Anyone got one? Ridden one? Better or worse then the Spesh Tricross?

The Boardman is far better proper cross bike ( light frame, stiff BB30 bottom bracket, full carbon fork, quality finishing kit ritchey , SRAM FSA groupset,)
However if you are looking for cross/ commuter go for the tricross as it has mudgaurd and rack mounts.

The Boardman also has mudguard and rear rack mounts

Then personally I would say its a no brainer go for the boardman I have seen a couple at races this year and they look really nice bike.

To be honest I'm not really looking for it as a cross-country race bike. I'm looking for a bike that will be a tourer, winter training bike, commuting bike and will maybe be used on routes that are a mix of on and off-road.

I might at some future date use it for racing, but no immediate plans. To be honest, it's through the bike to work scheme, and as I suspect it may be scrapped after the election I thought I'd take advantage of it one more time.

orbea carp diem for do everything plastic bike (lifetime frame warranty though)