Springfield Cross
Sun 06 Sep 2026
North Road had two riders flying the flag at the opening round of the Eastern Cyclo-Cross League at Springfield, Colchester: me in the Vet 50–59 race and David Kiely making a welcome return to CX in the Vet 60s.
We should have had a third, but John McDowall managed to injure his hamstring at parkrun on Saturday morning — an important reminder that running is a dangerous activity best avoided by cyclists. He’s hoping to be repaired and back for Welwyn Garden City.
I was gridded 18th on the third row and got away well, picking up a few places and, importantly, avoiding the early pile-up as two or three riders hit the deck. From there it was classic Springfield: fast and flat, lots of corners and accelerations, technical off-cambers, a few short punchy mounds and two sets of steps to remind the legs that this was definitely cyclo-cross. I had a couple of good battles, inherited one place when a rider slid out in front of me, then gave it back later when he came steaming past, and faded a little through laps four and five as the chasing group began to close.
The last lap went the right way. I got back ahead of one rider and then finally caught the man I’d been chasing for most of the race, passing him just before the final descent and steps. Once I hit those steps there was absolutely no intention of letting anyone back past. Tenth place from 18th on the grid, 4:23 behind winner Matthew Webber — and, after effectively missing last season through injury, I was delighted to sneak into the top ten at the first proper attempt back. Dave followed in the Vet 60s, suffering a minor off at the bottom of the steps before becoming, in his own rather less printable words, somewhat fatigued by the finish. He nevertheless battled home 27th of 30, one lap and 5:25 behind 60+ winner Paul Watson. Great to see him back racing CX for North Road.
Bryan Holland