The 2023/2024 Cyclo Cross Season has ended, yes I know, sad, but the 2024/2025 Season will soon be with us. You just have a chance to clean and fettle your bikes, your kit and of course your bodies, some bodies needing a bit more fettling than others.

We could race on to the end of February, but that would need some more organisers and venues, but if they are out there, bring them on, they can be accommodated. I know there is also an appetite from some to start the later, but that would cause a problem to some of our organisers and venues. The official cyclo cross season is from the 1st September to the end of February.

I must welcome on board our new League Sponsors, The South Down Social, whose proprietor is Neil Wyatt, a member of VC Venta. Neil runs the South Down Social which is a hugely popular cyclists café in Winchester, I can testify to the great coffee, great food and thirst-quenching beer. The café is full of cycling memorabilia as well as cycling related t-shirts, posters, mugs and lots more besides, pop along, with or without your bike, you will be welcomed. Neil and South Downs Social have provided the vouchers for each category winner at each race event, and is providing a winners t-shirt and voucher for each League winner, a truly fantastic offering, thank you Neil.

As usual there are lots of people that make up the success of ‘probably the best cyclo cross league in the world’. We have the organisers, the race helpers, the commissaires, the race timing team, the venue owners, the Committee, the pit crews, those at home who allow you/want you to go racing and of course you then riders. Thank you to one and all.

There is a man who has been involved in Wessex Cyclo Cross, in a Committee capacity for over 30 years, and as a rider for even longer, who has now decided to hang up his paperwork duties, Ian Macdonald. As the Wessex Cyclo Cross League has grown, so has Ian’s duties, indeed before each event he probably spends two days sorting out the gridding and organising the commissaires. Ian will be spending more time on his bike, and I’m thinking that you may see him on the starting line next season. So, a huge thank you to Ian for all you have done, enjoy your committee retirement.

Some facts, figures and comparisons with previous seasons

• We had 12 League events, plus the South of England Championships, the same as last Season We had 791, point/participating scoring riders, a decrease of 6% on last season.
• The average number of riders per race meeting is 390, up on last season’s 312.
• We paid BC £10,329.00 in levies.
• We had 64 affiliated Clubs, two less than last season, and 25 individual members, up 2.