2024 Cyclocross National Championships: report and results
Cyclocross Reds took two National Champions jerseys with fine wins for Anna Kay & Cam Mason, while Oscar Amey and Cat Ferguson took Junior glories. Ella Maclean-Howell and Corran Carrick-Anderson tasted U23 success.
Scotland’s debut as the host of the National Cyclocross Championships proved to be a hit, with Falkirk playing host to four thrilling races as Cyclocross Reds took a double-victory with Anna Kay and Cameron Mason winning the Elite categories.
The Juniors went the way of Oscar Amey and Cat Ferguson – the latter putting in a masterful performance as she demonstrated why she’s been marked out as a star of the future.
In the Under-23 categories, Ella Maclean-Howell and Corran Carrick-Anderson prevailed in the two races, held alongside the Elite Women and Men’s competition.
Featured Image:Ian MacNicol/SWpix.com
Reports
Junior Men
Oscar Amey capped a fine British Cyclocross season as he added the Champion’s jersey to his National Trophy Series title after a thrilling race under the Scottish sunshine.
From the off, the GKR Racing rider was in an exclusive club at the sharp-end of the field alongside brother Alfie (GKR Racing) and defending champion Seb Grindley (Trinity Racing Cross).
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
The trio initially worked together to pull away from the chasing peloton behind, and then seemingly took it in turns to try and knock chunks of energy out of each other, with each rider stronger on different parts of the course.
The Ameys appeared better up the ascents – especially the monstrous ‘Wall’ climb – but Grindley could take slices of time back off them round the more technical sections and stretches where he could really put the power down.
Every now and then, one of the riders would exploit a weakness for their rivals and pull a slight gap but then the others would stamp on the pedals and close back up again.
It was only in the closing laps that the race really started to break down into the fight for the jersey. Despite a valiant effort, Alfie Amey was the first to be dropped as he ran out of energy to keep up with the mammoth watts being put out by the front – leaving it to a head-to-head battle between Oscar and Grindley.
The pair were inseparable and it wasn’t clear who would come out on top with Grindley repeatedly trying to break clear and Oscar repeatedly reeling him back in.
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
It was the bell lap where the decisive blow was struck. Coming up one of the numerous climbs scattered round the course, Oscar got out the saddle and burst clear with Grindley powerless to respond.
While the latter did try and use the technical sections at the end of the lap to close the gap, it was too little too late and Oscar crossed the line with a few bike lengths in hand.
Alfie Amey took the final place on the podium, while Innes McDonald was best of the rest for the Scotia Offroad Race Team. Lewis Tinsley – who won the final round of the National Trophy in Yorkshire – completed the top five for BCC Race Team.
Junior Women
Cat Ferguson (Hope Tech Factory Racing) put on a cyclocross masterclass as she demonstrated why she’s a rising star on the international stage as she flew to a comfortable victory and with it, the National title.
Picture by Ian MacNicol/SWpix.com
From the very start, it was clear Ferguson had only one approach and that was to go flat out. Putting maximum power out round the first tour of the Falkirk circuit, she eclipsed nearly the entire field, apart from Cardiff JIF’s Anwen Nesham, but such was Ferguson’s pace, Nesham couldn’t hold on for much more than a lap.
Even with the course starting to warm up and get slippery, the Yorkshire rider never looked in doubt and grew what was a staggering lead over the rest of the 24-rider field – setting lap times which were often almost a minute faster than her rivals.
Taking the win by almost four minutes, the battle for the podium positions behind were also pretty well-settled early in the race with National Trophy Series winner Alice Colling (Shibden Cycling Club) demonstrating her own prowess on the power-heavy course as she took an untroubled second.
Her team-mate Esther Wong added to her second in Tong last weekend with the final spot on the podium and a demonstration of just how stacked with talent the Shibden team is.
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Arabella Blackburn (Deeside Thistle CC) finished just off the podium in fourth, while Ellie Mitchinson (Montezuma’s Race Team) completed the top five.
Elite Women/U23
After years of near misses, Anna Kay (Cyclocross Reds) finally secured a hard-earned British Champions jersey with an inch-perfect performance in the Elite Women’s category. In the Under-23s, Ella Maclean-Howell’s second overall secured her the top spot in the race-within-a-race.
