CYCLOCROSS

Picture This…

Imagine hurtling through mud-slicked fields, shouldering your bike up a near-vertical hill, then bombing down the other side – all while your lungs burn, your legs scream, and cowbells clang in the distance. Welcome to cyclocross: the chaotic, gritty, gloriously messy lovechild of road racing and mountain biking. Riders tackle short, brutal circuits filled with sharp turns, slippery terrain, and man-made obstacles – all on specially designed cyclocrossbikes that look like road bikes but with knobbly tyres, rugged frames, and just enough clearance to shed mud like it’s going out of style. The kind of person who races ‘cross isn’t afraid to suffer – they thrive on it.

Though cyclo-cross is often seen as cycling’s winter discipline, at Cyclopark it kicks off under summer skies. Last season, we embraced the growing summer ‘cross scene by launching a short-course race inspired by key features of our renowned National Trophy layout. The response from riders was overwhelmingly positive, and it gave us the perfect platform to begin shaping the course for the headline event of our CX calendar: the 2025 National Championships.

Between the two major events that bookend our cyclo-cross season, we’ve offered a wide range of opportunities for riders of all abilities – from introductory sessions for novices in the summer, to regular youth and junior training through the winter months. Our Under-12 sessions were especially popular, consistently running near full capacity. Many young riders and their families travel considerable distances to attend, with some coming from as far south as the Sussex coast and as far north as Hertfordshire.

Reputational Excellence

Cyclopark’s Youth A and B sessions have earned a strong reputation for developing talented riders who go on to succeed at regional, national, and even international levels. Regular attendees such as the Amey brothers, Oscar and Alfie, along with Milo Wills, Luke Gibson, and Hope Inglis, have all represented Great Britain at World Cup events. Seeing the iconic national champion’s stripes at our midweek training is an incredible source of inspiration for the younger riders. This season, we proudly added two more champions to our growing roster: Peggy Knox and Eva Gibson, both regulars at our sessions, claimed national titles in the Youth A and B girls’ categories, respectively.

Our cyclo-cross training sessions kick off in late summer, and as the season progresses, so does the course itself – steadily evolving until it becomes the full build used for the National Championships. Week by week, the training area expands, offering riders a gradually increasing technical challenge in line with their development and the season’s demands.

What began as a modest club session, run by coaches and parents from Team Darenth, once took place on a small training oval – now better known as the pits area used in both the National Trophy and National Championships. As the sport’s popularity has grown, Cyclopark’s infrastructure has risen to meet the challenge. With additions like the Ride For Charlie steps, the GKR Flyover, and expanded floodlighting for winter evening use, the venue has developed into a world-class centre for CX training – renowned for its technical difficulty and quality.

Now, riders from clubs and teams across the country – many of whom compete at national and international levels – regularly attend our sessions to sharpen their technical skills and race craft. Our coaching team is drawn from several of these local clubs, and we’re proud to often have five-time national champion Ian Field leading our new fortnightly adult CX sessions.

A huge thank you goes out to our dedicated CX coaching team: Steve Gibson, Alex Amey, Dave Arnold, and Luke Anderson, whose time and energy keep things moving – even in the most “proper cross” conditions. Next season, we’re thrilled to welcome new coaching talent, with Matt Fletcher, Luke Fletcher, and Lola Arnold all earning their British Cycling Intro to Coaching – Off-Road qualifications this summer.

Building the National Championship Course

This year’s National Championships course was widely praised. Riders who’ve competed in multiple National Trophy events and those who rode our first National Champs in 2019 consistently told us this was the best yet. That’s a testament to the huge team of staff and volunteers who bring it to life each year.

Course design begins with Huw Williams, whose experience and adaptability are key as changing ground conditions shape what’s possible each season. Once a draft layout is agreed, the Cyclopark estates team – led by Cycling Manager Luke Anderson – begins carving out the lines, starting with the areas we use for training.

If as said above this piece is aimed at people who already do Cycle cross might be worth describing what people liked about the course re features etc. If its not then ignore this. Just typically you would evidence what is good about it.

Week by week, the course develops. We assess what’s working, what needs tweaking, and what to cut, shaping it into a design worthy of a national event. With terrain as dynamic as Cyclopark’s, the course can change drastically with just a single downpour or a night of frost. For that reason, multiple alternate sections are always prepared, giving us the flexibility to make race-day adjustments on the fly.

A couple of weeks before the Championships, we run weekend daytime training sessions on the near-final course layout. These are made possible by the parents who volunteer their time to help – putting up fencing, tying tape, and ramming in posts. This year, those sessions saw 90 riders across all categories on the course in a single day, creating a high-energy final prep that benefits riders of all ages and abilities.

In the final week before the race, top riders in their categories come in to test the course, help us benchmark lap times, and offer feedback on the final layout. This year, we were lucky to have multi-time national and world champion Cat Ferguson join us for a few days – offering invaluable insights into how the course rides in various conditions.

Race Day and Beyond

Post-race, the cleanup begins. Cyclopark is a multi-discipline public venue, and thanks to a brilliantly coordinated effort by the estates team and volunteers, the road circuit was fully operational within a week. The CX course was completely cleared within four.

With the National Championships now behind us, we’re giving the ground time to recover and looking ahead to the next big challenge. In the meantime, our focus remains on delivering top-tier training sessions to continue nurturing the next generation of CX stars. Keep an eye out for details of our upcoming season’s sessions.

What’s Next?

This May half-term, we’re excited to welcome new coach Dave Wastall, currently training on British Cycling’s CX Coaching in Context course. He’ll be leading both an Intro to CX session and a Racers’ Session – with more dates to come over the summer holidays.

We’re also proud to confirm that Cyclopark will host two major events this season:

• South East Regional CX Champs in November 2025
• LCCA Team Champs in February 2026- always a highlight with great energy and team spirit.

Finally, we’re thrilled to announce a brand-new addition to our calendar: the EVO Devo Training Camp, led by Great Britain Cycling Team CX Manager Matt Ellis. This weekend-long event will combine advanced technical coaching with rider-parent workshops – designed to support young riders aiming for the top, and the families who make that journey possible.