Cyclo-Cross is a discipline within bike racing, where the riders are pitched against each other on a off-road circuit but with racing bikes. The sport is extremely popular in Flanders and has a limited fanbase in the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom.
A cyclo-cross race always lasts for about 1 hour. After the first lap, a jury decides how many laps should be raced to meet the 1 hour criterium.
You can find out more about cyclo-cross by clicking here.
Cyclo-cross is a small sport. A regular race features only a peloton of about 40 riders. There are about 5 top riders in the world, a base of around 10 sub toppers and then the rest. Almost every rider is present in almost every race, so we constantly have battles between the same riders.
Fantasy Cyclo-Cross: A New Dawn
This game is a complete fantasy edition of cyclo-cross. There will be no Sven Nys, Mathieu Van Der Poel or Zdenek Stybar here. The fantasy league will exist solely out of created riders, races and teams.
How will it work?
Races will be reported here. I won't play any game, but instead I will determine the race through a mixture of their stats, a randomizer, surroundings and possible tactics. This will not be a mathematical game run by a computer. This is a game run by me, and I will make up the race as I go along. This game is more about role-playing and having fun than the actual results, keep that in mind when joining. I will show no personal favoritism, but your in-characters will come into play in my decisions.
I love to write and use my imagination, so I'd like to combine that with my love for cycling and cyclo-cross. However, I have no idea how time consuming this will be for me. It is an experiment, but I hope to keep it going. I'd rather take this at a slow pace than to rush it and not be able to keep up and have to stop this. So this game will go at a slow pace. Since there is no game at hand, we have no chance at technical issues or whatever, so that's a big motivation for me. I just have to write.
Random issues will happen inrace... You tackle them as you see fit. A fall could result in a simple statement that the rider made a mistake, or in an injury that keeps him off his bike two months. That is up to you.
Is this time consuming?
So you're probably wondering what you'll have to do during this game? It's really up to you, mostly. Like I said, this is mainly a role-playing game. So I mainly expect you to get in the skin of your rider(s) and comment. Pre-race interviews, press conferences...
You will create up to five riders, who will compete in the first season. As soon as the game gets going, the level of involvement is up to you.
How can I be involved?
- Sending in tactics before a race.
- Deciding to skip a certain race to keep fresh or go training.
- Release press statements after/before a race.
- Decide your own future by chosing your own team.
- Interact with other players and form bonds or create enemies.
- Deciding your own training.
Keep in mind that everything you post here will effect your rider(s). Your rider will have visible stats, but also invisible stats such as willpower... Every time your rider releases a press statement or an interview, you can change your hidden stats and increase/decrease your chances at the next race.
As you notice, your role is not confined within a set of rules, this is because it's a free role-playing game. I depend on you to keep it realistic and as nice as possible. PM me with any questions. Of course you can't release a press statement that you've become the best cyclo-cross racer in the world.
I strongly encourage you to make a banner of some sort and always use this when in-character.
Important issues will be brought to you by personal message. What you do with that, is totally up to you. For example, I might PM you that your rider is feeling ill. You can keep it a secret, you can release a statement that you will skip the next race because of personal reasons, you can bluff and release a statement that you're feeling better than ever and that you'll win the next race for sure.
keep it simple, keep it fun.
2014-2015 Season
We start the game with season 1, the 2014-2015 season. This is the new dawn for cyclo-cross. Together with you, I want to build a whole new cyclo-cross world. So what do I need from you?
Sign-Up
First off, we need riders. I'm aiming for a peloton of 40 - 60 riders. Keep in mind that only 5 of those will win races frequently and about 15 others can compete for a victory. Cyclo-cross has a big peloton that fights for top 10 places as highest possible. Therefor I will allow multiple entries. You can pick one (top - subtop) rider and others to "fill the peloton". If we don't have enough riders, I will fill up the rest of the peloton with fake riders myself.
You may get an exception to get two (sub)top riders if we have little sign-ups and if your motivation is tower-high.
Let me remind you that this is a role-playing game. You could apply with a rider without weaknesses and top stats in almost anything, but then I will send you a PM to revise him, as this will not lead to interesting races.
