In Episode 2 of Season 8 Neil and Matt are joined by Spectra’s Xan Crees fresh from her complete set of Hope Supercross finishes. They reflect on how the series has quickly become established and has attracted riders from across the world to the joys of Yorkshire Cross. They highlight who is standing out as starting the season on form and who has more to give.

In the Laatste Ronde they preview the awesomeness that is the Three Peaks coming in a few days. Xan gives her top tips on what to expect as a rider supporter, and Neil gives his thoughts on his entry. It’s wide open again but there are some fresh faces racing it for the first time who are serious contenders.

The National Trophy kicks off in a few days - don’t forget your entries! (and don’t forget to support the new fun race 😃). Round 1 is back to Derby, one of the most popular venues of the season. Listen in for all the latest and have fun out there!

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To support the show pop over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crosscast to make a donation towards our hosting fees - every little helps! Follow us on Insta and Facebook, and share to your networks! Neil is part of Grity Sustainable Sports Apparel @gritykit, and Matt runs Full Speed Events @full_speed_events, and both support the DonnyChainGang.

In Episode 1 of Season 8, Neil and Matt look forward to the 2024-25 Cyclocross Season. It is a very strange one in terms of calendar that will come in a series of distinct chapters

September is all about Yorkshire. We kick off with the Hope Supercross series of 4 UCI C2 races in the UK in a short block - a must for anyone chasing the UCI points. Then there is the diversion westwards for the Three Peaks which Neil is returning to… listen to Episodes 2 and 3 for his plans and whether they worked!

The National Trophy is fairly standard this year, back to it's tried-and-tested weekend race schedule and kicking off in Derby, and running through to January, visiting tried-and-tested venues. There is the new fun race (sponsored by Grity) which gives opportunity for racing to those who might be otherwise occupied on the Saturday, rather similar to the fun race at the National MTB Series that has been a great success. Get your entries in and give it a go!

After the European Champs, we get the first World Cup which accelerates into an ultra-packed two months of action that could be awesome, with some FAN-tastic double-header weekends, and an opportunity for global riders to base themselves in Europe and compete for the entire series, although there are no races any more than about 1000 km from Full Speed Events' studio near Limoges - i.e. 100% EU.

The finale of the season will come from the National Champs from Cyclopark and the World Champs from Lievin, France, at which we will be having the annual Crosscast Podium Picker competition!

Stay tuned for what promises to be another cross-tastic season.

Support the show

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To support the show pop over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crosscast to make a donation towards our hosting fees - every little helps! Follow us on Insta and Facebook, and share to your networks! Neil is part of Grity Sustainable Sports Apparel @gritykit, and Matt runs Full Speed Events @full_speed_events, and both support the DonnyChainGang.

In Episode 12 of Season 7, Neil Mansfield and Matt Payne are joined by Ian Field to review the 2024 World Championships that came from Tabor, Czechia. The weekend started with a compelling team relay where strategy was key, and where GB were just pipped to the line by France. Surely this race needs to be covered in full with dedicated graphics to make it more accessible to the less obsessive CX fans out there?

They talk through how day 1 saw Gery take her second jersey of the weekend and how the race with Ferguson could have unfolded differently in a different universe. U23 men and Elite women's races went to form, with Van Empel's huge win being the biggest gap for years... this caused Neil's Crosscast podium prediction score to be scuppered - yes he is still gutted.

A badly timed puncture meant Sparfel could not make it 3 golds for France but gifted the win to wobbly-wheel Viezzi. The predicted but no less impressive dominations from Backstedt and Van Der Poel give Ian, Matt, and Neil plenty to talk about, not least of which was Matt's impromptu invitation to / unintentional gatecrashing of Zdenek Stybar's family party.

The biggest take-aways from the weekend are that we have worthy winners of the jerseys, France are on the up with a mega strong squad 12 months from a home World Champs, and that each of Ian, Neil and Matt were shown up by their family members in terms of predicting the podiums.

One more show, and then it's season's end. See you then.

Support the show

--
To support the show pop over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/crosscast to make a donation towards our hosting fees - every little helps! Follow us on Insta and Facebook, and share to your networks! Neil is part of Grity Sustainable Sports Apparel @gritykit, and Matt runs Full Speed Events @full_speed_events, and both support the DonnyChainGang.