Do you wax your chain for CX? I do it for my road bikes, but am not sure if it’s worth it for cross. Would love to hear others’ takes.

It's one of not that many UCI races in the US and looks like it has been going on a long time, but I see very little discussion about it anywhere. What's up with that?

Same deal for the "Major Taylor Cross Cup"...

Former local pro let me borrow his race bike and spare wheels. Already flatted the tubulars

I live in Portland, OR. Would really like to get into cyclocross next season. It doesn’t seem like there are many options for “new-newish” models. Where is the best place to find a good CX bike in Portland? Thanks!

I know the crux 5 is a non-starter for high-level racing but I found it interesting new teams (eg Bomba Join) went with Specialized. And I presume FDJ and SD Worx will continue to ride them.

So does the crux 4 have a future as big S’s cross bike? Or will these teams eventually move away from Specialized?

Epic venue, awesome course, and an absolutely gorgeous day. That run-up kicks my ass every year. Love the tweaks they made to the upper part too. Fast, flowy, punchy, with a sketchy descent that kept the roadies (and non-roadies) honest.

For those not from the PNW, this is Fort Steilacoom, site of the 2019 Natty Champs, the one where Kerry Werner got clotheslined by course tape that Gage Hecht got caught up in. Good times.

Had a good race myself. Derailleur was still fried from SSCXWC so I raced cat 3 on a "single speed". Went well for a few laps, but the climb after the runup eventually got to me. Took 4th on the day.

Been racing here since I was 9 or 10. A deep well of memories comes up every year. I still think about the long retired and long overgrown "Knapp Time" run up (a monster runup named after Dale Knapp of early '00's fame). I died many deaths on it, so I'm thankful it's been toned down for something more human.

Anyway, enjoy the recap! If you wanna view it not on Reddit (it gets compressed it to hell), here's the link to the IG reel.

Same as every season in recent memory, not all cyclocross riders are full-time focusing on it. I thought it would be good to create an overview of what the plans of the top riders are. Maybe mods can pin a list or something. Please feel free to add info you have as interviews are often local.

Men

Let's start with the men. Top 10 UCI rank is:

1. Niels Vandeputte - started season in Dendermonde

2. Mathieu Van der Poel - Not sure, but probably only 5-6 crosses

3. Thibault Nys - starts November 1st. 18 races scheduled

4. Michael Vanthourenhout - started and won in Dendermonde

5. Tibor Del Grosso - Not started yet, not clear when but probably soon

6. Joris Nieuwenhuis - Not started yet, but confirmed for X2O so November 1st definitely

7. Felipe Orts - starts in woerden on october 20th

8. Toon aerts- currently recovering from injury.Targets worlds in Ostend.

9. Laurens Sweeck - started season in Dendermonde

10. Emiel verstrynge - target mid december (Glasgow?) and +-15 races

Interesting to note that only 3 out of 10 started in Dendermonde.

Other interesting riders yet to start:

1. Wout van Aert: not clear yet, but rumored to ride more then the 8 of last season

2. Tom Pidcock: Won't race. Probably never again in cyclocross.

3. Tim Merlier: None or a local training ride at max.

4. Quinten hermans: Target end of november for a (small) comeback

5. Gianni vermeersch: 5-6 crosses with Belgian champs as target. No worlds

Will do women in separate post. Reddit editor is horrendously slow here.

Anyone ever trimmed or clipped tread on their tires?

I have heavier mud tires and I’m considering clipping a couple MMs off each knob to make these a bit faster and more “all around”. I don’t see my season going too late anymore and frankly I’ve rarely ever needed a heavy mud tires.

Anyone ever undertaken this dumb task? Any suggestions? (Ex. Clip every other lug, clip only the center, etc)

I do both. We have a thriving local mtb scene. Zero cx. (Except me. I tried for yrs. We used to have a dozen practicing.)

How can i describe cx to mtbers to lure them in?

So far I'd say its more social, u see the action. But what about mtb parks? They're social, visible. So maybe it's like that but easier to find?

Is there more passing? At my race last wkend my heart numbers were more than mtb...

After riding my trainer and using Trainer Road from the end of last season through this one, I finally had two top 33% finishes in cat five and finally decided to upgrade to cat 4. I understand that the leap from 5 to 4 is pretty big, and that I need another year on the trainer before I move from the back to the middle in cat 4 races. My only real goal is to be middle of the pack. So I am doing my best to be patient and just trust the process.

However, Trainer Road has me doing V02 Max workouts twice a week currently. I'm finding that it this just isn't sustainable during the race season. I've been going out racing every weekend and doubling up some days. I followed Trainer Road for the first two weeks, but I am lining up at the starting grid feeling cooked already.