Sign-up below with 1, 2, 3 or 4 sheets like this:
Name: Nationality (region): Date of Birth: Height: * Weight: * Specialty: ** Weakness: ** Biography:
Stats: [Choose between: very low, low, medium, high, very high]
Bike Handling (technical):
Sand:
Uphill:
Cobblestones:
Sprinting:
Explosiveness:
Flat (TT/riding hard):
Power:
Running:
Snow/Ice:
Jumping:
* optional
** choose an ability as a specialty and an ability as a weakness from the list below. Your specialty/weakness may change in the course of the game.
Young riders may not even know their specialty yet, or may have many weaknesses in the beginning.
Abilities (weaknesses between brackets)
Final round
Fast start (slow start)
Intelligent rider (impulsive rider)
All-rounder
Bad weather specialist (bad weather amateur)
Good weather specialist (sweating dude)
Technical genius (technically behind)
Powerhouse
Other... (come up with one yourself)
Additional Sign-Up
You can also invent a team. I'd even prefer it. A team can enlist between 1 and 8 riders. When we have enough teams, I will come up with a way to assign riders to the teams. You can practically chose whether all your riders will race together in the same team or if you spread them out. I will role-play the managers of the teams during the transfer period, if necessary.
Enter a team in the following format:
Name: Nationality: Budget: Low / Medium / High
Races
Lastly, I'd like to create a full-fantasy calendar. If the reply is weak, I will use existing races or create a few myself. Creating a race mustn't take much time, but it's up to you:
Place (nation, city):
Technical information:[enter a number between 1 - 5, with 1 being very low / nothing and 5 being very high
Technicality:
Sand:
Uphill:
Length of 1 lap:
Cobbled sections:
Final sprint (length of the final straight road):
Other information: This is up to you. You can create a ground plan for the race, with every corner, bend, uphill part, bridge and sand section placed. You can create a history of the race. You can do anything here.
The races will be divided into four categories for the 2014-2015 season. (Depending on the interest, there may be less)
More information on the categories below.
2014-2015 Season
Once all riders, teams and races have been entered, I will create the 2014-2015 season. Depending on the interest, there will be 3 competitions (comparable to Bpost Bank Trofee, Superprestige and World Cup), with a number of races being Classics (outside any competition).
This is all a lot to swallow, I admit. But it'll get clear once the game gets going. All I need from you now is a sign-up below. So sign-up 1 to 5 riders, a (few) team(s) and/or a number of races. As I said, this game depends on you as much as me. If we work together, we can make this an amazing fantasy league of cyclo-cross.
Example sign-up in the spoiler.
Spoiler
Riders 1:
Name: Johnny Sixxer Nationality (region): French (Alpes) Date of Birth: 15/02/1805 Height: * 102 cm Weight: * 5 kg Specialty: ** Final Round Weakness: ** Bad Weather Biography: Johnny is not very interesting.
Stats: [Choose between: very low, low, medium, high, very high]
Bike Handling (technical): low
Sand: low
Uphill: very low
Cobblestones: very high
Sprinting: low
Explosiveness: very high
Flat (TT/riding hard): low
Power: low
Running: very low
Snow/Ice: medium
Jumping: high
* optional
** choose an ability as a specialty and an ability as a weakness from the list below. Your specialty/weakness may change in the course of the game.
Young riders may not even know their specialty yet, or may have many weaknesses in the beginning.
Rider 2:
Name: Johnny Saxxer Nationality (region): French (Alpes) Date of Birth: 15/02/1809 Height: * 102 cm Weight: * 5 kg Specialty: ** All rounder Weakness: ** Final Round Biography: Johnny is not very interesting.
Stats: [Choose between: very low, low, medium, high, very high]
Bike Handling (technical): low
Sand: low
Uphill: very low
Cobblestones: very high
Sprinting: low
Explosiveness: very high
Flat (TT/riding hard): low
Power: low
Running: very low
Snow/Ice: medium
Jumping: high
* optional
** choose an ability as a specialty and an ability as a weakness from the list below. Your specialty/weakness may change in the course of the game.
Young riders may not even know their specialty yet, or may have many weaknesses in the beginning.
Team 1:
Name: Budget - Forklifts Nationality: United Kingdom Budget: Extremely low
Race 1:
Place (nation, city): Gent, Belgium.
Technical information:[enter a number between 1 - 5, with 1 being very low / nothing and 5 being very high
Technicality: 1
Sand: 5
Uphill: 2
Length of 1 lap: 4
Cobbled sections: 3
Final sprint (length of the final straight road): 4
Other information: A new race. Goes through the forrest of Killikilli. The final corner is 130°....
