Top cyclo-cross, road and mountain biker, and a regular on the Belgian cyclo-cross scene, Jody Crawforth is on his way back to the top after loosing a bit of motivation over the last 12 months.

While he was at his new team‘s, Arctic RT, training weekend in Wales, Crawforth spoke about some of the differences between Belgian and British cyclo-crosses and why the Belgians, and in particular Sven Nys, are so good at cycling’s winter sport.

“In a Belgian ‘cross you’ve got to be strong, skilful and a much more all round rider than in even the top level British races. Our circuits have become more and more like off-road criterium races. Sometimes you don’t even have to get off your bike once in a British ‘cross, except maybe to jump over a plank. In Belgium you are constantly changing direction, ploughing through sand and running up steep banks or even up and over specially made bridges.

“And the popularity of cyclo-cross is huge in Belgium. The crowds at races are huge, and the top riders are really popular. I even heard that Sven Nys had to go into hiding in Germany to train before this year’s world championships. They wouldn’t leave him alone in Belgium, he couldn’t even go out training

“He didn’t win the worlds, in fact he’s only won the title once, but Nys is still the best ‘cross rider over a full year. He has everything a top ’cross rider needs, strength, agility, skill and speed. On top of that he has the others beat before the start. When the top riders line up against the rider who has beaten them 11 times in a row, they expect his attack. They expect to be beat.

“It‘s the same with Erwin Vervecken in the last lap of a race. If he‘s at the front in the last lap and attacks, the others know they are racing for second. No one can do one lap of a ‘cross course quicker than Vervecken,” Crawforth told us.

There will be a full interview with Jody in an upcoming issue of Cycling Weekly, in their Ride section. And we’ll get regular updates from him whenever he races in Belgium next winter.