Picture by Ian MacNicol/SWpix.com
In the Elites, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Kay. The start was as frantic as you’d expect for such a talented field with Kay and Xan Crees (Team Spectra Cannondale P/B DAS) both trailing Imogen Wolff as the Trinity Racing Cross rider elected to take a step up to the Elite level after winning the Junior title last year.
Add Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Nikki Brammeier to the mix at the front, and it was no walk in the park for anyone with ambitions to try and strike a decisive blow in the early stages.
However, Kay was clearly coming into the race with a point to prove and being the only one of the leading quintet to jump the planks demonstrated that she wasn’t going to leave anything in reserve as she looked to better her second place in 2019 – her previous best National Champs result.
The Cyclocross Reds racer didn’t break clear in one real attacking move, it was a demonstration of marginal gains – slightly faster up the slopes and not having to dismount as regularly – which pulled her clear of the squabbling bunch behind.
As she disappeared up the course, there was an increasing amount of riders fighting for the remaining two spots on the podium with Grace Inglis (Muckle Cycling Club) - no relation to National Trophy front-runner Hope Inglis – and Hope Tech Factory Racing’s Ella Maclean-Howell joining in at the front.
Picture by Ian MacNicol/SWpix.com
The composition of who was sitting in second and third was changing regularly, with sudden bursts of energy and riders coming unstuck on the increasingly warm course causing significant shake ups at the front.
With legs tiring, and energy becoming sapped with the amount of time riders had to spend running with bikes over their shoulders, the fight for those two podium positions boiled down to Maclean-Howell, Couzens and Inglis.
That trio took turns in sitting in that runner-up spot behind an increasingly distant Kay, but it was coming clearer that Couzens was starting to be sapped of energy and was losing contact with Maclean-Howell and Inglis.
Come the final lap and it was Maclean-Howell who channeled the performance that saw her prevail in Tong last weekend to break clear and leave Inglis chasing her shadow.
A faultless final lap secured her the U23s jersey with second behind the triumphant Kay, while Inglis bested Couzens to take the final spot on the podium. Brammeier took fifth overall and third in the Senior category behind Inglis.
In the U23s, Couzens and Wolff – who fell back slightly to finish seventh overall – joined Maclean-Howell on the podium.
Picture by Ian MacNicol/SWpix.com – 13/01/2024 – Cycling – British Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships 2024 – Callendar Park, Falkirk, Scotland – ELITE/U23 FEMALE – Ella Maclean-Howell
Elite Men/U23
Cameron Mason (Cyclocross Reds) successfully defended his British title as he prevailed in an early-race scrap with National Trophy winner Thomas Mein (Hope Factory Racing) in front of his local crowds.
In the U23s it was Corran Carrick-Anderson who took the stripes for T-Mo Racing, in a battling display at the front.
At the start, which climbed and looped upwards to join the course proper, it was Toby Barnes (Ribble-Verge Sport) who got the quickest launch round the sweeping left-hander with Mason not getting the best of starts and finding himself down the lower reaches of the top 10.
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
When the riders properly got going, Barnes found himself pushed down into third, with Mein moving up to second and Carrick-Anderson setting the pace at the front.
However, anyone who has watched Mein ride know he’s not someone to sit back and let the race unfold around him. He quickly pulled through into the lead by the end of the first lap and set about logging consistent laps.
While he was settling down at the front, Mason was making up for his slow start. Moving up to fifth, he made quick work of passing both Toby & Dan Barnes (Team Spectra Cannondale P/B DAS) and then Carrick-Anderson to move into second with just 10 minutes of the race gone.
From that point, it was an intriguing watch to see what would end up happening – could Mein stay ahead? Or would Mason come up and show why he’s having such a strong season in Europe this year?
It proved to be the latter. Just two laps after he moved into second, the Scot caught up and made it a two-rider fight at the front. Not wanting to let Mein escape again, Mason elected to go on the attack and in no time at all he had disappeared, building up a lead of 30 seconds with four laps to go.
He only grew in advantage – and confidence – from there and retained his blue, white and red stripes in fine style. Crossing the line to the roar of the Falkirk faithful, he launched his sunglasses into the air in a release of the tension he must have been feeling as he battled his way round the course.
Picture by Ian MacNicol/SWpix.com
Mein took second – one better than his bronze in Westmoreland last year – with Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) prevailing in a mid-race dogfight with Carrick-Anderson to take the final spot on the overall podium.