Please read everything before signing-up. This game cannot run without you and your interaction. The level of involvement is up to you. Especially for you, the main points in short:
This is a role-playing game, you will be one or more cyclo-cross riders.
Keep it realistic, keep it simple.
If you have any tips or questions for me, feel free to PM me about them or ask below. Also, please only sign-in when you're certain you want to be involved. This is role-playing, so a minimal level of involvement is required.
Needless to say, I hope the interest is high enough to make this work. We can't do this with only 3 players. So bring in the sign-ups!
These are classics. Only the result of the day counts. Generally, they are more prestigous than day successes in trophies. They also come with bigger prize money. There are three special classics: the opening classic (Duinencross), the Christmas Classic and the ending classic of the season (Dunkirk).
Classics are mostly to start the season and near the end of the season. Most classics are specialized in either sand or cobblestones.
Superprestige
The Superprestige is - the name says it - probably the most prestigous competition around. But the sport is growing more international and the World Cup is increasingly important. The Superprestige mainly takes place in Europe and North-America.
There is a points system. The winner of the day receives 15 points, 2nd one 14 points.... 15th rider receives 1 point.
Superprestige has 10 races and is the first competition to start in the season. It is concluded after the World Championships in a terrifying ending weekend. Riders competing for the Superprestige will have to be able to handle sand as it's the competition with most sand races. Only 3 races feature cobblestones, so potential damage may be kept under control in the other 7 races. Generally, Superprestige races are for tough and strong riders, with a mixture of sand and uphill racing.
Favorites for 2014: Elliot Cook, Dries Cornelis, James Carlisle, Nic Hashir, Thijs Van Lookeren, Shay Gormley.
World Cup
The World Cup will feature races from all around the world. It is growing more and more important. Winners receive a nice cash bonus and can count on a lot of UCI points.
There is a points system, which is different from the Superprestige. As follows:
The World Cup has 9 races. It is the last competition to be concluded, with the final league race of the season on the final wednesday in February. The winner of the World Cup will have to be a technical rider. There is a healthy mixture of sand, cobblestones and uphill races, making it a very open competition.
Favorites for 2014: Sylvain Lipawsky, Francis N. Vague, Jack Smith, James Carlisle, Dries Cornelis, Matt Mazzarelli.
Coca-Cola Trophy
The most commercial league of all, but with a big paycheck nonetheless. Coca-Cola stepped up as a sponsor to take this trophy all around the world. It features brand new races.
There is a general classification system. A rider DNF or DNS will receive a 5 minute time loss. The rider with the fastest time is the overall winner.
The Coca-Cola Trophy starts with 8 races. It is the only competition to be concluded before the World Championships. It's the ultimate competition for riders hating cobblestones. The winner will need some climbing ability, be able to ride through sand and race smart. You'll need a bit of luck, too.
Favorites for 2014: Dries Cornelis, Elliot Cook, Matt Mazzarelli, Michael Bollinger, Jamer Carlisle, Jack Smith, Sylvain Lipawsky
2014-2015 season
While the races still have to be decided, one thing is certain. There are many tough weekends with 2 races. There will be large distances to be covered, especially in a weekend with Superprestige (mainly Europe) and another league (more in other parts of the world).
We'll see specialisation and many riders going for one trophy and skipping a few races of other leagues to be sharp or not have to bridge the distances on a Saturday evening.
The whole cyclo-cross world its holding his breath to see if any rider steps up to compete on all three leagues for the victory. Are those days behind us, or will an old school crosser stand up and surprise us all?
With all those new faces in the sport, it might be interesting to list some of the top riders in the different disciplines. Below are some specialties with the top riders listed.
Note that even specialists don't necessarily end up in the first positions in races that seem to suit them. Some sand races, for example, are won more on power than sand abilities.
The riders are in no particular order.
