MUC OFF – Cross on the Rock 2025. Season #19
Newsletter #1 (The First Round) – Race Bikes. Make Friends. Have Fun.
Summer takes us away and gives us adventure and SO much fun…..and then every year cyclocross season sneaks up on us. September seems so far away and there seems like there is way more time than there is. Then BOOM! Labour day is here and you have not done a single interval! Don’t worry. Almost everyone is in the same situation. The Cross on the Rock series is not the world championships. If you are in shape. Out of shape. Want to get in shape……..it is about racing hard and having fun. More than that it is a gathering of some of the best people in one place on 7 days of the fall. It is a homecoming for our community! It is coming FAST! We can’t wait!
Pre-Season Notes:
- Licenses for 2025. We don’t know what will be needed yet or how CBC has adjusted their policies yet. Give us a week and it will be sorted out. We will post it on the web page and our socials. If you don’t have your license yet…..just hold off for now.
- It has been a BUSY summer for COTR Alumni! From PB’s at Elite World Cup MTB races for Emilly Johnston. LEADING the U23 world Cup for Ella Macphee. Top 5’s for Marin Lose. To the Canada Summer Games for Sidney Swierenga (Jr Women), Eleanor Winchell (Team relay posdium), Kimberly Chen ( Gold in the Women’s Criterium,) (Photo from CBC e-mail). And way back Alumi Sarah Van Dam rode her first Tour de France Femmes, So much to keep track of and I am sure we missed more than we found but it is amazing to see our friends competing in bigger races and off the island.
1. Cross on the Rock 2025 – Season #19 – Series Preview
RACE #1: September 14th. Victoria Cyclocross Grand Prix. Layritz Park. (Greater) Victoria (Saanich). Triple Shot Cycling Club and Pro City Cycles-The Trek Shop will be joining forces once again to kick off the race season. Layritz Park was the location of our first cyclocross race experience on a Wednesday nighter so it will be amazing to bring COTR back to one of its original VI Race venues.
RACE #2. September 28th. Coal Cross. Village Park. Cumberland. Trail Bikes Bike Club are hosting the second stop for this years series. One of the best courses for spectating in one of the best towns for biking. Be sure to pop into and check out the new Frontrunners location on Dunsmuir Street and head to Bibliotaco while you are in town!
Race #3. October 5th. Twin City X. The Fair Grounds. Port Alberni. It was great to have Port Alberni back on the schedule in 2024 with a rowdy time at the fair grounds. There is no better reason to go over the hump than to race bikes with the Slug Crew. Many racers said this was their favorite race of 2024.
Race #4. October 13th. The Muc Off Cup. Bowen Park. Nanaimo. We don’t like to just throw out the word “Classic” but in this case it is justified. Bowen park Cross on the Rock is a CLASSIC. Our 2nd most visited venue. A race that has held many records including BIGGEST ever COTR race (2019), Biggest Category with Masters Men 88 racers (2017, Hardest Race with 14.5% DNFs ((2014) AND 2 of the “tamest” races of the top 10 in 2016 and 2019 with less than 1.6 and1.3% DNF. The absolute BEST way to spend Thanksgiving Monday!!
Weekend break in here for the Tripleshot Cross Fondo!
Race #5. October 26th. Crosstoberfest. Transfer Beach. Ladysmith. We are heading back to Ladysmith!! The Cycle Therapy Cycling Club is swapping up their race venue for this season to bring back CROSSTOBERFEST. If you were at Crosstoberfest the last time we raced there in 2019 you will remember the tide coming in through the day to the point during the Open race that there was not much beach left for the races!
Race #6. November 2nd. Hot Crossed Bunnies. Beban Park. Nanaimo. The ICON. Home of the first ever Canadian National Championship held on Vancouver Island of any cycling type. Home of the first ever sanctioned cyclocross race on Vancouver Island. The birthplace of COTR. Our most frequently used venue! In 19 COTR seasons we have raced here 18 years PLUS 3 more times!
Race #7. November 16. Broad Street Cycles GP. Jordie Lunn Bike Park. (Greater) Victoria. (Langford). Bookending the 19th COTR season with Victoria races for the first time since 2018 and the Day of Thunder. We will be racing for double points and to beat our friends on the challenging course at the Jordie Lunn Bike Park. Finishing the season with awards, celebrations and smiles after yet another amazing fall!
Registration will be OPEN for race #1 in about a week so keep your eyes on our IG or FB pages and on our site as we update it for the upcoming season.
2. Clinics. Camps. Adventures.
If you are interested in some specific training and clinics for this upcoming season or just to improve your riding here are a few things to consider. Some of these are THIS WEEKEND so there is still time!!
At Jordie for the weekend, with a morning skills session there in the mornings and group rides in the afternoons. Here’s the link to register: https://ccnbikes.com/#!/events/breakaway-cycling-club-cyclocross-camp-2025
Also on Sept 6th I’m holding another Scrabblethon, School House Rock Edition! It’s great prep for COTR! It’s a short gravel loop, 5-10 min laps, and each time around you collect a Scrabble piece. You’ve got 1hr to ride as many laps as you want/can, and then whoever has the best word at the end wins! Super fun, but peeps can rip around as fast as they want, or keep it more chill and have fun with friends.
Hey Clubs, Teams and Groups.
Time for us to update our Teams and Clubs page If you have a team, club, or group that is cyclocross focused or does it on the side please let us know and we will get it up on our page.
For example Rock City Cycles is putting together their team for the season. Check their IG post:
We’re putting together this year’s Rock City Cycles Cyclocross Team and it’s time to build the new list. If you want to be part of the team for the upcoming season, we’d love to have you!
👉 The old email list is out of date, so we’re starting fresh. If you’re interested in riding with us this year, please send us an email at info@rockcitycycles.ca to get on the roster.
Let’s get muddy, race hard, and have some fun this fall! 💪
#Cyclocross #CrossIsComing #RockCityCycles #RideWithUs #CrossOnTheRock
Parting Shot
Bring the kids out for the Riverway Dental Hot Lap! A great way to get kids involved and the perfect progression into the Launch category!!
