In Episode 10 of Season 6, Matt and Neil are joined in the studio by CX talent, Lotta Mansfield fresh from her block of Belgian action over the early Kerstperiod. Lotta talks about the experience of racing for Montezuma's Race Team on the continent and back home in the UK. They review what has proved to be a series of ace races, with battles from Gavere in the draggy mud, Zolder being reminiscent of previous tight editions, and Diegem being a night to remember. Loenhout with what will become a c...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 28 min
In Episode 9 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are joined in the studio by Junior CX talent, Oli Akers fresh from (yet) another win in the National Trophy. Oli talks about his season, and how things are taking shape at Garden Shed UK Ribble Verge CX. He talks about the balance of risk and reward, and how much he is anticipating the end of the season with a series of big-ticket races across Europe. They review the ice conditions that were experienced at Barnoldswick and how they responded to the challen...
Dec 23, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 6Ep. 9
In Episode 8 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are joined in the studio by World Champion Ceris Styler, fresh from defending her jersey at the Masters World Champs. They give a full run down of all the fun from Ipswich, and talk through all of the GB podiums from what was another awesome event from Steve Grimwood and the whole organising team. They also look back at the racing from Boom and Antwerp, and what amounted to a Hollywood-esque pair of elite races from Dublin, with action from start to finish...
Dec 13, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Season 6Ep. 8
In Episode 7 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are joined in the studio by off-road uber-talent, Evie Richards, who not only gives all the information on her recent success at the highest level of sport, but also of plans for a return to cyclocross, and experiences at the Western and West Midlands local leagues. Evie also gives Neil some tips on how to manage his gridding at the Masters World Champs. They are also joined by Gareth Richards, the brains behind CX HUBZ, to talk about how grass-roots CX is...
Nov 30, 2022•1 hr 37 min
In Episode 6 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are joined from Belgium by Spectra Wiggle's Xan Crees from the middle of her European race block. They get all the insights from Xan who has been on the ground at almost every one of the big races this year. They cover all the action from Koppenburg with the memorable wins for Van Der Haar and Van Empel, and the race that Prevot will want to forget. They cover the return of Alvarado to winning ways at Niel after a 2-year hiatus., and a first World Cup win ...
Nov 16, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 6Ep. 6
In Episode 5 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are joined in the studio by Ed Beechinor-Collins, who is not only Thomas Mein's coach but UCI and UEC Commission member. Ed brings us fully up to date with plans and asipirations for the European Cyclocross scene, including the potential for a European Cup, and for international races with Youth and Masters catergories. In today's Crosstalk, the recent National Trophy rounds from Falkirk and South Shields are discussed - both of which proved to be outstand...
Nov 03, 2022•1 hr 24 min
In Episode 4 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are joined in the studio by Montezuma's Race Team's Amy Perryman fresh from a summer of off road riding and kicking off her Trophy season in Derby. In today's Crosstalk they catch up on all the action from the Derby National Trophy, talking detailed positioning of barriers, happy riders, and whether Brammeier is back, or is back -back. They also pay respects with a moment's silence for Scotty Chalmers' (ex) cool carbon canti frame whose seat tube was impal...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 6Ep. 4
In Episode 3 of Season 6, Neil is joined in the studio by CX talent Alison Kinloch and Alex Forrester. In Crosstalk, the trio unpack their different experiences on Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen Y Ghent, with their thrills and spills... and how they're feeling after a week of recovery. They consider just how many whippersnappers are close on the heels of the Hope block-out of 4 of the 6 individual podium places at the front of the elite race. They also consider the news from Belgium with Aerts'...
Oct 04, 2022•59 min•Season 6Ep. 3
In Episode 2 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are joined by author, rider, and CX guru Alex Forrester. Alex gives us a bit of an insight into his relocation from the South of England back to his Derbyshire roots, and how he is getting his cycling cafe prepped for all weathers. In crosstalk, they chat through some of the team changes that have been posted (if not announced), and tackle the can of worms that is the UCI sticker on a frame. They also wonder whether a 14mm thru axle disqualifies a bike fro...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 6Ep. 2
In Episode 1 of Season 6, Neil and Matt are back with another season of cross-goodness! This season we say farewell to Bruce Dalton and wish him a happy retirement from the mic as he pursues so many ace projects over the winter. Neil and Matt will be teaming up with guests throughout the season to bring something new to this season's pod. In Episode 1, they look back on what the cross-community have been up to over the summer, focusing on some of those emerging riders who look to be in the form ...
