Most everyone in the Sea to Sky knows about biking—especially mountain biking. The words “downhill”, “enduro” and “slopestyle” are core components of the local lexicon, and even if you meet someone who doesn’t ride, they likely have all sorts of friends and relatives who do. Whistler Mountain Bike Park is the beating heart of our summer recreational scene, with scores of people crushing trails from A-line to Crabapple Hits.
Speak the word “cyclocross”, however, and you’ll get a bunch of confused looks. Ethan Wood doesn’t mind them, though. He prefers practicing a sport where he can stand out, and his recent victory at the Canadian National Cyclocross Championships has no doubt turned heads within his community.
Wood also excels at his other sport, the more traditional art of cross-country biking. He is the second-highest ranked rider in this year’s Canada Cup XC Series and aims to go far on that circuit as well.
What is cyclocross?
A non-Olympic discipline, cyclocross has been described as a hybrid between mountain biking, road cycling and steeplechase. Events take place on closed courses anywhere from one to three kilometres in length, courses littered with all manner of embankments, hurdles, tree roots, steep hills and other obstacles. Furthermore, the sport’s season runs through autumn and winter, introducing thick mud and adverse weather into the equation.
Unlike other types of bike athletes, cyclocross riders must frequently dismount and carry their vehicles over otherwise-insurmountable barriers. The rest of the time, they’re clawing through a soup of on-road and off-road carnage. Their competitive lives are dirty, grueling and high-impact—and that’s music to Wood’s ears.
“I love just how hard it is—the battle of attrition,” he explained. “You have to be physically and mentally strong the whole time to go through it, and your heart rate is jacked the entire time.”
Wood knew that he would be disadvantaged trying to compete with downhillers and enduro riders who started earlier than himself. Instead, the Pemberton native (who has been cycling since early childhood) trained to upgrade his lower-body strength and checked out cyclocross on the recommendation of some friends. It’s one of the better decisions he’s ever made.
Canadian champion
Back on Nov. 25, Wood prevailed among U17 boys at this year’s cyclocross nationals in Saanich, B.C. He earned 360 points, well clear of runner-up Larix Hallett (310) and bronze medallist Amos Scott Bouris (175).
“My big goal for this season coming in was to win that title, so it was pretty awesome to be able to [do it],” said Wood. “I had a lot of nerves coming up to it, and there’s a lot of different challenges.
“That race was supposed to be on [Vancouver Island] for three years now. The first time it got canceled due to the rain. Then last year, I had a chest infection and a broken hand so I had to skip it. This race has been in my mind for the longest time ever, so it was pretty awesome to finally suit up.”
Wood’s sky-high ranking in the Canada Cup XC Series displays his versatility as a rider. His 280 points over the course of last season put him behind only Tristan Taillefer of Quebec (485). However, the brief period of time between the cross-country and cyclocross seasons makes for a demanding turnaround.
“It’s a lot of training,” he said. “You have to change over and you have to start practicing different skills like the flat corners. You have to run…which I never would do for mountain biking. Especially here in Canada, cyclocross starts right when the mountain bike season ends.”
It’s a lot to juggle, but Wood is grateful to his father Russ and coach Tobin McCallum for helping him develop on and off the bike.
With November’s championship in Saanich marking the end of his competitive campaign, the young Pembertonian has a few months to rest and rejuvenate. Come 2024, he intends to take a run at the top of the cross-country world as well, aiming for a national championship podium and the No. 1 spot in the overall. After that, it will be back into the mud and blood of cyclocross.
