CycloCross News

New cyclocross rules allow discs and more barriers, ban wider tires

By Caley Fretz from Velonews
Starting this fall, some ‘cross bikes will be stopping just a little bit quicker.
The UCI has changed its rules to now allow disc brakes, which the organization had banned in cyclocross in 2003. The disc ban was never adopted by USA Cycling, so it directly affected only a relatively small group of racers in UCI events. However, it seemed to have a trickle-down effect and discs have never become common in ‘cross races and in the ‘cross bike product lines.

The change is exciting to Stu Thorne, owner of cyclocrossworld.com and director and mechanic for the Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com team.
“Technically, I think it would be kind of cool,” Thorne said. “I’d like to work with someone to make a tidy little hydraulic disc brake for ‘cross.”
Thorne said the weight penalty could be minor and the brakes could be an advantage in some conditions. The use of discs in cyclocross also could lead to the development of brakes that would have road bike applications.
The UCI also made a few other rule changes.

In contrast to the addition of disc brakes, which pushes ‘cross bikes closer to their mountain bike brethren, the UCI also decreased the maximum tire width from 35mm to 33mm, eliminating the popular 34mm size.

The UCI’s intention may have been to trim the cost of the sport by reducing the need to bring a quiver of tires and wheels to races (again, the rule has not been adopted by USA Cycling, so most amateur racers can still use the wider tires.)

Thorne is a little concerned that some tires might be too close to the limit.
“We (on the team) will have to be careful not to use tires that might exceed the limit at certain pressures or on certain rims. We don’t want an official on the start line with a go-no-go gauge to rule our tires illegal,” he said.

The UCI also made sweeping changes to cyclocross courses, allowing designers to include more obstacles than in the past. Language that formerly limited courses to only six obstacles has been revised to read “six man-made obstacles.” Rather than define the height of barriers at 40cm, the new rules simply state that barriers may not exceed 40cm. Rules also allow course designers to put more space between barriers than previously permitted. Man-made sand pits may be placed within the course as well.
Rule 5.1.023 now reads:

The course may include no more than six man made obstacles. Obstacle shall mean any part of the course which is likely to require riders to dismount.
The length of an obstacle may not exceed 80 metres and the height may not exceed 40 cm. The total length of obstacles may not exceed 10% of the course.
Non-natural sand pits should be minimum 40 metres, maximum 80 metres long and minimum 6 metres wide. The sand pit should be located on a straight section and requests a level entrance and exit.

On top of equipment and course changes, the UCI made changes directed at the riders themselves. A string of hot races in Europe last fall, and subsequent complaints from riders about the lack of feeding, inspired the UCI to legalize bottle hand-ups when the temperature is above 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). Feeding will take place in the pit lane, though not during the first two or last two laps.
In addition, race officials may now invoke the “80% rule,” wherein riders more than 80% off the leader’s lap time may be pulled from the race. This will allow officials to pull riders before they are lapped, keeping them out of the way of those fighting for victory.
All of the new rules take effect in July.

CycloCross

Origins and history

There are many stories about the origins of cyclo-cross. One is that European road racers in the early 1900s would race each other to the next town over from them and that they were allowed to cut through farmer's fields, over fences or take any other shortcuts in order to make it to the next town first. This was a way for them to stay in shape during the winter months and put a twist on road racing. In addition, riding off road in more difficult conditions than smooth pavement increased the intensity at which the cyclists were riding and improved their on the road bike handling abilities. Daniel Gousseau of France is credited as having inspired the first cyclo-cross races and organizing the first French National Championship in 1902. Géo Lefèvre, the originator of the idea for the Tour de France, also played a key role in the early days of the sport.
The sport began to spread to countries bordering France, Belgium organized its first National Championship in 1910, Switzerland did so in 1912, then Luxembourg in 1923, Spain in 1929 and Italy in 1930.

