Cameron Mason Poised for UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Breakthrough
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A new era is dawning in the world of cyclo-cross, as Cameron Mason prepares to begin the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup campaign as a frontrunner for the opening race win. The 12-round series kicks off this Sunday in Tábor, Czechia, with the Scotsman entering the competition on the strength of a remarkable run of form that has consistently placed him on the podium.
Mason’s recent performances signal a significant shift in his competitive trajectory. While a second-place finish at the Koppenbergcross earlier this month marked an early success, last weekend’s races solidified his status as a serious contender. The 25-year-old Seven Racing rider secured a determined fifth place in the Telenet Suprprestige in Merksplas on Saturday, acknowledging a slightly aggressive early pace. Sunday saw an even more compelling display at the X2O Badkamers Trofee race in Hamme, where Mason engaged in a thrilling head-to-head battle with Thibau Nys (Baloise-Glowi Lions), arguably the most intense duel of the season thus far. Despite finishing second, the race demonstrated clear progress and hinted that a breakthrough victory is within reach.
“We just couldn’t get rid of each other,” Mason shared after a mid-week training ride in the Scottish hills. “If we could, we would have, and there’s a reason why it was so close; it’s just small margins in that last lap. You really have to know how to win as well as know how to ride the fastest.” He acknowledges a newfound understanding of what it takes to compete at the highest level, a realization that has evolved over time.
Mason reflects on a second-place finish at the Superprestige in Boom a few years prior, describing it as a result achieved without the same level of competitive belief. “I was 30 seconds back the whole race, and nothing changed. That was just a very honest second place. I didn’t go home thinking it was a big opportunity,” he explained. “Whereas now, after Koppenberg and then Hamme, I definitely could have done things differently, and that maybe would have been the difference.”
The shift in mindset is palpable. Mason describes a change in approach between the races in Merksplas and Hamme. “I rode the first two, three laps of Hamme, thinking, ‘I’ll just be the front soon, it doesn’t matter.’ Whereas Merksplas was like, ‘I wonder if I’ll see the front,’ and then when I did, now what? I wasn’t really planning to be in the front. So, I think that was the progression; if there’d been a Monday race, I would have known I’m definitely strong enough to win. That’s the confidence steps that I took in just those couple of days.”
A Season of Growth and Physical Transformation
Mason believes this season represents his best form to date. “Without a doubt. The numbers are clearly better, I’m healthier and definitely happier, so it does make sense that that has gone into the results, but it’s not a given, you know how sport works, you can do everything right and then it still doesn’t work.” He emphasizes the importance of translating physical preparation into race performance, a skill he’s honed over the past two years. “But from what I’ve learned, I’m able to apply my best-ever shape into the racing because some people never manage to do that. So, it’s nice to have that confirmation that it’s working.”
He acknowledges that improvements aren’t always linear. “But I’m getting similar results to what I did a couple years ago, but I’m easily 10% better, maybe even 15% better, so that just shows it’s not linear, you can’t expect to get 10% out of the results, because you think you’ve improved 10%, it doesn’t work like that.”
His first season with the Seven Racing team, an affiliate of Alpecin-Deceuninck, in the 2023-24 season proved successful, with consistent top-10 finishes and a standout second-place at the European Championships. Despite defending his British title, the 2024-25 campaign initially faltered. “It felt like a big step down,” Mason admits. “In some ways, I stayed the same, but that was the lesson; you can’t afford to just stay the same, you can’t afford to not improve because the sport moves on without you.”
Reset and Rebuild: A New Approach to Training
The stagnation prompted a crucial reset. Beginning last February, Mason collaborated with the Scottish Institute of Sport and a strength and conditioning coach to focus on building both strength and explosiveness. This intensive training regime resulted in a gain of five kilos in just six months. “Because the bar was so low, the only way was up. I made such big gains in just two, three months, doing the gym two times a week, creatine every day.”
This physical transformation represents the most significant change in his body since his early twenties. “It’s probably the biggest physical change my body’s gone through since age 20 to 21 because I’m quite a late developer. It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone to the gym, but the gym was combined with on the bike stuff, like I didn’t do strength intervals on the bike because I was doing so much on the gym, but we were sprinting a lot more in training. And I think that really helped to kind of just increase that peak value.”
The increased power and explosiveness translate directly to improved starts and a greater ability to position himself at the front of the pack. However, Mason recognizes that physical prowess is only part of the equation. A newfound confidence and maturity, exemplified by his post-race interview in Hamme conducted in Dutch, may be the key to converting podium finishes into victories. The combination of physical and mental fortitude positions Cameron Mason as a legitimate threat in the upcoming UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup season.
