At The Crossroads

Over the past 12 months, some of Britain’s most talented young riders have been tearing up the cyclo-cross courses of Europe. But as the lure of other disciplines such as road await, what does the future hold for the country’s next generation?

- Giles Belbin

On a Saturday evening in early November 2017, Matt Ellis, British Cycling’s cyclo-cross coordinator, was sat in the basement restaurant of a hotel outside Tabor in the Czech Republic. Ellis was there for the European Championships, an event from which his team would return with two medals: a men’s under-23 silver for Tom Pidcock and a bronze for Tulett in the men’s junior race.

Those results came in the midst of a successful cyclo-cross period for Britain’s youngsters. Both Pidcock and Tulett had won their respective races at Koppenbergcross four days earlier and both would win again in Belgium before the year was out, Pidcock being particularly dominant in World Cup races.

Elsewhere on the Continent under-23 Evie Richards won the elite women’s World Cup race in Namur, Sean Flynn claimed a couple of top-five finishes in junior races and Anna Kay and first-year junior Harriet Harnden secured top-20 finishes in elite races among the likes of Sanne Cant and Katie Compton. Then, as the 2017/18 cyclo-cross season neared its end, Tulett and Richards both won rainbow jerseys in Valkenburg.

With cyclo-cross the poor relation of other cycling disciplines in Britain these are results of real note and offer the hope of a bright future. But the inescapable truth is that the lure of road, track or mountain biking, and the increased availability of funding they offer, is never far away. So why are Britain’s youngsters performing so well in cross and where do their futures lie?