The Mazzone brothers endured a six-hour boat crossing in unpleasant conditions and long delays on the motorways to attend the National Cyclocross Championships.

The HSBC-sponsored event took place at Shrewsbury in Shropshire over two days last weekend, with Sunday’s senior men’s attracting a huge entry.

Having watched footage of Saturday’s action, they had an idea of what to expect on a fast and technical course, but heavy overnight rain resulted in very heavy conditions the following day.

They took the option of riding the practice session to get a better idea on tyre selection and pressures ahead of the race, but then had to clean the bikes before preparing for the start. Leon, the more experienced of the two at cycloss, was gridded 17th - Tom 77th.

The race got off to what Leon described as a crazy start. ’The first corner was a tight off-camber section where multiple people lost control of the front and went down.

’Luckily we both stayed upright, but we were held up on numerous occasions on the first lap.

’Tom found it tough on the one bike with the mech clogging up quickly into the race, but he didn’t give up.’

Leon fought his way through the pack to find himself in the top-15 among a world-class field, including eventual winner Tom Pidcock, for the first quarter of the race.

A bout of illness on the week leading up to the event took its toll and he dropped back a few places, but still held on for a solid 10th place senior.

Elder sibling Tom finished 29th in the same class after batting through from a lowly grid place.

This concluded the national cyclocross season for the pair, which they admit was an awesome experience, picking up some solid results along the way. It has also been a great addition to preparations for the forthcoming road racing season.

l Tom and Leon wish to thank everyone who has supported them over the cross season.