Aug 12, 2022•1 hr 4 min
In Episode 12 of Season 5, Neil Matt and Bruce review the World Champs that came from Fayetteville and gave a new meaning to Dry January, but still delivered some great racing with photo finishes, dominant rides off the front, and drama throughout. It also delivered a decent haul of GB medals 🤩. They spend some time unpacking Ribblegate, understanding why one of the GB podium favorites needed to borrow bikes from Sven Nys to race at the World Champs after arriving with non-approved frames... an...
Feb 10, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Season 5Ep. 12
In Episode 11 of Season 5, Neil Bruce and Matt look back on final round of the National Trophy that came from Broughton, Skipton, that not only gave a tough course, but also a great example of what can be done to make a top tier race happen in the UK if you have the support and expertise from people like those at Hope. It also gave Neil his PB result of the season (😎). They also look back at the final two rounds of the World Cup from Flamanville and Hoogerheide that delivered some close racing ...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Season 5Ep. 11
In Episode 10 of Season 5, Neil, Matt and Bruce are just back from what was an excellent National Championships, but they are still far from dried out after the Saturday drenching. In Crosstalk they talk through all the details of what was a challenging and muddy course, but a course that still brought exciting racing. They reflect on their own experiences of being on the mic as well as on the start line... and Neil also making it to the finish line. All the UCI races from Sunday are reviewed in...
Jan 11, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 5Ep. 10
In Episode 9 of Season 5, Neil Bruce and Matt bring a bumper show. reflecting on one of the season highlights - the Kerstperiode - the classic series of Christmas races in Belgium which gave loads of discussion points in each race. Neil managed to travel to Belgium for the Kerste and he brings his view from the pits. In today's Crosstalk, they review the world cups from Dendermonde and (the real) Hulst... they discuss the SuperPrestige from Zolder... and debate the X2O action from Baal and Loenh...
Jan 04, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Season 5Ep. 9
In Episode 8 of Season 5, Neil Bruce and Matt are back with a Christmas show packed with action and previews. In Crosstalk, they review the UK UCI double header, with the first running of Clanfield Cross as an international race, and also cover round 5 of the National Trophy that came from Cyclopark, a race that polarised opinions, and a course that changed throughout the weekend. They review the snowy Val Di Sole and debate whether this is a direction in which cyclocross should move, or whether...
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 31 min•Season 5Ep. 8
In Episode 7 of Season 5, Neil and Matt look back on the Cyclocross World Masters Championships that came from Ipswich. Not only do they give a run down of how the event panned out, but they also attempt to give a synopsis of every race category and key moments that decided who gets to wear the rainbow stripes for the next year. They also look back on a very wet Boom that saw impressive returns from Turner, Pidcock in his magic skinsuit, and of course Wout van Aert who was in a class of his own....
Dec 07, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Season 5Ep. 7
In Episode 6 of Season 5 Neil Matt and Bruce look back on Round 4 of the National Trophy from Sunderland, that saw some excellent performances... and not just for the first over the line. They also get a bit seasonal after the snow that came at some of the UK Regional Champs and hope to see some more... and of course discuss the Crosscast NT total time competition, The Wrath of Chronos (thanks @Iainseye). They wonder whether Iserbyt was sledging (see what we did there!) in his pre-race talk abou...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Season 5Ep. 6
In Episode 5 of Season 5 Neil Matt and Bruce go all 2015, covering van der Haar winning the European Champs, and also taking a win in the World Cup. They review whether this could the pinnacle of a very successful season for van der Haar, even through it has not even started for the World Championship elite men's favourites. They debate course design at Niel and what they hope to see when elite racing hopefully returns to Col du Vam. They also talk Tabor, where Brand also kept the race under con...
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 5Ep. 5
In Episode 4 of Season 5 Neil Bruce and Matt review the most recent action from round 3 of the National Trophy that came from Falkirk, a tough course that was highly praised by riders and a venue we hope to return to. Whilst Carrick-Anderson and Flynn lead the BC National Trophy, they review how close the unofficial Crosscast league standings are, which are led by Field and Manley. Bruce re-lives his on-the-ground experiences from his recent block on the continent, and the show reviews the recen...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 5Ep. 4
In Episode 3 of Season 5 Neil, Matt and Bruce go all international with Neil recording in an airport, and Bruce somewhere between races in Ireland and Belgium. They cover all the action from Milnthorpe, a race where technical features dominated the overall outcomes. They talk about how small mistakes cost a lot of time for riders across all the fields, and of course update with the official (and our own unofficial) standings. They review the first three rounds of the World Cup that came from the...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr•Season 5Ep. 3
In Episode 2 of Season 5, Matt, Bruce and Neil are joined by Curtis White to preview the upcoming USA World Cups and to review the season start in what is an important year for USCX. They review the first round of the National Trophy that came from Derby... including reviewing the effect of random gridding (smaller than expected to be honest) and also talk about the increasing number of tyre/wheel combinations that are failing the UCI magic measurer 33mm test. The start of the continental scene ...