Carrick-Anderson took the U23 category victory, with Toby Barnes rounding out the top five ahead of Team Spectra Cannondale P/B DAS pair Simon Wyllie and Dan Barnes who also rounded out the U23 podium.
Scotland’s debut as the host of the National Cyclocross Championships proved to be a hit, with Falkirk playing host to four thrilling races as Cyclocross Reds took a double-victory with Anna Kay and Cameron Mason winning the Elite categories.
The Juniors went the way of Oscar Amey and Cat Ferguson – the latter putting in a masterful performance as she demonstrated why she’s been marked out as a star of the future.
In the Under-23 categories, Ella Maclean-Howell and Corran Carrick-Anderson prevailed in the two races, held alongside the Elite Women and Men’s competition.
Featured Image: Ian MacNicol/SWpix.com
Reports
Junior Men
Oscar Amey capped a fine British Cyclocross season as he added the Champion’s jersey to his National Trophy Series title after a thrilling race under the Scottish sunshine.
From the off, the GKR Racing rider was in an exclusive club at the sharp-end of the field alongside brother Alfie (GKR Racing) and defending champion Seb Grindley (Trinity Racing Cross).
The trio initially worked together to pull away from the chasing peloton behind, and then seemingly took it in turns to try and knock chunks of energy out of each other, with each rider stronger on different parts of the course.
The Ameys appeared better up the ascents – especially the monstrous ‘Wall’ climb – but Grindley could take slices of time back off them round the more technical sections and stretches where he could really put the power down.
Every now and then, one of the riders would exploit a weakness for their rivals and pull a slight gap but then the others would stamp on the pedals and close back up again.
It was only in the closing laps that the race really started to break down into the fight for the jersey. Despite a valiant effort, Alfie Amey was the first to be dropped as he ran out of energy to keep up with the mammoth watts being put out by the front – leaving it to a head-to-head battle between Oscar and Grindley.
The pair were inseparable and it wasn’t clear who would come out on top with Grindley repeatedly trying to break clear and Oscar repeatedly reeling him back in.
It was the bell lap where the decisive blow was struck. Coming up one of the numerous climbs scattered round the course, Oscar got out the saddle and burst clear with Grindley powerless to respond.
While the latter did try and use the technical sections at the end of the lap to close the gap, it was too little too late and Oscar crossed the line with a few bike lengths in hand.
Alfie Amey took the final place on the podium, while Innes McDonald was best of the rest for the Scotia Offroad Race Team. Lewis Tinsley – who won the final round of the National Trophy in Yorkshire – completed the top five for BCC Race Team.
Junior Women
Cat Ferguson (Hope Tech Factory Racing) put on a cyclocross masterclass as she demonstrated why she’s a rising star on the international stage as she flew to a comfortable victory and with it, the National title.
From the very start, it was clear Ferguson had only one approach and that was to go flat out. Putting maximum power out round the first tour of the Falkirk circuit, she eclipsed nearly the entire field, apart from Cardiff JIF’s Anwen Nesham, but such was Ferguson’s pace, Nesham couldn’t hold on for much more than a lap.
Even with the course starting to warm up and get slippery, the Yorkshire rider never looked in doubt and grew what was a staggering lead over the rest of the 24-rider field – setting lap times which were often almost a minute faster than her rivals.
Taking the win by almost four minutes, the battle for the podium positions behind were also pretty well-settled early in the race with National Trophy Series winner Alice Colling (Shibden Cycling Club) demonstrating her own prowess on the power-heavy course as she took an untroubled second.
Her team-mate Esther Wong added to her second in Tong last weekend with the final spot on the podium and a demonstration of just how stacked with talent the Shibden team is.
Arabella Blackburn (Deeside Thistle CC) finished just off the podium in fourth, while Ellie Mitchinson (Montezuma’s Race Team) completed the top five.
Elite Women/U23
After years of near misses, Anna Kay (Cyclocross Reds) finally secured a hard-earned British Champions jersey with an inch-perfect performance in the Elite Women’s category. In the Under-23s, Ella Maclean-Howell’s second overall secured her the top spot in the race-within-a-race.
