It's cross country cycling, usually on a road racing style bike. The cyclo-cross community is very keen on racing in the autumn (fall) and winter months around parkland in fantastic spectator friendly events.
The bikes developed for this racing have started to catch on for leisure and commuting use as they are fast but robust and can handle mixed terrain.
Most of that racing cyclo-cross community occupy their competitive natures during the spring and summer with Mountain Bike racing or road racing. Every time the cyclo-cross season starts again those riders come back and bring innovations from those two branches of cycling into cyclo-cross.
Cyclo-cross often looks like a cross between MTB and road racing, but it also
has it's own character.
Key differences to those other cycling disciplines are the short laps that the races are held on and the race lengths. The laps are typically about 1.5 miles and elite riders race for just 1 hour - this makes for intense racing which can be seen every few minutes by supporters as the action happens.
The classic image of cyclo-cross are the 'hike you bike' sections, where riders sling their bikes on their shoulders to climb a slippy bank or leap obstacles. These are actually quite rare in racing, but the bikes are light and can easily be carried in all situations - when it happens in a race the photographers love it!
Cyclo-cross racing was originally invented by European professional road cyclists as a season of demonstration races to keep their incomes going through the autumn (fall) and winter.
Originally the bikes were their training bikes with additional knobbly tires. Since then cyclo-cross bikes have become more purpose built, but the heritage is clear to see.
It is now a serious sport in it's own right, but many top road pro's still compete. Lance Armstrong did cyclo-cross races most winters between his tour wins, Britain’s Roger Hammond was national cyclo-cross and road champion at the same time, and Dutch legend Adri Van Der Pole has a world cyclo-cross championship title as well as his incredible road career from the 1980's
and 90's to be proud of.
Whether you'd like to use cyclo-cross as a serious challenge, a bit of training, or just get one of these fun and adaptable bikes for perhaps a 'rough stuff' commute, going cyclo-cross should be close enough to what you know to feel at home but different enough to be exciting.
The skills gained from riding cyclo-cross can help make you safer and more confident on the road too.
If your a serious road racer, look through some cyclo-cross results form your area for familiar names to see who's already spicing up their cycling with 'cross.
If your a leisure rider, imagine where you could go if you could pull in some dirt tracks to complete that road loop or commute away from the cars.
Mountain biking and cyclo-cross have an obvious synergy. Many MTB riders have dabbled at cyclo-cross as either another competitive outlet or just got a 'cross bike to have a faster ride on the road without loosing all off-road ability.
The first thing MTB riders having a go on a cross bike notice is how easily it rolls along. The tires are still grippy and fatter than road cyclists use, but they are thinner and have a lower rolling resistance on most terrain than mountain bikes do. The other thing which enhances the feeling of low effort is the light weight - cyclo-cross bikes always seem to weigh in lower than an equivalent price MTB (but they can still take a hammering).
Obviously, if you're into free-riding and jumping then cyclo-cross machines aren’t going to be the best choice.
However, a surprising number of even the downhill racing stars of the MTB world can be found in old cyclo-cross race results.
Although many people expect more cross over with cyclo-cross and road racing than MTB, Henk Dejernis of Denmark proved the 'cross-MTB link was stronger in the mid nineties when he won world championships in both.
UK based MTB stars also battle it out in cyclo-cross competition, with Nick Craig and Liam Kilean toping the national champions podium.
It's not obvious why the tricks, jumps, and sprints of BMX should make a good starting point for cyclo-cross..... Or at least it wasn't until the skills of ex-BMXers started letting them win races!
By BMX standards it's a seriously endurance sport. It seams to be something riders go to when they've run out of goals in BMX at a still young age. The biggest example of a rider moving to 'cross from BMX is 2005 World Champion (cyclo-cross) Sven Nys of Belgium.
Bunny hopping obstacles, controlling sliding corners, absorbing big undulations in the race track, race tactics, and impressing the spectators come naturally to the BMXers.
Skilled riders have been pushing the boundaries of techniques in recent years to try and gain that race winning advantage.
Since the Belgian rider Danny De Bie bunny hopped obstacles to claim his world title in the late eighties, all elite 'cross riders have treated the sport as a race of skills and technique in addition to physical effort and race tactics.
Sven Nys is the current best example of cyclo-cross skills, and he is worshiped by fans for his ability to bunny hop the modern standard obstacle in cyclo-cross - a pair of 40cm high boards spaced 2 meters apart and brought in by the authorities to supposedly force a dismount.
Many top race bikes are still based on aluminium frames, but for light weight and performance they often have carbon fibre forks, wheels, and other small components.
Some team sponsors are experimenting with carbon fibre and titanium frames.
MTB style clip-in peddles allow riders to use shoes which they can run in if required, and gear systems based on road racing technology put the controls at riders finger tips.
Key differences from road bikes include, extra strength, different handling characteristics, clearance for wider tyres and mud, cantilevered brakes, and a less extreme riding position for comfort and control.
Top technology in cyclo-cross are things like shock absorbing seat posts, and the all important tyres.
Cyclo-cross tyres provide grip in all conditions and seem to be better than even MTB tyres in wet mud. They also cushion the ride, and a good tyre will also feel fast if it has low rolling resistance.
Conventional tyres have made great advances in recent years and attach to the wheel rim in the same way as on commercially available 'toy' bikes.
Rival advances have been made in the 'tubular' tyre (known as 'tubs' traditionally in Britain). They are sealed tires which are simply glued to the wheel rim. They suffer from fewer punctures, can be ran at lower pressures if required, allow for a stronger wheel rim structure, and can be ridden on even when flat.
Some tyres are available which fit on standard rims but which are of tubular construction - they have some of the benefits and drawbacks of both systems.
Starting with a bunch charge away from a start line, cyclo-cross races are exciting to be in or to watch.
They are run around cross country laps in parkland. The terrain is mixed between surfaces such as tarmac, grassland, and dirt to produce challenging courses for the riders to challenge each other on.
Minor events are very inclusive and let cyclo-cross enthusiasts of all abilities get stuck in.
In elite level races, the leading riders are closely matched and often spend much of the race locked in close combat, swapping the lead. They display great skills as they duel each other while cycling, running, climbing, descending, mounting and dismounting their bikes. Riders break away and then get caught back up. They crash and then recover
to rejoin the leaders. In the end there's always a winner, sometimes after a tenuous lead has been maintained despite relentless pursuit, and sometimes its all decided by a leg stinging sprint.
Going to a race is easy.
If you want to watch a race, it's almost always free to see anything but top international races like the World Championships.
To have a go at cyclo-cross, just find an event near to you, contact the organiser or the national federation to check it's suitable for you. Then have a go!