Technical Masters
Spoiler
Ronnie Hira
Andrew McLaughlin
Sylvain Lipawsky
Sven van Vliet
Francis N. Vague
Jack Smith
Kimi Hakinnen
Michael Bollinger
James Carlisle
Artem Sakalau
Dries Cornelis
Tariq Faizullah
Shay Gormley
Matt Mazzarelli
Sand Specialists
Spoiler
Mohuti Sow
Ketso Tembi
Elliot Cook
Dries Cornelis
Michael Bollinger
Ali Acord
Max Power
William Burbank
Jannik Stolz
Thijs Van Lookeren
Shay Gormley
Punchers
Spoiler
Arda Akdeniz
Josiah Bennett
Lachy Bauer
Matt Claveren
Craig Hepptern
Pierre Lavigne
Sylvain Lipawsky
Francis N. Vague
Philipp Smart
Jack Smith
Robert Wells
Nic Hashir
James Carlisle
Bohdan Honchar
Dries Cornelis
Alfonso Munoz
Gregory Bernard
Elliot Cook
Rudy Verboven
Matt Mazzarelli
Frederick Muller
Matt Mazzarelli
Elliot Cook
Timi Kokkonen
Gregory Bernard
Sven Welling
Dries Cornelis
Lars Lejeune
Alexey Tesler
Nathan Starc
Vladimir Stoyevski
Mario Guido
Nic Hashir
Robert Wells
Rik van Fleming
Francis N. Vague
Pierre Lipawsky
Sven van Vliet
Mikel Hammarling
Jannik Stolz
Ewan Wilson
Ronnie Hira
Lachy Bauer
Shay Gormley
Ice Specialists
Spoiler
Mikel Hammarling
Hafthor Eldfjallsson
Francis N. Vague
Jack Smith
Kimi Hakinnen
Matthias Barthez
James Carlisle
Vladimir Stoyevski
Dries Cornelis
Timi Kokkonen
Gregory Bernard
Sven Welling
It looks very comprehensive and interesting. However i don't like Cyclo-cross and have minimal interest only so far as some road riders do it. I also don't imagine having enough time to participate in this to the full extent require to make it reallywork and fun.
Best of luck though!
The Schleck Fan - For now, just saying high, low... is enough. The stats will be determined later.
TMM - Thanks for the encouraging words. The main requirement for this game is the love for cyclo-cross, of course. So it's very understandable and it's best that you don't participate if you don't like it that much
The mathematical game run to simulate the race does sound very interesting, though I'm not really much of a roleplay game fan. That'll be why I did a Maths degree rather than English/Drama
I did enjoy going to the Milton Keynes Cyclocross World Cup, so maybe Ill join in.
Name:Arda Akdeniz
Nationality (region):Turkey(Marmara)
Date of Birth: 01/02/2001(if it is not acceptable do it 1993)
Height: * 181 cm
Weight: * 63 kg
Specialty: ** Final Round
Weakness: ** Slow Start
Biography: Arda is interesting.After having a very good relationship with her girlfriend,he caught her girlfriend kissing another man so he left her and started to train cyclocross
Stats:
Bike Handling (technical):high
Sand: medium
Uphill: very high
Cobblestones: very high
Sprinting: very high
Explosiveness: very high
Flat (TT/riding hard): low
Power:medium
Running: medium
Snow/Ice:high
Jumping: high
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan' Gracias Alberto.
Name: Shay Gormley
Nationality (region): Ireland (Connacht)
Date of Birth: 26/07/1991
Specialty: Powerhouse
Weakness: Not used to the cold
Biography:
Shay grew up on the farm of his parents in County Mayo, and had to cycle long ways over dirt roads to get to school every morning. After a time, he grew fond of his daily trips, and now took detours to maximise the fun. When he got older, he heard about the sport that is Cyclocross, took a few gos at it, and excelled. He was soon one of the best riders in the country, a real strongman, from his rugby playing days. A pro team signed him on the spot after a great race in England, and here he is now, two seasons later, aiming to finally break in to the very top.
Stats: [Choose between: very low, low, medium, high, very high]
Bike Handling (technical): very high
Sand: very high
Uphill: medium
Cobblestones: high
Sprinting: high
Explosiveness: high
Flat (TT/riding hard): very high
Power: very high
Running: medium
Snow/Ice: very low
Jumping: medium
Cyclo-cross fan here May take a look when it's in Surhuisterveen January 2nd.
Rider 1:
Name: Naveed Alinejad
Nationality (region): Iran
Date of Birth: 6th March 1992
Height: 173
Weight: 65
Specialty: Intelligent Rider
Weakness: Slow Start
Biography: Naveed was born in the city of Tehran. Born in a secular family, he kept up an internet blog against the regime. This already lead to him and his family being exiled when Naveed was only 14 years old. He and his family moved to Belgium, where Naveed continued his resistance. When going home from school one day he saw an advertisement for a local cross and his love for the sport was born. He devoted less energy on his resistance, and instead focused on the sport. He grew out to a late-grower, but he has been noticed at the pros by now, and next season will be his debute.
