Ben Frederick is a professional bike racer whose name outside of the Mid-Atlantic region may not be one you know. But you may soon. At the time we recorded this podcast he was ranked 15th in the ProCX standings, finished fourth at Charm City, third and fifth at DCCX and has moved up to 150th in the UCI world rankings.

Ben had dreams of being a pro road racer and now is refocusing those dreams to cyclocross. He has started his own team, Beyond CX, and has a great story.

This is a long episode. But I think you'll like it. We cover a lot of ground and for anybody with dreams of glory in professional cyclocross, I think it's a really nice look into what it looks like on the way up. Ben has fought through some substantial setbacks but continues to strive for the top tier of cyclocross. By the time we're done talking, you'll no longer ask the question: Who is Ben Frederick.

For more information about Ben and his team, check out www.beyondcx.rocks. Follow Ben at @benjamfred and @beyondcxrocks.

Follow me @cxhairs on Twitter and Instagram.

Have a question or comment? Send them to [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

For Episode 8 of Crosshairs Radio I sit down in the cxhairs.com studio with Richard Sachs Cyclocross Team rider Dan Chabanov for a conversation about racing bikes, the good, bad, and ugly of U.S. cyclocross, and the realities of being pro in the domestic ranks.

Our chat took place after a long day of racing at the Saturday edition of the UCI C2 DCCX event. Dan raced, I wore both promoter and announcer hat and we were both a bit punchy by the time we sat down in my basement for a talk. Despite the exhaustion, we had a lively conversation that was truly that ... just a conversation. About bike racing.

After listening, go follow Dan on twitter and Instagram if you don't already. He's @danchabanov on both. Also check out the cyclocross column he does for The Athletic at www.theathleticcommunity.com.

Please subscribe to Crosshairs Radio on iTunes, if that's how you consume podcasts. Also, rate and review on iTunes, even if it's not the way you consume podcasts. 

You can follow me at  @cxhairs on Instagram and Twitter. And support the show by checking out our goods at www.crosshairscycling.com/shop.

Thanks for listening.

For episode seven we talk to Dan Seaton who lives in Brussels, Belgium, and works as a solar physicist during the week. On the weekend, however, he is one of the most knowledgable cyclocross journalists out there. Dan's work can be seen online at www.velonews.com and also in Velo magazine.

Our conversation is wide-ranging. From an in-depth look at the young guns and van Aert's fast start to the season, to Sven's resurgent, the enigma that is Sun Web and the rest of the men's field. We also talk about the women's field who will emerge on top and it's growing acceptance in Belgian culture. In addition, we touch on how America sees Belgian cyclocross and if that adoration is valid and so much more. It's a really fun conversation I think you're going to enjoy.

To clarify the timeline, we recorded the podcast on the Thursday before the Valkenburg World Cup. So when we are talking about "Sunday's race" it's Ronse and not Valkenburg.

Thanks for listening. Please check out www.cxhairs.com and also the store at www.crosshairscycling.com/shop. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @CXHairs and please rate and review on iTunes.

For episode 6 we are joined by Cannondale-CyclocrossWorld.com pro Curtis White, fresh off of two wins at the UCI C2 Charm City Cross in Baltimore, Maryland, and his sister, Emma White, who races for the Cyclocrossworld.com Devo Team. Emma also won both days at Charm City.

I talked to Curtis about how he started in cyclocross and his progression from rising star to a guy who can dictate how races play out. The conversation with Curtis takes place in Druid Hill Park after Saturday's Charm City Cross races so we get a little bit of extra sound in there most notably from the Druid Hill Park ice cream truck at the end of our conversation.

I had originally planned on talking to Emma after Sunday's race in Baltimore, but by the time the podium presentation finished up, the family was ready to start the long drive back to upstate New York and I didn't want to hold them up, so instead we talked Monday morning on the phone. Emma walks us through her silver medal road race in Richmond and the transition to cyclocross.

Thanks for listening. Please check out www.cxhairs.com and also the store at www.crosshairscycling.com/shop. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @CXHairs and please rate and review on iTunes.

Three-time and current U.S. National Cyclocross champ, Jeremy Powers Rapha-Focus/Aspire Racing), joins us for a conversation about preparing for European Cross, the state of U.S. cyclocross, his evolution in training and much much more.

Everything we do is supported by sales of products available at www.crosshairscycling.com/shop. That includes Skills Drills and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer, the skills book featuring Jeremy Powers (also available on Amazon and at www.cyclocrossbook.com). We have new shirts including a dancing bears and bikes shirt, socks, toe spikes and more. Thanks for your support.

And thank you for listening.

Get in touch with us at [email protected] and follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @cxhairs.

Colt McElwaine, the founder of Cycling Dirt and featured commentator on Behind the Barriers TV, joins us to talk cyclocross in the United States. It is a far-reaching conversation that touches on Colt's racing career, the beginning of Cycling Dirt, the future of U.S. cyclocross, current riders and even a cyclocross game at the end. It's a fun conversation, so click start and get rolling.

Colt McElwaine can be found at @doperssuck on Twitter. Also check out his coaching business, Colt Training Systems, www.colttrainingsystems.com.

If you have questions or comments, send them to [email protected].

Also, please rate and review the show on iTunes. And follow us @cxhairs on Instagram and Twitter and on FaceBook at In The Crosshairs-CXHairs.com.

Thanks for listening.

For episode 3 of Crosshairs Radio we talk to Georgia Gould and Ryan Trebon after both had great results at the CrossVegas World Cup race.

Georgia Gould, the multinational mountainbike national champion and olympic medal winner, talks about her CrossVegas race, finding form, equality in racing, heckling, hydrating and (if you can believe it) more.

Ryan Trebon, 2-time national champion in cyclocross and once in cross-country mountainbiking talks about finding new motivation for racing, his CrossVegas experience and how his training and perspective have changed over the years. Ryan doesn't pull any punches and that's why we love talking to him.

Thanks for listening. Please review, rate, and follow. If you have questions or comments, hit us up at [email protected]. Thanks for listening.

Crosshairs Radio catches up with U.S. professional cyclocross legend, Tim Johnson, who has moved to the commentator booth, and Belgian cycling broadcast legend, Renaat Schotte, Sporza in-race Commentator, to talk CrossVegas, the 2015-2016 professional cyclocross season and once again, hydration. Thanks for listening. Questions or comments? Let us know at [email protected].

It's episode one of Crosshairs Radio. A podcast about cyclocross that catches up with the riders who raced in the the top races in the U.S. and Europe. Get the inside scoop from between the tape. Got a question or comment? Let us know at [email protected].