Honestly, I'm starting to feel a bit discourage, like am I doing something wrong? I can tell my attitude is starting to impact my performance. I'm not feeling the stoke as and just feeling down about it. Has anyone else had the experience that they are over training during the race season? I know I could do one V02 max workout per a week, and one threshold ride. I am really questioning the value in pushing myself so hard right now and following the plan.

This is all to say have other people had this experience and these feelings? How do you train during the CX season using your trainer? Any tips would be helpful. Sorry for the long post, I just have a lot of feelings lol.

I’m a photographer and videographer who works in cycling and other sports, and one who formally raced 25-30 races a year. I’m rethinking the cyclocross coverage I make, and I’d appreciate you filling out the linked survey about what you actually want to watch.

It’s about American cyclocross, from local races to the domestic elite calendar: what you watch, what’s missing, and what would make you follow a race you weren’t at. Every question is optional, and not watching much race video is useful feedback too.

For context, most of my photo/video work has been behind the scenes, making content for brands, with some team and event coverage mixed in. That’s included road, MTB, and other sports. That work has dried up for me as sponsors seem to be putting more of the content production on riders themselves.

I’m shifting my focus and looking for feedback to guide where I put my filming and editing time and bring more than my own preferences and assumptions to conversations with race directors and sponsors about what coverage is worth making and supporting.

There’s space in the survey for examples or links to coverage you like, and I’d also be interested to hear your thoughts here. Thanks for taking a look.

I'm headed that way for a weekend. I heard about the Really Rad festival on the cape but I'm not sure I can get all the way down there. Thanks in advance for any tips or recommendations!

2nd place both days in Masters M30.

Mud and more mud 💩💩💩

Same podium both days 🤷‍♂️

Anyone has seen these? In photos the threads appear to be identical, is there any difference between them...? are a 33mm TLR Chicane, and Gravel Grinder the same?

It was my first cx race and it was brutal - i crashed twice and started cramping on the final lap. But I’ll be back for more cuz i’m dumb like that. after my race, i videoed the beginner women’s race. hella.

CX seems to have issues the past decade. ...Except for a few places, like Chi. In the meantime, Gravel has taken off and those bikes could easily be used in CX events except for Elites. I would think that anyone giving CX a try these days using a gravel bike with like 40-50mm tires would find the features and handling to be dang reasonable. The harsh chatter faded away.

I just did my first CX race in years yesterday and I only saw a handful of 33mm bikes. Lots of gravel bikes with wide tires. They should have been slaying that course!

...I also noticed some new racers not know how to air-down their gravel tires. They were riding pretty firm and bouncy despite smooth gliding on a platter being handed to them.

This was a popular race but pretty casual -- winner ended up on a full-sus MTB! Who cares.

Anyway, it seems like several kinds of popular bikes might have been easier than a CX bike to play on this course with.

I've been busy the last few yrs and outta the loop. Made new friends in a CX town nearby so decided to start playing again. Back 5 yrs ago when I last did a sizable race (before gravel killed it) I had a new guy ask me if it was ok that he used his gravel bike, if I thought it would work. People just don't understand? What kind of problem is that? Is it that CX is not communicating with the world? He had a carbon bike with 45mm tires and was "concerned" that his bike might not work. Huh? Dang, I'd love to have a bike like that! I'm still using my 2010 bike with barely enough clearance for 38mm. Cross is casual at the fun level. Doesn't anyone tell ppl this? Ride what ya got! My bike was fine, too. But it was funny to have a cross bike stand out as "old fashioned" at a cross race! ...And I was the ONLY one with glue-messy rims!

The r/peloton Discord also has an active cyclocross community

Weather: 15C/59F grey but dry

A photo I captured during UTCX at Weber County Fairgrounds. Roger was okay, but his carbon rails on his saddle were not 😢

Are we really getting all the best story lines to keep our sport alive in the USA? It seems like the podcast is really important. I know I love it. It focuses on a half a dozen of our lead racers. Maybe one or two of them go to Europe. Can the people really carry the sport? I think our media people understand story lines carry the day. But they limit it to our handful of best racers. [I'll try to break this into paragraphs...]

A couple other factors sneak in. I would say the venue is a character. We like hearing about the ones we like. The conditions also really matter. So we hear about those two story lines a fair bit.

But there's yet another one that I think might get short changed: the events. Our events don't always have our best racers but they have lives of their own. But we only hear about the ones that our national riders attend. Aren't there another half a dozen events that are amazing and have stories of their own? I don't dig into googling what events we have anymore, but I really appreciated learning about them back when we had a paper magazine. Like what about that junkyard race I think it was in Philadelphia? Now these aren't storylines that stretch through a whole season but it seems like they're important.

Heck even fan behavior might be a storyline worth more coverage than we've been seeing. What about the guy in the ghillie suit who used to creep around the courses invisibly strewing hundreds of dollars?

I know there was a movement away from hand ups and maybe costumes in the attempt to make our sport more serious 15 years ago. But times change. Is the serious way the best way to bring it back?