Stats: [Choose between: very low, low, medium, high, very high]
Bike Handling (technical): Medium
Sand: High
Uphill: High
Cobblestones: Very low
Sprinting: Low
Explosiveness: Low
Flat (TT/riding hard): Very high
Power: High
Running: High
Snow/Ice: Medium
Jumping: Low
Team 1
Name: Team Lotto-Fidea
Nationality: Belgian
Budget: High
Place (nation, city): Sneek, the Netherlands
Technical information: [enter a number between 1 - 5, with 1 being very low / nothing and 5 being very high
Technicality: 4
Sand: 4
Uphill: 2
Length of 1 lap: 5
Cobbled sections: 0
Final sprint (length of the final straight road): 1
Other information: In and around the Rasterhoffpark a new cross is organised. The park itself offers some sharp, slippery ascents and dangerous, short downhills, especially when it rains. Outside the park a large amount of the route is driven over muddy plains, where a very bendy circuit is made. The finish is made near the local hotel.
Spoiler
I hope this is all that's necessary. I might create another rider tomorrow though.
Keep them coming, I'm glad to see there are people interested
Also, don't hold back to create multiple riders, teams and races, we have to build a full calendar and peloton
For "lesser" riders, you don't need to follow the exact format, just give a name, nation and say he's not really good except on sand or whatever
I'd love to organize a World Cup with races in non-traditional countries, so there are almost no restrictions Edited by Ian Butler on 18-12-2014 18:32
I'll get going fully on it tomorrow, with exams out of the way.
Won't take a team though, since, tbh, I don't really follow CX at all, and riders will be more than enough for me.
About the team: don't worry. You just create the team, you won't have to manage it.
You won't manage a race either.
I'd just like it that you all decide the races and teams so that you'll create the fantasy world where your rider(s) race in, instead of me deciding everything.
So if you think: Rabobank should be a team, you just add it, that's it
Jandal7: I'm not sure yet. It will depend on my agenda. I'll take a slow pace, to make sure everyone is up to date and we all have the chance to catch up Edited by Ian Butler on 18-12-2014 18:36
Ok, sorry about this. Just found out my riders and some races have been deleted somehow. If you need any details on my riders, just ask, I pretty much know most of it. Manawatu Cross Circuit
Spoiler
City: In and around Wanganui, New Zealand
Other: Obviously a course made for local hero Josiah Bennett, lots of jumping and hills involved.
Technical: 4
Sand: 1
Uphill: 5
Length of 1 lap: 4.762 km
Cobbles sections: 1
Running: 3
Final straight: Non-existent, plenty of bends, uphill
Hawke's Bay Loop
Spoiler
City: In and around Napier, New Zealand
Other: Obviously made in favour of The Kiwi Cancellara
Technical: 5
Sand: 3
Uphill: 3
Length of 1 lap: 4
Cobbles sections: 6 (3 Short, three long)
Running: 4
Final straight: 300m (cobbled then downhill straight)
Centennial Park Loop
Spoiler
City: Timaru
Other: technical course, takes 30ish minutes on a mountain bike, plenty of tree stumps, dirt, etc
Technical: 5
Sand: 0 (mud is there though)
Uphill: 3
Lengthy of 1 lap: 6km
Cobbles: none
Running: 2
Final straight: dirt/tree stumps, 200m
Te Anau Cross Challenge
Spoiler
Town: Te Anau
Other: twists and turns, favours the patient type with good bike handling, or daredevils with a helluva lot of luck. Very bad weather
Technical: 5
Sand: 1
Uphill: 4
Lengthy of one lap: 1.2km
Cobbles: 0
Running: 35m
Finishing straight: 0, finishes on a 75 degrees bend
Stewart Island Cross Course
Spoiler
Island: Stewart Island
Completely off-road, very bad weather, tree stumps, leaves, narrow paths, etc. Not for the faint-hearted.
Technical: 5
Sand: one 75m pit
Uphill: 4
Length of 1 lap: 4.7km
Cob: none
Running: 4
Ice: 5
Finishing straight: 150m steep downhill
TekapoCross
Spoiler
Town: lake tekapo
Lots of snow and hills
Technical: 2
Cob: 1 60m sector
Hill: 4
Snow: 5
Length of one lap: 3.3km
Sand: 0
Finishing straight: 50m slight uphill a la Leeds-harrogate stage
The Four Witches
Spoiler
Town: In and around Thames
Four steep, twisting cobbled climbs, followed by sharp, winding descents.
