UK Cyclocross

[avanti]

Looking at the UCI cyclocross rankings for elite men the highest ranked Brit is number 96 (before this weekends racing). I'm surprised seeing how well UK road, track and women CX riders do.
What is the reason UK riders rank so low?
Will the UK have any elite men compete in the worlds next month?

 

[Monty Dog]

In a word - funding. Because CX isn't an Olympic sport, it receives no / limited funding for the elite programme. Likewise, because of the low world ranking it's unlikely to change any time soon.

 

[avanti]

I hope the british women do well in the WC.

 

[orbeas]

In a word - funding. Because CX isn't an Olympic sport, it receives no / limited funding for the elite programme. Likewise, because of the low world ranking it's unlikely to change any time soon.

there is no lack of funding !!
British Cycling charges a levy of £3 per rider over 16 and £5 for non BC members.. on most weekends 1000 riders ride cyclo X in the uk so thats an average of say £3500 plus per week..
now times that by 18 weeks = £63000..

Where does the money go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Monty Dog]

The money goes to BC to pay for things like insurance, affiliations, commissaires, expenses, petrol etc. £63k will barely pay for 1 full-time official. You'd need 10x this amount of programme to pay for a decent development programme.

 

[martin booth]

...........well I find myself agreeing with both orbeas and Monty Dog.Orbeas says that the income from levies ,amounts to around £68,000 per season,which must be about right I would have thought.And Monty Dog says that ,that sort of finance would'nt pay for an administrator.........once again about right.
But thats not the only income that BC draw from uk cyclo cross, is it .The licence fee/membership for that 1000 riders Orbeas speaks of must raise around £70,000 (If we assume that 500 are full senior members and the rest Junior and below).
Now I must say that a sum of £140,000,is still not enough to fund a comprehensive development programme,it would need far more,but surely that type of income should mean that more than the present approx,. £25,000,ought to be found to support the International race programme.Especially when you take into account that in the final year of the British Cyclo-Cross Association that sum was £32,000,when possibly we had only half the amount of competitors.