Cameron Mason claimed his third national title as Xan Crees beat the odds to be crowned the women’s champion at Cyclopark as the curtain fell on the 2025 British National Cyclo-cross Championships.
In the junior races, Oscar Amey successfully defended his title, while Zoe Roche sought redemption to get the national champion.
Elite women
Cat Ferguson (Movistar) was the fastest from the gun in a stacked elite women’s race, with Xan Crees (Spectra Racing p/b DAS), Imogen Wolff (TEAM VISMA - LEASE A BIKE), and defending champion Anna Kay (PROXIMUS - CYCLIS - ALPHAMOTORHOMES CT) in her wake.
Ferguson and Crees tussled for the lead in the opening stages of the race, with Wolff a handful of seconds behind. As riders tackled the challenges of mud, hurdles and slaloms, the distance between the front two ebbed and flowed.
The fourth lap saw Ferguson reclaim the lead and looked to be riding away with it, before a Crees showed her determination to fight back and overtake her.
Crees eased over the hurdles in the penultimate lap, with Ferguson 10 seconds back, as Wolff maintained position another 10 seconds behind her.
Coming through the finish line for the final lap, Crees was 20 seconds ahead of Ferguson, with Wolf 12 seconds behind her.
It was a tense final lap, with Ferguson closing in on Crees, with just 13 seconds between them with half a lap remaining, but the Spectra rider continued calmly and powered home. Crossing the line with her arms outstretched, Crees celebrated in style, with Ferguson taking second and the under-23 title to go with her 2024 junior title. Wolff finished in third after a fantastic chase.
Claiming her first national cyclo-cross title, Crees said:
“Last year I dropped my chain right at the start, so it’s been so nice to have my teams support this year when I’ve been doing well. It really was a stacked field today! We had Olympians, two WorldTour riders, defending national champion - it was insane. I knew I wasn’t the favourite coming in, so I just kept going right to the end! I didn’t want to let it go. It just felt incredible at the end.”
Elite men
Cameron Mason (Seven Racing) made it a hattrick of national titles in Gravesend as he sailed to a huge victory over three minutes ahead of the field.
Mason opted for a slower start, allowing Alfie Amey (Trinity Racing) to lead from the gun, with Thomas Mein (Hope Factory Racing) and Mason in tow.
The Scottish rider continued to bide his time, but gradually took the front with Mein, the pair taking turns in the lead in the second lap.
Coming through to the third lap, Mein led by a handful of seconds as the pair were neck-and-neck but disaster struck for the Hope rider soon after. Scaling the stairs, Mason transitioned smoothly back onto his bike, but a particularly muddy section saw Mein take a fall and damaged his bike in the process, meaning he was unable to finish the race.
Mason used this to his advantage and powered away from the field, careful not to make any mistakes and take the title with ease. Ben Chilton (Derby Mercury RC) took second place to secure the under-23 title, as Dan Barnes (Spectra Racing p/b DAS) rode a controlled race to finish third.
Speaking after his win, the Scottish rider said:
“Every single one feels a bit more pressure to do it again but in a way it’s easier because I’ve done it twice before - I knew what was required, I knew how to get the best effort out and do my best race. I’m really proud of my race today and executed it how I wanted to.”
Junior open
The junior open race kicked off the day, with Oscar Amey (Trinity Racing) firing off the start line. With fierce competition from the likes of Milo Wills (GKR Racing) Amey pushed hard in the initial stages, opening up a 10 second gap on his competition.
Amey showed his tenacity and skill to hop over the hurdles with ease and gained speed on the grass straights. As the mud loosened over time, the defending champion overcame slips and falls to maintain a strong lead, taking the win by 48 seconds.
Mills chased the entire race, and had a fantastic finish to take second, while Declan Oldham (Hope Tech Factory Racing) came home third to seize the bronze.
Taking his second title, Amey said:
“It’s great to claim the national title today – even better to do it again. We train here every Tuesday so to have a home force, home crowd, is fantastic.”
Junior women
Zoe Roche (Ribble-Verge Sport) stormed to the junior women’s title after a dominant performance on the slippery slopes of Cyclopark.
Roche was dominant from the start, creating a lead of one minute and 10 seconds by the second lap. Ellie Mitchinson (Montezuma's Eventrex Race Team) fought valiantly behind but was unable to touch Roche.
The Ribble-Verge rider pushed on to extend it to a minute and 40 seconds as she crossed the line to claim her first national title. Mitchinson took second, while Arabella Blackburn (Trinity Racing) finished strongly in third.
Roche said:
“It’s amazing! It’s my first national title so pretty special. I’ve been so close to a national title so many times so it’s great to finally get it.”
Podiums
Elite women
- Xan Crees (Spectra Racing p/b DAS)
- Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team)
- Imogen Wolff (TEAM VISMA - LEASE A BIKE)
Under-23 women
- Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team)
- Imogen Wolff (TEAM VISMA - LEASE A BIKE)
- Hope Inglis (Spectra Racing p/b DAS)
Elite men
- Cameron Mason (Seven Racing)
- Ben Chilton (Derby Mercury RC)
- Dan Barnes (Spectra Racing p/b DAS)
Under-23 men
- Ben Chilton (Derby Mercury RC)
- Ben Askey (Groupama-FDJ La Conti)
- Luke Gibson (4T+ Cyclopark)
Junior open
- Oscar Amey (Trinity Racing)
- Milo Wills (GKR Racing)
- Declan Oldham (Hope Tech Factory)
Junior women
- Zoe Roche (Ribble-Verge Sport)
- Ellie Mitchinson (Montezuma's Eventrex Race Team)
- Arabella Blackburn (Trinity Racing)