Technical: 5
Hill:5
Cob:5
Running: 1
Ice: no chance
Length of circuit: 9.7km
Finishing straight: 15m off a 60° bend, just over the summit of the first climb (continued from last lap). Just to make it interesting, it is slightly over the crest, not at it.
WhangaCross
Spoiler
Town: Whangamata
Up and down, cobbles, sand, climbs and descents, this has it all (bar ice)
Technical:3
Cob: 2 sectors, a technical descent and the finishing straight.
Hill:5
Sand: 1 pit on the flat (near start) and 1 climb, only for the strong men.
Finishing straight: 450m of cobbles
Overall lap length: 4.2km
AkaroaCross
Spoiler
Town: Akaroa
Newly designed and purpose built for the NZCC as part of New Zealand's bid to become one of the great nations in cyclo-cross, and especially one off the continent.
This course has a rolling nature with plenty of grass and Rocky dirt paths, lots of jumps, favorable to a daring move.
Technical: 2
Sand: 0
Cob: 0
Hill: 3
Ice:
Lengthy of lap: 5.1km
Finishing straight: 300m 5% downhill
Hutt Valley Circuit
Spoiler
Area: Hutt Valley
Up, down and around is the name of the game in this picturesque course around the beautiful Hutt Valley. The riders will have no time for sight-seeing on the bike, as they first descend, then climb, before returning over mildly up-and-down technical harbours to the sandpit and then the rather unique sprint to the finish, in that it is a sprint as Usain Bolt would do it, except with a bike on your shoulder.
Technical: 4
Cob: 0
Sand: just the one minor climb (100) before the finishing straight
Hill: 4
Running: just the final muddy straight (200m)
Lap Length: 1.7km
NEW ZEALAND CHAMPIONSHIPS
Spoiler
Town: Taupo
Technical: 4
Sand: 100m climb of deep sand, sure to cause plenty of skids and stops
Cobbles: 1 lengthy flat section at the start, followed by a mild muddy downhill before the real action begins and the second hill is an entirely cobbled ascent and descent
Snow: lots
Three major peaks, one sand, one cobble and one road
6.8km long
Ends on a technical icy downhill followed by a small, 30% 100m climb
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
TEAM Name: Glasgow City Council Nationality: British (Scottish) Budget: High
RIDERS
All will ride for the Glasgow City Council Team
Ewan Wilson
Spoiler
Name:Ewan Wilson Nationality (region): Great Britain (Scotland) Date of Birth: 13th February 1996 Height: 2 Metres Weight: 70Kg Specialty: Powerhouse Sprinter Weakness: Bad Weather Biography: Ewan is only 18, but is a strong runner and powerhouse rider, who can pack a punch. He grew up in a Glasgow suburb and has trained in Strathclyde Park for all of his cycling career. He has never raced outside Britain, but has a promising future ahead of him.
Stats: Bike Handling (technical): medium Sand: medium Uphill: high Cobblestones: high Sprinting: high Explosiveness: medium Flat (TT/riding hard): very high Power: very high Running: very high Snow/Ice: low Jumping: medium
Andrew McLaughlin
Spoiler
Name: Andrew McLaughlin Nationality (region): Great Britain (Scotland) Date of Birth: 16th May 1990 Height: 1.95m Weight: 65Kg Specialty: Fast Start Weakness: Burns himself out early Biography: Andrew was a former British champion and has always shined in the Flandrien races, especially Koppenbergcross with its mix of hills and cobbles. Andrew is a weak runner, even though he was approached by a Scottish athletics programme when he was younger. Andrew is also from Glasgow, but had raced MTB as a youngster in Aviemore at the weekends.
Stats: Bike Handling (technical): very high Sand: low Uphill: high Cobblestones: very high Sprinting: medium Explosiveness: medium Flat (TT/riding hard): high Power: medium Running: very low Snow/Ice: high Jumping: low
Thijs Van Lookeren
Spoiler
Name: Thijs Van Lookeren Nationality (region): Netherlands (Drenthe) Date of Birth: 25th December 1986 Height: 2.10cm Weight: 80Kg Specialty: Tough Surfacs Weakness: Bad Weather Biography: Thijs joined the team after he moved to Glasgow for University, to study arcitechture. He continued his Cyclocross career in Glasgow at the same club as Ewan, and Van Lookeren achieved great things on the international tour.