Cyclo-cross proved itself as a sport extending beyond the boundaries of France when in 1924 the first international race, Le Critérium International de Cross-Country Cyclo-Pédestre, was held in Paris.
Like many international cycle sports, CX is administered by the Union Cycliste Internationale; although it wasn't until the 1940s, around 40 years after cyclo-cross' inception, that the UCI began its regulation and the first world championship was held in Paris in 1950.

Cyclo-cross began to become popular in the US in the 1970s.

Cyclo-cross began to become popular in the US in the 1970s and in 1975 the first US National Championship was held in Berkeley, CA. The Surf City race series held in Santa Cruz, CA holds a lot of history of cyclo-cross in the US. Portland, Oregon hosts some of the largest events in the country.

Racing Seasons
Typically a Fall and Winter sport, the season starts in September and runs until February with World Championships occurring in late January. Because a season spans two calendar years seasons are often referred to as both years that they span; such as the 2005-2006 season, as simply saying 2005 could imply late 2004-2005 or early 2005-2006 (this is less of an issue outside Europe in countries such as Canada and the US where the national championships happens in November and December respectively and racing tapers off dramatically after that). Due to the placement of World's a rider's cyclocross racing age is always one older than their road racing age.

Equipment

Bicycles
Cyclo-cross bicycles roughly resemble the racing bicycles used in road racing. The major differences between the two are that cyclo-cross frames have wider clearances, knobby tires, cantilever brakes and lower gears. Also, a heightened bottom bracket was typical 10+ years ago; now many cyclo-cross-specific frames do not have elevated bottom brackets. Many cyclo-cross bicycles are setup with a single chainring and chain "drop" guards. This helps to eliminate problems with shifting due to mud and grime build up during racing.

Our line of Cyclocross Bikes

Jamis Nova Pro $2575.00

Ah, cyclocross. Our favorite kind of filth—muddy, wet, and so incredibly fun you don’t even think about the lung-
searing effort of chasing people down with a bike slung over your shoulder.

This is serious fun, but we do take cyclocross seriously. These aren’t just road frames with rerouted cables—we use
dedicated ’cross geometry with a slightly sloping top tube, longish chainstays for mud clearance, barely relaxed
angles for enhanced stability, and a parts mix that’ll keep clicking, whirring and working under the harshest, murkiest conditions you’ll find on race day.

This also adds up to make these bikes among the most versatile, adaptive road bikes around, with plenty of clearance for wintertime fenders (with eyelets to mount them!), and the sort of parts that’ll hold up on extended rain rides and road slush.

Jamis "Nova" $1175.00

Bianchi Axis $1299.00
A 7005-series aluminum frame with butted tubing and specific tube profiles for cyclo-cross. Designed to control vibrations and tame rough ground..

Cyclocross Group Rides

Marlin, "SuperDave", Steve Turner and "Butch" come back from a mudfest

Steve proudly displaying his mud encrusted Teesdale

Our Standard Tune-up ($50) includes a wash. It sounds strange, but as a bike washer I like seeing a bike this dirty. It shows it's beeing used correctly...Andy.

Our Custom shop Cyclocross Bikes

Steve Turner just found out he's bringin' home one of our custom Raleigh Cyclocross bikes.

"SuperDave" built up this "totally custom" Jamis NovaCylocross bike with his own components on a new Reynolds 631 steel frame.
Reynolds 631 air-hardened chromoly actually gains strength in the weld zone area, instead of losing it like all other welded material, allowing Reynolds to draw this tubing thinner, for a lighter, stiffer frame with outstanding "feel". Heat treated cro-moly rear stays and investment cast dropouts

Marlin with his new custom built Jamis NovaCylocross bike

"Butch" seen here envisioning a Campi triple on his forever evolving Tom Teesdale

Clothing
Clothing is similar to that of road racing. However, since cyclo-cross is a cold-weather sport there is an emphasis toward warmer clothing such as long sleeves, tights, knickers and arm and leg warmers. In the warmer races there is a very strong preference for skinsuits for maximizing freedom of movement. The other advantage of skinsuits is that they are tighter, preventing the jersey from getting caught on stray tree branches during some singletrack sections of the race course. Mountain bike shoes are adopted, as they allow the competitors to run, unlike their road racing counterparts and their degree of traction (compared to smooth bottoms found on road racing shoes). Toe studs are used to aid in running up steep muddy slopes and in the adverse underfoot conditions.

