Summer CX: What’s the Point?

Have you noticed? Summer CX races and leagues have been appearing all over the shop this season. Racing in the summer isn’t a new invention, but it’s never been so widespread. But what’s the point?

The great outdoors
We all like to pretend to be hard men and women, racing through the winter wearing nothing but a skinsuit and some generously tinted embrocation, but let’s not deny that the summer comes as a welcome break. It’s warm, for a start, but you also get a load more hours of daylight. That means racing after work, and keeping your weekends free!

The same, but different
Racing a summer CX league is, of course, a great way to keep your skills honed before the ‘proper’ season starts. However, it also gives you a chance to get out in some different conditions. Whether that’s gravel, hard dusty clay, or just dried grass, the ‘feel’ of racing in summer conditions is definitely different to the winter slog. You might even get a chance to use your file treads, as long as it doesn’t rain. But it probably will. Baked ground is admittedly a bit less friendly when you inevitably come off, but that’s where the robust character you built up over winter comes in, right?

Why not?
Admittedly, there are plenty of kinds of racing that you can’t really do during the winter, and we all want to make the most of those during the summer while we can. But there’s nothing quite like going for a blast round a cyclcocross race after work. You’ll find yourself going from the twitchy shoals of a crit to the all-in-the-mind effort of a club 25, all while getting rattled about and hunting for the best lines in your local playing field.
And the best bit? You can get away riding to work the next morning without cleaning your bike, and nobody will know!