The Rough and Ready Guide to British Cyclocross Nationals

All images: Tonke Berg

A 47-step staircase, off-camber sections and some mini-moguls, the Cyclopark in Gravesend has plenty of challenge on offer for the riders that will contest the 2025 National Championships. I run the rule over the riders and runners that are vying for the title and the jersey this weekend.

In the elite men’s category, the main omission from the start-list is a certain Mr T Pidcock. The recent signing for Q36.5 announced during the tumult of changing teams mid-contract, that he would not be doing any cross this season. However, present will be the reigning two-time champion Cameron Mason, his predecessor Thomas Mein and a whole host of other contenders. Mein has been showing well in the National Trophy events, winning the first three rounds. He’s also been showing up well on the continent with a top-10 World Cup placing - a career-best result for the rider from the North-East - possibly the highlight of a strong winter. 

Mason has also achieved top-10 placings in the heartlands of Cyclocross but has not managed to hit the same heights as last year where he had a smattering of podiums amongst his top-10 results. Will the hunt for the jersey bring out his best or will Mein take the spoils in the same way he did back in 2022, where the two were locked in a titanic struggle for the win in Crawley?

Outside of these two there’s huge talents in Alfie Amey, Ben Askey, Jenson Young, Tom Couzens and more - all of whom could lay claim to the third step of the podium but in my heart I feel the title is between Mason and Mein.

Now to the elite women’s race, where last year’s champion Anna Kay will surely hope to defend her title in the colours of the Proximus team, and she’s been riding well and getting solid results. Notably absent is the Women’s under-23 World Cup leader Zoe Bäckstedt, but that doesn’t mean winning the race will be any easier. 

Firstly, to win would require beating a trio of strong under-23 riders: Imogen Wolff, Cat Ferguson and Ella Maclean-Howell. Of these, Wolff has had the strongest winter and she has a very good chance of winning the overall race. Comparatively, Ferguson has had a quieter cross season - a crash and injury at Hulst took her out of the famed kerstperiode. However she is on the startlist and although her form is unproven, on her day she is as strong as any rider and has a sprint that took her to winning the Junior Road Worlds and her first victories as an elite rider at the end of the 2024 road season. Ella Maclean-Howell has racked up steady results this year, regularly in the top-20 or 30 of races with seriously impressive start lists. These three could lock out the elite podium and I wouldn’t be shocked.

However do not discount Alderney Baker, who won the Derby and South Shields rounds of the National Trophy series - the first sprinting against Anna Kay and the latter by dropping her competitors and finishing solo. Last, and certainly no means least, there’s Xan Crees - her form this season has been remarkable. She took a top-20 World Cup placing for only the second time in her career at Dendermonde and she was on track for a similarly strong result at Namur before a crash caused her to stop that race. She also took her first win of the season in Sweden on a damaged ankle. And finally, her first National Trophy round win, which was at this course - she’s definitely my pick for victory. 

I caught up with Xan before the weekend to get her view on things and she had this to say: “I'm feeling good. It's a course I've gone well on and a good result at Dendermonde certainly helped the confidence. There's a lot of talent so it's going to be a tough race but I think it'll be one to remember”. 

Catch the British cyclocross national championships this Sunday, 12 January, in Gravesend, Kent, from 13:15 onwards - the races have been streamed live on the BBC in the past but there’s currently no information about a live broadcast this year - see British Cycling’s social media feeds for live updates.

If you’d like to get a feel for the course in advance, you can watch this ride-along on YouTube from last year’s elite men’s race at the National Trophy.