When the days get shorter, and the temperature gets colder, most cyclists turn in their jackets for a set of rollers. Cyclocross gives people who are too crazy, or stubborn, or a little of both, an outlet for their cycling energy.

It is said cyclocross was invented by a frenchman by the name of Daniel Gousseau. Primitive cyclocross involved point-to-point races that would cross farmers fields and other hazardous terrain.  Most seasoned road riders would use it as a form of off-season training. The first national champion in the discipline was crowned in France in 1902. France, also, played host to the first professional cyclocross race in the city of Paris  in 1924.

Cyclocross mixes the power and speed of road racing with bike-handling skills and technical ability acquired through mountain biking. No one type of rider rules the discipline as both seasoned road racers (See: Tim Johnson, The US Champion, who rides for UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis) and champion Mountain Bike Racers (See Ryan Trebon, The 2007 National Champion who rides for the Kona Factory Mountain Bike Squad). The best cyclocross racer incorporates a mix of all biking skills.

Cyclocross races take place on many different surfaces, from grass, mud and singletrack to sand and tarmac. Obstacles lie in the riders path in the form of steep, unridable hills, 18 inch high barriers to be hurdled and deep sand pits that stop even the most powerful riders.