AusCycling Cyclo-cross National Series Preview: Rds 5 & 6
The penultimate race weekend of the 2025 AusCycling Cyclo-cross National Series (CXNS) is headed to Adelaide this weekend, with Port Adelaide Cycling Club playing host to the nation’s finest CX racers for the weekend.
The Weather
Ordinarily the most distinctive feature of the Not The Circus course is the loose, dry mulch that makes up much of the racing surface. This surface quickly forms ruts that have little structure to them and are easily blown out by less-than-perfect cornering technique, meaning that the best line through a certain mulch section can change markedly from lap to lap.
Last year’s Adelaide rounds of the CXNS were held just over the road from Ellis Park in Zombie Park, and conditions were warm, dry and dusty.
Fast-forward twelve months and the forecast could scarcely look more different, with rain projected to fall before, during and after the CX action on course.
Adelaide has hosted rainy races before - notably the day after the National Championships in 2017 and round 2 of the 2022 CXNS - but the combination of heavy rain on Friday and persistent showers over the race weekend means that mud tyres will be the name of the game. Take our advice - save some time and book your bike in for a service in advance!
The course
Located on Kaurna country just west of Adelaide’s CBD, the Ellis Park course - nicknamed ‘Not The Circus’ by the locals for the travelling carnival that is often based there - is a regular venue for the Pedla Crossfire Cup (the state CX series in South Australia) and hosted rounds of the CXNS in 2018 and 2019.
Here’s the map that Port Adelaide Cycling Club have provided of this weekend’s course.
In case the image above doesn’t make it clear, the staging area for riders on Saturday will be at the south end of the home straight, with riders set to head north through the finish line and past the team tents before starting their lap.
The early corners are set to be grassy and flat, though the heavy rainfall is likely to mean muddy corners and a few spills as riders compete for space early on.
The course will weave its way through a series of right-angle corners in the first couple of minutes before passing over the barriers. The wet conditions are going to make bunnyhopping the barriers much trickier than normal, though there will likely still be riders in the Elite races who try their luck.
The easy sight lines to the barriers from the event village are going to be great for spectators - though it may come at the expense of the pride of a couple of riders!
After passing the barriers, riders will make a right turn and pass the pits, before coming onto one of the longer power sections of the course, heading south on a hard-packed path parallel to the train tracks.
The course’s main climb is in the bottom left hand corner of the course map, and will possibly see gaps form if more powerful riders lay down enough watts.
The remainder of the lap will include several technical corners of varying angles, which should be made more technical by the wet conditions.
The course is due to be reversed on Sunday, with only minor revisions expected.
Videos from the Vault
As the Not The Circus course has been such a staple of CX racing in South Australia, finding video evidence of past laps was surprisingly straightforward.
Big thanks to long-time Port Adelaide member Carl Purczel for recording his racing laps on video - it makes our job so much easier!
The Not The Circus course was used just a couple of weeks ago in round 4 of the 2025 Pedla Crossfire Cup, and probably gives the most insight into this weekend’s course, given that the weather was a little cooler and there was a bit more moisture in the course.
Thankfully we also have points of comparison from club racing over the previous decade, though the drier conditions might make any insights a bit less applicable to the likely mudfest heading to Adelaide this weekend.
What are your thoughts on the prospective course for the Adelaide rounds of the 2025 AusCycling Cyclocross National Series? Are you making a last-minute decision to fit some mud tyres before the weekend - or possibly some floaties?
You can follow all the action here on CX Down Under, as well as on our Facebook and Instagram pages.