Courses
Races almost universally consist of many laps over a short course, ending when a time limit is reached rather than after a specific number of laps or certain distance; the canonical length for senior events is one hour. Generally each lap is around 2.5-3.5 km and is 90% rideable. Races run under UCI rules must have courses that are always at least 3 m wide to encourage passing at any opportunity, however sections of singletrack are common for small races in the USA and Great Britain. A variety of terrain is typical, ranging from roads to paths with short steep climbs, off camber sections, lots of corners and, a defining feature, sections where the rider may need to or be best advised to dismount and run whilst carrying the bike. Under-tire conditions include asphalt, hardpack dirt, grass, mud and sand. In comparison to cross-country mountain bike events, terrain is smoother. Less emphasis is put on negotiating rough or even rocky ground with more stress on increased speed and negotiating different types of technical challenges.
Each section of the course typically lasts no longer than a handful of seconds. For example long climbs are avoided in favour of short, sharp inclines. Sections are generally linked together, or long straights broken up, with tight corners. This not only allows a standard length course to fit in a relatively small area, but also forces competitors to constantly change speed and effort. Accelerating out of corners, then having to decelerate for the next before accelerating again is a common theme.
Obstacles that force a rider to dismount and run with their bike or to "bunny hop" include banks too steep to ride up, steps, sand pits and plank barriers. Besides the start/finish area, these obstacles may be placed anywhere on the course that the race director desires. Several race directors have tried to limit bunny hopping by placing barriers in pairs or in triple (although under UCI rule no more than two barriers can appear in succession), however this hasn't stopped some of the best bunny-hoppers from getting over them. The regulation height for a barrier is 40 cm although this is treated as a maximum at smaller events. Plank barriers seem to be more common in the US than in Europe and UCI regulations only permit one section of them on the course.
Since outside assistance is allowed, pits are included to provide a consistent area for this to occur. A pit to the right of the course is normal since most rides dismount to their left. In larger events a separate pit lane is featured so only those wishing a new bike or other assistance need enter the lane (this type was debuted at the Zeddam, Netherlands World Cup of January 1999). In some cases pits are provided in two different parts of the course.
An exception to this short course format include the Three Peaks, a 61 km single lap race held annually in Yorkshire.

Technique
Although courses are often less technical than those of mountain biking, the particular obstacles require specific technical abilities of their competitors. Steps, barriers, ditches, stairs, steep slopes and deep mud or sand require running whilst carrying the bicycle. This approach was invented by Octave Lapize and proven by Eugene Christophe who in 1913 had to carry his broken bike down the Tourmalet during his win of the Tour de France. Although this sounds simple, doing so in the middle of a quick-paced race is difficult. Being able to dismount, pick up the bike, put it back down and remount smoothly and quickly without losing any speed requires a huge amount of practice and skill. However, the best cyclo-cross racers in the world, and some top-level local competitors, make it seem effortless.
A more recent development to overcome obstacles such as barriers and sometimes ditches is the bunnyhop which began its popularity in 1989 when Danny de Bie used it to his success in becoming World Champion. Bunny hopping is less popular today due to race directors setting up barriers two or three in a row to limit its use. Although, several skilled riders are still able to do so despite the back to back to back barriers.

Here is Jeremy Powers with the "bunny hop" in the Friday Night Lights Summercross at the New Jersey State Fair.

Copyright © 2008 Niantic Bay Bicycles