Rainbows in the Mud: Inside the Intoxicating World of Cyclocross - Book Review

It's hard to get away from the fact that cyclocross is a niche sport. Outside the sport's Belgian heartland of Flanders, truly professional cyclocross riders are rare, and there is often little media attention to speak of. As a result, books in English about the subject are few, and even those that do exist are often difficult to track down.

So when I stumbled across a copy of Paul Maunder's Rainbows in the Mud: Inside The Intoxicating World of Cyclocross on sale the week before Christmas, it felt like too good an opportunity to pass up.

So what’s it about?

Rainbows in the Mud is an account of the events of one season (specifically 2015-16) in professional cyclocross, following events and riders from Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA. Each chapter of the book deals with a different part of the cyclocross season in chronological order, starting with the first UCI World Cup of the season at CrossVegas and following the storylines of riders such as Katie Compton, Gage Hecht, Dan Tulett and Corné van Kessel through the season, eventually culminating at the UCI World Championships in Zolder. 

This format works well for telling the stories of certain riders on both sides of the Atlantic as the season progresses, such as Dan Tulett's weekly fluctuations in form or Katie Compton's battles with seasonal allergies. The level of Maunder's access to the riders he interacts with is impressive, and their candidness serves as a reminder that even though they are athletes at the top of the sport, their lives are still not easy ones.

Strengths and Weaknesses

As the format of the book progresses through the season, it also provides Maunder with an opportunity to tell the story of the cyclocross from its inception in the early 20th century through to the modern day, interwoven with the week-in, week-out racing of the unfolding 2015-16 cyclocross season. At times this works superbly - the post-career methamphetamine addiction of seven-time world champion Erik de Vlaeminck is told with unflinching detail - but at other times the transition is a little less smooth. The importance of a good starting sprint, something that would seem ideal for including in the first chapter or two, isn't mentioned until page 208, by which time Maunder is on the ground at the American national championships.

What does work well is that Maunder is unafraid to tackle the ways in which the sport is unfamiliar or intimidating to English-speaking outsiders. One incident that stands out in particular is around Christmas, when Maunder travels to a Dutch race, only to see a version of Zwarte Piet (a blackface companion of Santa Claus which is common in the Netherlands, but has come under fire in recent years for its racial insensitivity) on the podium. The local Dutch riders on the podium think nothing of it, but it makes Maunder and several other bystanders uneasy. Although the author is a professed fan of cyclocross, this book is by no means a love letter.

“This world that I’ve entered is small, powerful, odd, and more than a little unnerving.”

Arguably the best section of the book concerns the motor doping scandal of Femke van den Driessche. The Belgian rider's illegal mechanical assistance is set up through a brief mention in an early chapter when she suspiciously drops some of the world's best riders up a steep climb in the early season Koppenbergcross, but isn't paid off until the full extent of her cheating is uncovered at the World Championships at the end of the book. By that time you've learned enough about the struggles of most professional riders to gain significant context about why her actions (and those of her family, who Maunder heavily implies are pressuring her into cheating) are so harmful to cyclocross and cycling as a whole.

What Maunder takes pains to mention at the outset is that the book isn't dedicated to tracking the technological innovations in the sport, or (to a lesser extent) the running of the sport at a grassroots level. It's good that the lack of technological focus is addressed, but at the time of writing the use of disc brakes and electronic shifting had only just become widespread among elite riders. Given that arguably the biggest tech story of the decade happens in the final third of the book, it's hard not to think of the lack of focus on the changing technical side of the sport as a missed opportunity.

One final point for audiences Down Under: although as an English-speaking author largely covering English-speaking riders Maunder is an outsider telling the stories of other outsiders, the development of the sport outside of Europe, the UK and USA is not mentioned. This is likely as much of a function of how such a book would be marketed as anything else, as those latter two countries represent the two biggest audiences for an English language book about cyclocross. As a result, it's not your best bet for coverage of your favourite local riders if you live in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, or really anywhere outside of Europe or the USA. 

(Cyclocross) Pros and Cons

Pros

- Depth of access with professional riders on both sides of the Atlantic.

- Skilful interweaving of cyclocross history with present day events.

- Excellent coverage of the Femke van den Driessche motor doping scandal.

Cons

- Some editing slip-ups that break the flow.

- No time given to big technical changes (I.e. disc brakes, electronic shifting), or their impact.

- No discussion of the sport outside of Europe and the USA.

Summary

Although I've done a bit of nitpicking here, don't leave this review thinking that this book isn't worth your time, because it absolutely is. To find a book about professional cyclocross in English, and one capable of telling a compelling story at that, means that I heartily recommend it if you're looking for a gift for that pro cyclocross fan in your life - even if that fan is you.

Like the sound of Rainbows in the Mud? You can purchase the book here.