Oct 05, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Season 5Ep. 2
In Episode 1 of Season 5, Matt, Bruce and Neil are back to preview the new cyclocross season. They talk through the implications of the bumper World Cup... the 6 round National Trophy... and the Masters' Worlds to be held in the UK later this year. They look back on the highlights of the career of Jolien Vescheuren, who sadly lost her battle with brain cancer over the summer, and they also discuss their thoughts on the failed doping test that ended the career of Katie Compton abruptly. In the La...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 5Ep. 1
In Episode 11 of Season 4 Neil and Matt say farewell to a season that almost didn't happen for the elite riders and fizzled out for the grass roots scene. However, they agree that despite the disruption, the pro and televised racing has been excellent entertainment, and the season-long narrative the most intriguing for years across all series. They talk through the emotionally charged end of the Superprestige series from Middelkirke where Aerts won the elite men's series despite Sweeck taking th...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 57
In Episode 10 of Season 4 Neil, Bruce, and Matt focus on the thrills and spills, the dreams that came true and the nightmare races, that came from the 2021 World Championships in Ostende. In this strange season with no Dutch National Championships the rest of the world held back to allow the Dutch squad to fight it out and be awarded a clean sweep of rainbow jerseys. The Crosscasters debate whether strategy or body composition had a bigger effect on the racing, and despair at the career changing...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 56
In Episode 9 of Season 4 Bruce, Matt and Neil review the racing from Hamme and Overijse, the last test of the legs before the World Champs next week. The close racing at the front of the men's elite with a 1-1 score draw between Van Aert and Van der Poel, and 2-0 for Alvarado but a very timely and consistent rise to form for Bakker. And was Overijse worthy of being a world cup course?... (spoiler: yes it was flippin awesome). And finally in crosstalk, Neil expresses his angst at the potential un...
Jan 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 55
In Episode 8 of Season 4 Matt and Neil look back over 5 days of New Year racing that contained 4 races, including 4 wins (or was it 5?) for Mathieu Van Der Poel (and David), and career best wins for Vas finishing on the top step twice. They talk about how lessons in sprints and lunges are in order after top positions being decided in the final few cm three times over. At Bredene they applaud the have-a-go attitudes of White and Franck; at Baal they disagree on how similar the conditions were to ...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 54
In Episode 7 of Season 4, Neil and Matt update on the latest big races of the Kerstperiode - Zolder and Dendermonde. A contrasting pair of races with Zolder keeping to a classic course with another fast and flowing event, and Dendermonde being visited for the first time. They debate exactly how we got to having a World Cup on such a quagmire as Dendermonde, but recognise some fantastic performances from the likes of Pieterse, Honsinger, Turner and Mein. They also discuss course design in terms o...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 54
In Episode 6 of Season 4 Matt and Neil give a brief update and review of the recent series of cyclocross races on the continent, a series that has had ace race after ace race. They talk about the fabulous racing at Namur, who was riding like a machine at robotland, and the heeby jeeby drops at Herentals. And of course they mark a key result where van Aert won ahead of van der Poel for the first time since the Valkenburg world champs in Feb 2018. Looking forwards they give as much info as there i...
Dec 24, 2020•57 min•Season 1Ep. 53
A Christmas special! In Episode 5 of Season 4 friend of the show and The Cyclocross Bible author Alex Forrester dives into the pits for an in-depth interview with Trinity Racing's Cameron Mason. We have had the show waiting for a few weeks and it was recorded just between Cam's European Championships' U23 podium, and his broken collarbone collected at Merksplas: twitter.com/camerooney_/status/1330557887987519490?s=20 Don't forget to follow Alex at The Cyclocross Bible facebook.com/cxbible/ #SYOT...
Dec 23, 2020•38 min•Season 1Ep. 51
In Episode 4 of Season 4 Neil and Matt come back after a break from recording to review what has been an exciting season so far in the European pro-ranks, but decimated elsewhere. Neil gives his impressions of Tabor, after making the most complicated trip of his life in order to be at the race as tech support for two of the GB squad. They talk through who has class this year across all categories, not only including the winners of Pidcock, Bäckstedt, Mein, and Brand, but also quality performance...
Dec 19, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 50
