Charlie Craig.

This isn’t right is it? Someone has posted on the British Cyclo Cross FB page that he has passed away. God I hope its no true.

I think it may be correct 🙁

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/rip-charlie-craig-nick-craigs-son.213016/

I’m afraid it is. Nick posted on to Facebook this morning. Apparently passed away in his sleep overnight. RIP Charlie.

Dreadful news.

Saw the news earlier on Facebook but didn’t want to post anything up on here tbh. Nick is such a lovely guy, can’t imagine what he and his family are going through.

Couldn’t believe it earlier,so sad.

Sorry akira, hope I haven’t caused upset to you. It was a bit of a reaction to losing my own son, a cross rider too.

I only know Nick through work vaguely, just wasn’t sure about posting something up. Also wasn’t really sure what I’d say, didn’t mean to imply any wrong doing on your part plop.

Terrible news. He was so unbelievably talented. Condolences to all that knew him

Such a loss, Nick has one of those personalities that makes you feel great about cycling, and Charlie was inspiring the next generation with the same dedication and passion for our sport. My thoughts are with Nick his friends and family.

Had the pleasure of speaking to Charlie on the trails. Polite and mature beyond his years. Condolences to his family. As a parent, I cannot imagine the devastation they must be feeling and am genuinely upset to even think about it. God bless.

oh my god that’s so terrible

I’ve known Nick loosely for a few years, one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

I had never met Charlie but through Nicks facebook feed I felt like I knew him, the fantastic adventures that they went on together, and the way he was following in his fathers footsteps with his racing. I can’t imagine what they are going through right now. I just hope they know that the warmth of their family and their love for and pride in him was obvious to all us outsiders. So incredibly tragic.

I remember Nick from BITD.

How old was Charlie?

Such sad news. Condolences to the family.

So sad, heard earlier this afternoon and been thinking about him ever since.

U16 rider.

Terrible, terrible news. I can’t begin to imagine how heartbreaking this must be.

My heart sank when I read this.

Nick must be one of the nicest riders from BITD and it’s terrible to read something like this has happened to a family that’s done more than most to encourage and support young riders and the sport in general.

Sometimes life is doubly cruel.

Such a nice lad, well such a lovely family. I don’t really know what I am trying to say. But my heart goes out to them all.

Awful news, my son is much the same age and travels to races with me. Scares the hell out of me how you can loose something so dear so easily. My thoughts are with the Craig family.

such awful news. Only know Nick and Sarah vaguely through friends but am gutted for them.

Life is just too cruel sometimes.

I’m sure all parents reading this will be giving their kids an extra cuddle tonight.

I’m sure all parents reading this will be giving their kids an extra cuddle tonight.

I did exactly that after seeing this. I don’t know the Craig family, but I do have kids. The prospect of anything happening to them is too terrible to contemplate.

My heart goes out to them, and anybody else in a similar situation.

RIP

Jeez-oh, thats horrific. As above, don’t even want to imagine how they re all feeling right now.

RIP, and all the best to the family. 🙁

Awful. My heart goes out to the Craigs, and anyone else in similar situations.
We had friends whose 15 year old son committed suicide (without background of problems) in October. He was the same age as our eldest. It is so hard thinking ‘that could be one of mine’…
Mine will be getting extra cuddle tonight, no matter how grumpy teen they feel.

Nick really is the ‘nicest man in cycling’. I’ve met him a few times whilst out riding the Peaks and he’s often out helping out on the demo days for North West Mountain Bike Centre, I even bumped into him when I nipped for a sandwich in a local petrol station when he’d stopped mid road ride. Needless to say every time I’ve met him he’s always stopped for a chat about bikes and being of certain age.

Needless to say his son Charlie was a ‘chip off the old block’, an equally talented rider and just as nice. He’s caught us up once or twice whilst we’ve been out over Hayfield and he too stopped to say hi. He & I recently led the NW demo day group out together around a few loops of Marple Lakes, joking about age, beauty and which age group should be riding from the back.

I can’t say I knew Charlie well but from those few moments I did spend with him you could tell he was a smashing lad, a talented rider, another gent’ in waiting and a true credit to his family.

