Who remembers Four-Cross? I sure do, but after being removed from the UCI World Championship after the 2021 season, it seemed to be lost forever. MTB 4X was always a unique discipline, but fell out of favor, and I don’t know why. It’s one of the most exciting MTB race formats to watch as a spectator, and the way Core Cross is resurrecting it makes it better than ever, albeit much rowdier.
Alex Blanar had the idea to bring this format back to life, but not in the “racer ready, watch the gate” style of the old days; instead, Core Cross is 4X but very, very core. It’s not polished, there’s no jersey or World Championship, just hot, nasty speed and a lot of energy. It’s four riders on track together with the throttle full twist into long and low’s, corners, and whoops.
Sure, there’s a little bit of racing, and a check for the winner, but there was also a long jump event, and a best trick, but it was mostly just bike riding in the woods with a bunch of homies who all wanted to have a bunch of fun.
Bike Cracks
From a spectator and rider perspective, Core Cross looks like an absurd amount of fun, and I really hope we see more events like this – honestly, it’s pretty roots and wouldn’t be that hard to organize locally. It’s something that anyone can get behind, and a big part of the sport of mountain biking. Core Cross represents an aspect of freedom and counter-culture that I feel like the sport needs right now. It’s not all about timed runs or the most progressive combo of tricks in a competition run (although those things are great).