Twisted Cross Cyclo-Cross Race

In the world of cycling there are many disciplines that we tend to think of most. Road cycling, mountain biking, trail riding, beach cruising, and BMX. One that is typically left out of this mix and most certainly should not be is the discipline of “Cyclo-Cross”
What is “Cyclo-Cross”? Well, it’s what you get when you mix a mountain bike with a road bike, throw in a few obstacles and some mud, a big field and of course some loud music and fun.

Cyclo-Cross or CX, is a hybrid cycling discipline that was created in Europe in the late 1800′s to early 1900′s that gave the roadies something to do in the off season. Roadies, back in the day before spin bikes and trainers, had to get their workouts in somehow, so they developed cyclo-cross. It’s much like a road criterium, mixed with some good old fashion “down and dirty”.

The tracks are usually short loops of about 1-2 miles or 2-3 km’s as the Euros say, featuring wooded trails, grassy climbs, steep descents, mud puddles, and natural and man-made obstacles that usually require the rider to dismount and navigate by foot while carrying their bike. The races are usually close to an hour long and offers the excitement and heart rate of a 2-3 hour race. Cyclo-Cross is a very spectator friendly race that allows the viewers to watch the whole race from one position allowing the fan’s craziness to feed the racers’ energy as they manipulate the course.

Cyclo-Cross events are usually held in the fall to early winter which only adds to the excitement when you get to mix some crumby weather in. It’s not rare to see a little snow on the course at these events, so dress accordingly.

The CX bikes look a lot like a road bike with some minor alterations. The CX bikes will typically have wider, knobbier tires, sturdier wheel sets and have a higher clearance level than a road bike, among other things. Mountain bikes are often seen as the bike of choice at a CX race. so don’t be afraid to grab that hardtail and join one of these events, especially if you’re riding a 29′er. You should have no problem keeping up then.

Recently we had a local CX race at a park in our hometown called the “Twisted-Cross” CX Race. It was a first year event and it was awesome. We had some great weather, some great local racers, a bunch of excited spectators and of course The “Twisted Oval of Death”. The course consisted of 11 laps on a 3/4 mile track of S-curves, 2×6 obstacles, root-filled climbs and of course “The Twisted Oval of Death”. Being that it was our first year of this grass roots event, the winners of the “A” race went home with some beer and a Twisted Stone Custom T-Shirt.