Stats: Bike Handling (technical): medium Sand: very high Uphill: medium Cobblestones: high Sprinting: very high Explosiveness: very low Flat (TT/riding hard): medium Power: high Running: high Snow/Ice: very low Jumping: medium
Matt Claveren
Spoiler
Name: Matt Claveren Nationality (region): Great Britain (Northern Ireland) Date of Birth: 21st June 1990 Height: 1.85m Weight: 78kg Specialty: Fast Start/ Running Weakness: Dismounting Biography: Claveren is a newbie to the sport of Cyclocross, after being scouted by the team when he was competing in a road race in Antrim, Northern Ireland. They saw the Cyclocross qualities in him, and he was signed by the team. Matt's attrbutes include that he is a strong runner, and sprinter (his road speciality).
Stats: Bike Handling (technical): medium Sand: low Uphill: very high Cobblestones: high Sprinting: very high Explosiveness: medium Flat (TT/riding hard): high Power: high Running: very high Snow/Ice: low Jumping: very low
Craig Hepptern
Spoiler
Name: Craig Hepptern Nationality (region): Great Britain (Scotland) Date of Birth: 11th September 1988 Height: 2.08m Weight: 71kg Specialty: Climbing Weakness: Tough Surfaces Biography: Craig has always been a talent within Scottish cycling. Juggling 3 disciplines, Hepptern has succeeded at all 3 of them: winning 2 gold medals in the Keirin and Scratch at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, in his home city of Glasgow, becoming British champion at both road and cyclocross are some of his career highlights. Craig excels on the hills and in the sprints.
Stats: Bike Handling (technical): high Sand: very low Uphill: very high Cobblestones: medium Sprinting: very high Explosiveness: high Flat (TT/riding hard): high Power: high Running: medium Snow/Ice: low Jumping: very low
Danny Etive
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Name: Danny Etive Nationality (region): Great Britain (Scotland) Date of Birth: 7th July 1989 Height: 1.86m Weight: 69kg Specialty: Running Weakness: Tough Surfaces Biography: Danny Etive is a former runner, who started Cyclocross after a career-ending injury. The Glaswegian has built up his experience over the past few years, and has started to race Cyclocross professionally for the Glasgow City Council Team
Stats: Bike Handling (technical): high Sand: low Uphill: medium Cobblestones: very low Sprinting: high Explosiveness: high Flat (TT/riding hard): medium Power: medium Running: very high Snow/Ice: medium Jumping: very high
Ally Wilson
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Name: Ally Wilson Nationality (region): Great Britain (Scotland) Date of Birth: 13th February 1996 Height: 1.98m Weight: 74kg Specialty: Finbal Laps Weakness: Slow Start Biography: Ally is the twin of team-mate Ewan Wilson and like Ewan, has only ever raced in Britain, and has trained in Strathclyde Park. Ally started Cyclocross with his brither, so they have built a bond over the years and work very well with eachother. Ally has been aclaimed as an ideal all-rounder type of rider.
Stats: Bike Handling (technical): medium Sand: low Uphill: high Cobblestones: high Sprinting: medium Explosiveness: medium Flat (TT/riding hard): medium Power: medium Running: high Snow/Ice: low Jumping: medium
RACES
CamelCross
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Place (nation, city): Dunoon, Scotland
Technical information: Technicality: 4 Sand: 1 Uphill: 5 Length of 1 lap: 4.5k Cobbled sections: 4 Final sprint (length of the final straight road): 4 Other Information: The race is set in the Scottish seaside town of Dunoon, up in the forests of the Camel's Hump. The course is very uphill and includes some cobble sections, and tough and winding forestry roads before diving down back into the vast forest. The finish line is poised on one of the forestry roads heading up to the summit and is at a 5% gradient, making it different to other Cyclocross finishes.
Great Hertford Classic
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Place (nation, city): Hertford, Great Britain
Technical information: Technicality: 5 Sand: 1 Uphill: 2 Length of 1 lap: 2.6km Cobbled sections: 4 Final sprint (length of the final straight road): 4 Other Information: This race is based at an old school, so the race is mainly flat, but is very twisty and technical, but includes a lot of running. It should be a fast and exciting race for spectators and riders alike.
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
May take a look when it's in Surhuisterveen January 2nd.
Manawatu Cross Circuit 
Ewan Wilson
Thijs Van Lookeren
