It is the same as for any sport that has a starting and finishing line: to come in first, of course. Or to have fun, if you are not competing. But the fact is that for practical reasons, cyclo-cross competitions have, to a certain extent, set limits to the limitless horizon envisioned by Gousseau, with a format that consists of several laps around a course that tends to be 2+ to 3+ kilometres long, depending on the category, age group and importance of the competition. The major men’s races can be about twenty kilometres long by repeating laps.

As to be expected, a cyclo-cross course is full of all kinds of snares that give this sport its particular flavour. Part of the course runs on asphalt, it’s true, but mixed in with sections of grass, sand, mud, roots and sprinkled with stairs, puddles, crossed boards, short and steep climbs and descents, and short barriers that oblige the racers to dismount and carry the bike, only to get back on it as soon as possible and make the best of the multiple advantages cogs and gears bring to human exertion.

And in the surroundings, despite the characteristic (and even desirable) bad weather, there is always a good number of fans, because the spectacle is unforgettable: from the trigger of the starting gun, all bets are off and the racers all sprint to get ahead as soon as possible and thus secure the advantage when navigating tricky sections, given that there usually are many racers and the course is only a few metres wide. And then skill and strength do the rest, always with great care to avoid stumbles and falls.

The racers, usually covered in mud from head to toe, still reflect the epic spirit of road cycling that is still evident in that sport on a few occasions, such as on the cobblestone roads of the Paris-Roubaix race. As a matter of fact, several world cyclo-cross champions have also won “The Hell of the North.”

The history of cyclo-cross is broad and magnificent, spreading from its origins in France at the beginning of the twentieth century to neighbouring countries, and especially to central Europe. The first international competition of some importance was the so-called International Criterium, which was first held in Paris in 1924 and saw itself as a major world event.

Popularity waned with the first official World Championship in 1950 and until the present day. This Championship usually takes place in January, each time in a different country (the last time that it was held in Spain was in 1990 in Getxo), and the sport’s greatest legend is the Belgian racer Erik de Vlaeminck, world champion seven times over. This year’s World Championship will be held this weekend in the Belgian town of Hooglede-Gits.

Today, cyclo-cross is not at the height of its glory, but there are still numerous races in Europe and North America, and it is most avidly followed in Holland, and especially Belgium, and more precisely Flanders, the cradle of some of its greatest champions and an area where this discipline, and cycling as a whole, is practically a religion.

Aside from the World Championship, there are other cyclo-cross events of international importance, such as those that make up the World Cup, born in the winter of 1993-94, which is won by points earned in the various races held in different countries (11 in the 2006-07 winter season, among them the race in Igorre (Vizcaya)). These races change every year, and club organizers have to apply and meet very strict requirements.

The World Cup record-holder is the Belgian racer Sven Nijs (four-time champion), followed by another legend, the Dutch biker Richard Groenendaal (three-time champion). Another important championship is the Super Prestige cup, and kind of World Cup but at a more local level, limited to a number of point races held in the capitals of cyclo-cross, that is to say, in Belgium and Holland.