My thoughts are with the Craigs at this awful time for them.

Terribly sad news for the Craig family. I watched him and his dad racing (both brilliantly) at Shrewsbury in December.

A touching tribute from Larry at VeloUK – https://www.velouk.net/2017/01/23/rip-charlie-craig/

Devastating news. RIP and condolences to the Craigs. 🙁

I saw this on facebook this morning. I even started typing a new thread about it on here but decided better of it. Don’t know Nick or his son but absolutely gutted to read about this. Tragic

Never met either of them but so utterly sad.

(nicked from the velouk link but this thread needs a pic)

I’ve briefly met Nick a couple of times a few years back. He was lovely. I’d seen him training up in the Peaks while working up there, and the first time I met him at trade show I mentioned it and we had a long old chat about jobs, riding and family. Then we bumped into each other in New Mills a few weeks and had another brief chat.

As a parent, I can’t imagine how awful this must be. From comments above, it seems Charlie inherited a lot of his dad’s character as well as his talent. His family can be proud of how he was turning out, how he was loved, and how he was making the most of the chance to follow his dream. No parents can ask for more, I guess.

My lad is a year younger than Charlie. If he’d let me, I’d give him a hug. For Charlie, for Nick and his family, and because it’s not something I do often enough.

By jingo, what terrible news.

I just happened upon Grit.CX and this story is on the front page.

Awful, truly awful.

we raced a Wessex CX round on Sunday and the Craigs were really well known with that league, there’s a pic of the junior podium on twitter with a comment about never thinking they’d be in tears on a podium.

Racing the final Central this weekend they are doing a silence before each race.

Didn’t know them personally but they obviously touched a lot of people, and it really is sh1t.

I raced with Nick a little bit when we were schoolboys & juniors – as a result I’ve followed his amazing cycling career with interest over the years…….

….like others above, I have kids of a similar age and I just cannot comprehend what Nick, his wife Sarah and their son Tom are going through. Clearly a loving family and I hope that they are able to get through this.

RIP Charlie.

So sad…heartbreaking.

Charlie was a good friend and I grew up with the Craigs being round the corner so to speak.

He was a credit to his family and all my thoughts are with Nick and Sarah, and Thomas.

I can’t get my head around it and will miss him lots.

I would like to organise a CX race in his memory, but need to speak to Nick first.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP5yI_yAHnT/

I wrote and then deleted comments on here several times in the days after his death. Words just didn’t seem to sum it up somehow – I’ve known the family for 10 years ever since I moved to the area. I saw Charlie only a couple of days before he passed away.

It was his funeral today and the church was packed out. Cyclists from far and wide; people he’d raced against & trained with, the GB Junior Academy coaches, Steve Peat, David Millar, Fred Salmon and probably loads more that I didn’t see in the crowds. All sorts of people from the CX and wider cycling community, his teachers and pretty much every kid who’d been in Charlie’s year at school. Moving, heartfelt, emotional and very touching. The family had been up Kinder Scout at dawn and had some beautiful pictures of their last tribute.

Ride Free Charlie.

Saw some photos today on Peaty’s IG. So desperately sad. I can’t begin to imagine how a family can move on when something like this happens.

RIP Charlie.

It is so hard to find the words. My wife raced elite in the 90s and Nick always stood out as the nicest guy on the course – friendly, funny, fast and polite. More recently we’ve returned to racing with our own children, and my eldest races the year below Charlie. The awful news that weekend just flattened us all.

I can say without doubt that Charlie was the friend and role model for all the young riders. This has been apparent across the board, from the dignity of the Juniors at the CX Worlds, right through to the youngest kids at the local league.

The Midweek MTB Madness folk sum it up beautifully:-

Mountain biking is a family. When we lose a shining member of that family we are saddened, deeply.
To Sarah, Nick and Tom and family members, to all those who knew and loved Charlie, we send our heartfelt condolences.
When this beautiful photo was taken, young Charlie Craig had just completed a storming race in the youth/Juvenile race category. Many of you may remember him as he sped past, expecting something of that pace as the chip off the old block. He was a talented athlete with latent potential. Mud splattered and smiling, will be how many remember him.
Our deepest sympathies.