s Frite and Mayo culture is well documented, but in my opinion the best way to fuel a hard day of spectating comes in the form of a brown, wrinkly skinless sausage; Frikandels. I’ll be the first to admit they don’t look appetising but trust me, they’re delicious. Even typing this out is making me hungry. I was hesitant to investigate the ingredients as sometimes ignorance is bliss, but a quick Google reassures me it’s just a mixture of beef, pork and chicken with some spices. There are rumours they used to include horse meat back in the day, but thankfully that was before my time!
Team Paddocks
The paddocks are where Cyclocross’ community spirit shines brightest. It’s a fantastic place to see the inner workings of the teams and the atmosphere is electric as you immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of race preparation. Unlike at big road races, the pros aren’t sheltered away, and you’ll often see even the top riders walking around chatting to fans and signing autographs. Over the years I’ve made it my life’s work to collect as many autographs from World Champions as possible. Hours have been spent running after the riders, sharpie in hand. I bought a World Champ jersey which is now littered with signatures from the world’s best, including Mathieu Van Der Poel, Sven Nys and Marianna Vos, to name drop a few. One day, I’ll have it framed and hung on my wall, but for now, I’m chasing one final signature. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s. Over the last few years, she has moved her focus to mountain biking and road, making the opportunity to get an autograph near impossible for me. The frustrating thing is I’ve already met her before but she wasn’t a world champ at the time so didn’t make the cut.
Fans
The spectators at cyclocross events are next level. Always up for a party, the huge beer tents are rocking with fans wearing ridiculous costumes dancing to cheesy Eurotrash music, entertaining everyone with their terrible moves. I’m guilty of joining in, and during my first time going to Koksijde, I got a little carried away and ripped my trousers with some overzealous moves to ‘Gangnam Style’ during a dance-off with a group of Belgian fans… I’ve got a video of it somewhere but I don’t think it’s fair to make you all suffer through that.
Another unique piece of fan culture I’m confident is unique to cyclocross, it’s something I’ve never seen in any other sport; fan clubs, but not for the teams, for individual riders! You’ll see huge groups of people all wearing matching custom jackets with the rider’s name on the back, flying huge flags high in the sky with their faces printed on them. The prominent club at Koksijde this year was for Laurens Sweeck, with a group camping up on one of the technical sand sections. A good day for them with him taking the win!
Watching the pit crews work in perfect harmony with the riders is a beautiful thing to watch up-close. TV will often show key bike changes from the top riders, but they never show the organised chaos leading up to it. Mechanics rush to prepare the bikes, with just minutes to pressure wash, fix and adjust the second bike before their rider comes through for another change. Riders are flying past, throwing kit they no longer want to their team, whilst tactics and encouragement are being shouted. The pits feature twice a lap so it’s a perfect place to see lots of action without having to move about.
Creative Courses
While TV might focus on the most dramatic obstacles, it regularly misses the subtle genius of course design and often makes the technical sections look much easier than they are, taking away from the skill and braveness of the rider. To make sure we experience as much as possible, we never watch the race in just one place and will move to another location every lap. Good footwear is advisable as the terrain is the same as what the riders are on, so it’s usually muddy, slippery and very hilly.
If you’ve not yet been to watch a Cross race, then what’s stopping you? Our recent trip to Koksijde, Belgium was just for the day, and with costs split between three of us, the whole trip cost just £50 each including the ticket price! I’m fortunate to live just 70 miles from Dover so a daytrip is easily achievable but for other races you’d have to find a hotel for the night, which when split between friends wouldn’t add too much onto the final cost. For our trip to the X20 Trophy, we left home at 2am and we got the 5am ferry to Calais. Once in France, Koksijde is just an hour’s drive north and after stopping at a bakery nearby for some essential pastries, we arrived 15 minutes before the juniors set off.
Top Tip… on the final lap of the final race, I recommend you make your way to the start finish straight so you can make a quick getaway once the race has finished, skipping any traffic so you can get to the ferry or Channel Tunnel in good time.
We made the Ferry with just a couple of minutes to spare thanks to customs taking an age to process passengers, so it was a good thing we left when we did. I arrived back home at 8 pm and ended the day boring my wife with the hundreds of videos I took! 18 hours door-to-door.
