The Moorways Centre in Derby hosts the opening round of the 2017/18 HSBC UK | Cyclo-cross National Trophy this weekend.
It is the first of six rounds of competition taking place over the next three months in Britain’s premier cyclo-cross series, with the defending champions Ian Field and Hannah Payton both set to compete.
About the series
The HSBC UK | Cyclo-cross National Trophy is a six-round competition which takes place between October and January, with riders’ best five scores from the series counting towards their overall total.
The series opens at the Moorways Centre in Derby this weekend, with the second round taking place at Abergavenny Leisure Centre at the end of October.
Rounds three and four are in November at the Shrewsbury Sports Centre and Cyclopark in Gravesend respectively.
Peel Park in Bradford hosts round five in December before the series concludes at Trinity Park in Ipswich on 7 January.
Elite and under-23 men
Defending series champion Ian Field headlines as the HSBC UK | Cyclo-cross National Trophy kicks off.
The Hargroves-Ridley-Montezuma rider was excellent in last season’s competition, winning three races and finishing second in the other two, to win the trophy by 50 points - and has taken two top 30 finishes in the opening rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup this season.
His nearest rival last year was Yorben Van Tichelt (Era-Circus), who won the other two races, including the 2016 opener in Derby, and another fascinating battle between the duo is set for the East Midlands this weekend.
Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Racing) took third place in last year’s overall standings and alongside Billy Harding (PH-MAS/Paul Milnes/Oldfield ERT) - fifth in the elite men’s competition and winner of the under-23 title - will pose a real threat in Derby.
Elite and junior women
Hannah Payton won four out of five rounds of last season’s competition and takes to the start line in Derby as the red-hot favourite.
The Team Kinesis UK rider got her campaign off to the perfect start at the Moorways Centre last year and will be looking to repeat that again this weekend.
Bethany Crumpton (Storey Racing) finished third overall in last season’s competition and heads to the East Midlands fresh from world cup duty in the USA - finishing 37th and 30th in the opening rounds.
Sophie Thackray (PH-MAS/Paul Milnes/Oldfield ERT), who was last season’s best junior - and finished fourth overall in the elite standings, makes the step up to the under-23 rankings this season.
Elspeth Grace (Kinetic Cycles / Welwyn Racing) finished one place behind Thackray in both the elite and junior standings and will also be confident of a strong performance this season.
Schedule
Veteran men’s racing takes place on Saturday with elite races taking place on Sunday.
Junior men begin the action on Sunday at 10.15am, followed by youth races.
Elite, under-23 and junior women start at 1.30pm, with elite and under-23 men racing at 2.45pm.
How to follow
- Follow @BritishCycling on Twitter for race updates and results
- Report and gallery will appear on the British Cycling website