In the Elites, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Kay. The start was as frantic as you’d expect for such a talented field with Kay and Xan Crees (Team Spectra Cannondale P/B DAS) both trailing Imogen Wolff as the Trinity Racing Cross rider elected to take a step up to the Elite level after winning the Junior title last year.
Add Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Nikki Brammeier to the mix at the front, and it was no walk in the park for anyone with ambitions to try and strike a decisive blow in the early stages.
However, Kay was clearly coming into the race with a point to prove and being the only one of the leading quintet to jump the planks demonstrated that she wasn’t going to leave anything in reserve as she looked to better her second place in 2019 – her previous best National Champs result.
The Cyclocross Reds racer didn’t break clear in one real attacking move, it was a demonstration of marginal gains – slightly faster up the slopes and not having to dismount as regularly – which pulled her clear of the squabbling bunch behind.
As she disappeared up the course, there was an increasing amount of riders fighting for the remaining two spots on the podium with Grace Inglis (Muckle Cycling Club) - no relation to National Trophy front-runner Hope Inglis – and Hope Tech Factory Racing’s Ella Maclean-Howell joining in at the front.
The composition of who was sitting in second and third was changing regularly, with sudden bursts of energy and riders coming unstuck on the increasingly warm course causing significant shake ups at the front.
With legs tiring, and energy becoming sapped with the amount of time riders had to spend running with bikes over their shoulders, the fight for those two podium positions boiled down to Maclean-Howell, Couzens and Inglis.
That trio took turns in sitting in that runner-up spot behind an increasingly distant Kay, but it was coming clearer that Couzens was starting to be sapped of energy and was losing contact with Maclean-Howell and Inglis.
Come the final lap and it was Maclean-Howell who channeled the performance that saw her prevail in Tong last weekend to break clear and leave Inglis chasing her shadow.
A faultless final lap secured her the U23s jersey with second behind the triumphant Kay, while Inglis bested Couzens to take the final spot on the podium. Brammeier took fifth overall and third in the Senior category behind Inglis.
In the U23s, Couzens and Wolff – who fell back slightly to finish seventh overall – joined Maclean-Howell on the podium.
Elite Men/U23
Cameron Mason (Cyclocross Reds) successfully defended his British title as he prevailed in an early-race scrap with National Trophy winner Thomas Mein (Hope Factory Racing) in front of his local crowds.
In the U23s it was Corran Carrick-Anderson who took the stripes for T-Mo Racing, in a battling display at the front.
At the start, which climbed and looped upwards to join the course proper, it was Toby Barnes (Ribble-Verge Sport) who got the quickest launch round the sweeping left-hander with Mason not getting the best of starts and finding himself down the lower reaches of the top 10.
When the riders properly got going, Barnes found himself pushed down into third, with Mein moving up to second and Carrick-Anderson setting the pace at the front.
However, anyone who has watched Mein ride know he’s not someone to sit back and let the race unfold around him. He quickly pulled through into the lead by the end of the first lap and set about logging consistent laps.
While he was settling down at the front, Mason was making up for his slow start. Moving up to fifth, he made quick work of passing both Toby & Dan Barnes (Team Spectra Cannondale P/B DAS) and then Carrick-Anderson to move into second with just 10 minutes of the race gone.
From that point, it was an intriguing watch to see what would end up happening – could Mein stay ahead? Or would Mason come up and show why he’s having such a strong season in Europe this year?
It proved to be the latter. Just two laps after he moved into second, the Scot caught up and made it a two-rider fight at the front. Not wanting to let Mein escape again, Mason elected to go on the attack and in no time at all he had disappeared, building up a lead of 30 seconds with four laps to go.
He only grew in advantage – and confidence – from there and retained his blue, white and red stripes in fine style. Crossing the line to the roar of the Falkirk faithful, he launched his sunglasses into the air in a release of the tension he must have been feeling as he battled his way round the course.
Mein took second – one better than his bronze in Westmoreland last year – with Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ) prevailing in a mid-race dogfight with Carrick-Anderson to take the final spot on the overall podium.
Carrick-Anderson took the U23 category victory, with Toby Barnes rounding out the top five ahead of Team Spectra Cannondale P/B DAS pair Simon Wyllie and Dan Barnes who also rounded out the U23 podium.
Results
Junior Men
Junior Women
Elite Women/U23
Elite Men/U23
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