Hervélo Go Racing
The struggle to stay warm on the start line at Camperdown Park
📷 Tom Owen
Winter bike racing means one thing.. Cyclocross (also referred to as CX)!
It’s basically just riding your bike around a muddy field for 40 minutes as fast as you can, occasionally getting off to carry or push your bike over an unrideable obstacle. Think cross-country running but sillier.
Each year around 7 or 8 races are organised across Scotland to make up the Scottish CX Series.
Sandy and Lauren both raced last year, with Sandy fully committing to race each round of the series and Lauren mainly doing those in the Central Belt.
This year we had five Hervelo members racing across the series and we thought we’d share their stories and experiences over the 7 rounds!
Senior Women’s Scottish CX Series Podium
📷 Tom Owens
Alice
THE muddy corner at Brechin
📷Tom Owen
I have fond memories of Hallocross held at Craigmillar Castle which I think hasn't been on for a good number of years and I dabbled in some MTB racing about 10 years ago, with my main target event Glentress 7. The short punchy pace of cross has been quite a different ball game!
My initial race this season was Inch Park put on by ERC with some ace coaching. It piqued my CX interest but it took some FOMO and watching others race at Kinneil for me to jump into round 2 of the SCX series at Irvine.
Irvine was... hard ! But I felt I could have done better, not least with my nutrition strategy of downing a cup of tea shortly before gridding. The support and encouragement from the rest of the Hervelos was also brilliant
My favourite race was Camperdown Park! The turf was frozen which made for a super fast course. It was snowy and the cold exhilarating.
The woman's races were great, usually going round with all the categories at once. The 'crit' style racing means there's no 80% rule or getting pulled out because you're behind so the racing is on between whoever is around it. I found this good for my motivation, with objectives always reachable.
Jodie
One of Irvine’s many sand pits
📷Barry Primrose
It’s been over 10 years since I last raced CX, there were only a couple of women racing and we were thrown in with the vets and junior men, it was not fun. Lauren and Sandy convinced me to give it a go again this year and the team spirit has made it so enjoyable.
I aimed to take some learning from each race. Kinneil was the first so I was just seeing how it went. Irvine was second; the climbs and sandpits were a humbling lesson in themselves. Fife gave us our first taste of mud for the year, both decision making on whether to run or ride, followed by more mud at Castle Douglas and a first visit to the pits and learning how to get back out the pits. Knockburn loch was the Scottish champs and the hitters turned up but so did my race face on a really mixed course with great features. Camperdown was an icy lesson in following others and we finished out the season with an epic mud fest at Brechin, with continuously changing conditions underfoot, I had to learn to take it all as it came!
I didn’t know how the season would go but committing to the full season got me a nice 3rd place in the series as a cherry on what has been a great cx season with the most supportive club mates, all cheering each other on at every opportunity.
Lauren
The “Run-Up” at Knockburn Loch, Scottish Champs
📷 Matt Davies
I’ve done a few CX races over the years but normally because a pal has organised the race and I want to support the women’s field! I was a big fan of evening summer CX races which were more like grassy crits than a true cyclocross mudfest.
Since moving back to Scotland, I’ve been riding less and less road and slowly getting more confident off-road. Huge credit to some very patient club mates (Jodie, Sandy and Anna) coaching me down the trails in the Pentlands and the Tweed Valley.
Riding with Hervelo has allowed me to focus on improving my bike handling in a fun, no pressure environment which has made all the difference to this roadie’s riding! It’s been so much fun turning up to races as a club and having people to warm up with and debrief afterwards to hear about all the mini battles everyone’s had in each race.
I treated myself to a shiny new gravel bike in summer and part of my justification was that I’d be more competitive at CX races than I was last year with my trusty (but heavy) bikepacking rig. So I committed to racing the full SCX series with a target of getting on the overall series podium.
I surprised myself (and I think a few others based on comments on the startline!) by getting myself into the front group most rounds. Being consistently up there resulted in me winning the overall series classification! However, my biggest win from this season is coming away from the attritional mudfest that was Brechin CX and thinking “that was fun” not “that was scary”!
Sandy
Knockburn Loch, Scottish Champs
📷 Matt Davies
I had an unsuccessful foray into cyclocross around 2011. I broke my bike in 2 consecutive races and decided it wasn't for me. Last year, after encouraging me into a come back to MTB racing, Lauren also enticed me back to cross.
I am innately lazy so need external motivation to keep active and prevent boredom.
Entering races provides a deadline and hanging with the Hervelo gang provides the fun, encouragement to get out to races and ride in-between fixtures.
My favourite rounds are the ones closest to MTBing - so Brechin is top of my list - muddy ruts and off camber turns.
CX is great because even if you are at the back, you are never truly alone. The race gets all muddled up and the courses are tight and pass sections frequently allowing us to cheer each other on in the middle of the race.
Sharon
The sun did nothing to dry up the mud at the final race at Fife College
📷 Steve Murphy
I’m not going to lie, I knew very little about CX when I first came across it. I had been looking to get out on my bike and meet some fellow cyclists so had originally signed up for one of the Edinburgh School of Rocks rides. I only managed to make it for one ride but was immediately welcomed into the group and where I really got exposed to the world of cycling and to the amazing community of women that are part of it!
Everyone was so enthusiastic and supportive, so when a few people recommended trying out ERC’s introduction to CX, I figured why not.
We had a women’s only coached session to introduce us to the basics of CX followed by a short practice race to test out our newly learned skills. Safe to say I was immediately hooked! I loved the personal challenge of the race and the intricacy of the course but I also just really enjoyed everyone’s energy and had such a fun time.
I then found out there was a whole CX series going on which I was really keen to try but was slightly terrified of entering, so am really grateful to Sandy for making it sound less intimidating and for motivating me to sign up to that first race in Irvine.
I ended up signing up to all the remaining more races after that and am now also an official Hervélo club member! So big thanks to Sandy, Jodie, Lauren and Alice (all coincidentally Hervélo club members) who I’ve gotten to know through CX and who have been really welcoming and friendly and made it easier to keep showing up knowing I’d see some friendly faces.
I’ve really enjoyed every single race and find it hard to pick a favourite! Each race had its own charm and was in such unique locations - Irvine and Knockburn Loch were stunning! Even Castle Douglas, where I fell about 8 times and ended up caked in mud, I still enjoyed. But I could just be saying that as it’s my first time doing CX. Ask me again next year!
If you’re cross curious the best place to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in Scotland is the Scottish Cyclocross facebook page. Most organisers post their events here in the first instance and there is a wealth of knowledge and experience in one place to ask questions.
Or better yet come along to Linlithgow CX organised by West Lothian Clarion at the new West Lothian Cycle Circuit on 28th January 2024. There is a mixed taster race and a women’s race so it is the ideal event for beginners.