This winter our Jim Ridler Bursary recipiants Isaac, Jorgie, Nathan and Scarlett enjoyed a packed cyclocross calendar and here they report on the highlights of their CX seasons.

Isaac Weir (U14)

Jumping up to the under 14 category was always going to be a challenge but I was looking forward to moving up this season and I really enjoyed being able to ride the full course for cyclocross and felt that the longer more technical elements to the courses suited me. I learnt a lot during the season and improved as the season progressed.

I was really pleased that I was able to compete in all 12 rounds of the West Midlands cyclocross league and all the rounds of the National trophy as well. I managed to get a 3rd place at Top barn at Worcester and I was very happy to win the under 14 one bike competition for West Midlands league and to come 6th overall in my category.

The national trophy competition was something I had been looking forward to and I enjoyed all of the rounds. My favourite was Irvine with the big dips and sand section unfortunately I crashed during this round and couldn’t continue the race. I am very grateful for my bursary towards the costs of taking part in all these events and I would like to thank the coaches for their continued efforts to the club.

Jorgie Gillett (U14)

Last U14 cyclocross season completed — and this one was powered by steak due to low iron. This season I mixed up racing in the Central and West Midlands leagues. Doing this alongside national races did mean missing some races due to clashes, unfortunately. I’m really happy to have picked up 8 podiums across the leagues though, and to have finished 2nd overall in the Central league.

My favourite race of the season was definitely Sandwell National trophy, where I achieved my best national result of 6th place. Irvine and South Shields were up there among my top courses. Cycling along the beach in Irvine was awesome — but challenging!

It was also an honour to be selected to represent the Central region at the Inter Regionals in Bradford. It was extremely muddy on the Saturday afternoon, but when it came to the relay event, the heavens opened and it turned into a mud bath! It was a really enjoyable weekend, and I took away a lot that I learned from it.

Overall, in the National Cyclocross Series, I came 11th out of 55 riders. I’m really happy with this result, especially considering I missed one race and had to pull out of Derby. Being pictured in cycling weekly on a double spread was very special too me.

Thank you to Stratford CC for the bursary supporting me with these opportunities to race nationally — and to my dad for pit duty, endless bike washing, and taxiing me around! I’m looking forward to getting back to the circuit for my last year of U14s!

Nathan Edmunds (U12)

I would like to say a big thank you for the support that Stratford Cycling Club have given me over recent years including receiving the Jim Ridler Bursary for the cyclocross season 2025/6. Although I am not yet old enough to be taking part in the national championship races, I raced in the European Junior Cycling Tour of Assen (Netherlands) over the summer where I came 5th overall in my age category, including a podium place (3rd) on the final day of racing in the road race. This was the first time I had done anything as big as this but it was great to get the experience of riding in bigger bunches with riders from across Europe.

The 2025 cyclocross season has been an exciting one, I won 5 out of the 12 races. We went into the final race of the season with me being joint first on equal points with another rider so it came down to the final race as the decider, unfortunately after falling on the icy conditions and loosing my foot out of one of my shoes and then spending the last few laps trying to tighten my shoe back up while still clipped in, it meant I lost a few points . I finished 2nd in the west midlands cyclocross league overall which was a great achievement.

It was good to have some new venues for races this year. My favourite cyclocross races this year were at Baggeridge and the new venue at Princethorpe. Both venues offered different courses, Baggeridge being the wet, muddy race it always is in true cyclocross style with its technical sections and Princethorpe offering a hilly wider course. I also took part in some of the cyclocross races from the Leicester and Central league when there weren’t any west midlands races on to gain experience of riding against different riders on different courses/venues to what I am used to. I gained a podium position in all four races that I took part in, with three being 1st place.

I finished off the season by taking part in the boxing day Kenilworth Cyclo-cross race where the race goes around a wooded area with steep slopes, fallen trees, slippery roots and lots of wet slippery leaves. I was really pleased to win the under 12’s category, and we stayed to watch the adults race which was brilliant, watching them descend down the steep hills at speed was crazy to watch.

I got to take part in some joint cyclocross training sessions with the adult riders from the club, meaning there were a few familiar faces at the cross races, having the extra support of the side lines helped spur me on especially on those tougher courses. Thank you once again for the support from Stratford Cycling club in receiving the bursary, it has really helped towards some of the travelling costs and race entry for the season and I am now looking forward to preparing for the circuit season ahead.

Scarlett Ford (Junior)

A massive thank you to Stratford CC for helping fund my cyclo-cross season as a first year junior. This year I raced 8 West Mids races and 5 national trophies and the national championships. I started the season strong taking the win at the first round of the WMCCL which we hosted as a club which was already one of my goals for the season completed. Every WMCCL I raced I finished in the top 5 in the women’s and won 7/8 races in the Junior category.

The first round of the national series was at Derby where I came 9th, which I was really happy with. Especially as it was my first UCI race and my first UCI points. The second round was up in Falkirk Scotland which was my favourite course of the season and where I managed to finish 6th. A massive thanks to Spencer and Robin for taking me up for the weekend and giving dad a rest from the taxi and pit duty.

The next round was down south at Clanfield. It was a frustrating race for me with a lot of silly small mistakes which cost me, finishing 9th again. The 4th round was at Sandwell Valley which hosted a West Mids race last year. It was nice to be racing close to home for a change. I managed to get my best national result of the season where I came 4th in a very muddy race. The last national race for me was up in Bradford where I came 5th. Definitely the muddiest race of the year. I crashed quite a few times mainly due to a lack of proper mud tyres. I also managed to win the West Midlands regional champs which I was really happy with especially with the very sticky mud, another one of my goals ticked off.

National championship was up in South Shields. Probably one of the toughest conditions I have ever raced in with it snowing during the warm up. During the race it was around -4°C, raining and with the wind coming off the sea and yes I was still in shorts. After 2 weeks off the bike, due to the family holiday, I came 10th which I was disappointed with, but still happy to have come 10th in the national champs and this was my first race for my new race team Liv cycling club - Halo Films.

Overall, I finished the season with 7 wins in the WMCCL, 5 top 10s in the national series and came 2nd overall in the national trophy standings and 5th in the national rankings as a first year junior. A massive thanks to Dad for driving me all over the country and everyone who has helped him in the pits. Also for Stratford CC for the last 5 years for the support and the bursary allowing me to compete at national level. As I now move to Liv Halo Films for the Junior road season, you will still see me on the club bash and TTs.