First Frischi, now Tow Tow: Ritchey’s Cyclocross Racers

Train before or after work, race on the weekends, and be home in time for dinner and a movie with the family, cyclocross has forever been the discipline of the most willful racers. Racing ‘cross promises lots of fun in exchange for some intense suffering. If you want to score a top ten finish or climb the podium, you must learn from these Ritchey racers what it’s like to try and level an uneven playing field through training, technique, and equipment.

Ritchey’s history with ‘cross began in the late 1980s, when Ritchey dispatched a pair of U.S. racers to compete against the Europeans in Sardinia, Italy. It’s there where they spotted the talent of a junior racer from Switzerland, who was sporting the rainbow stripes given only to the world champion. 18-year-old Thomas Frischknecht – it seemed – had something the others just didn’t — what could he do with a bike built around his ambitions? The Swiss Cross was designed by Tom Ritchey in homage to Thomas Frischknect, who inspired Ritchey’s enduring presence in cyclocross.

Then, same as now, Ritchey has worked with some of the most celebrated cyclocross racers. These days you would do well to learn the names of Tofik Beshir, Ben Frederick, Gosse van der Meer, and of course, Jens Adams. Their ages span nearly two decades, yet it’s the youngest one who relies on the strength of steel bikes to race (and win) with, having broken a couple aerospace frames before his 18th birthday. One of Ritchey’s other ‘cross racers is finishing his masters degree in satellite engineering and is as knowledgeable about material composition as he is particular about tire pressure. But perhaps the most dynamic racer is the one with a distant view of the podium, who’s suffered more off-the-bike than on, and who’s now spending his own time and money to foster a new culture of ‘cross.

One thing all these racers have in common, however, is an obsessive attention to components selection, as you will see.

“If you have to ask, you probably don’t deserve it” is a rather cynical reaction — especially to a bike racer who’s soliciting sponsorship. When a racer like Ben Frederick comes along, however, it’s you who’s asking to sponsor him and you really hope he says “Yes.”

Thus began Ritchey’s eight-year-long (and counting) relationship with Ben, whose hyped-up, jovial attitude radiates far beyond the course tape to jolt fans out of their needless scrolling with his unfiltered doses of life as an elite ‘cross racer. “Spraying stoke,” as he calls it, takes many forms, like making sure a promising teen racer is seen and supported in an effort to further his racing career, or casting Traumatic Brain Injury, depression, and anxiety out of the shadows and into the spotlight through his Small Monsters Project, or his latest endeavor, Project Lead Lap, in which he — as someone who works full time and manages a nonprofit on the side — attempts to finish the lead lap racing against the world’s best cyclocross racers.

“The global goal is to show people that you can have a hobby — whether it's bikes in this case, or photography, or whatever — that you can still kind of go all in while still having responsibilities and adulting and a full life,” Ben said. “And for me, that was a big goal coming here to be able to not get pulled so that I can finish on the same lap as the best in the world.”

To achieve this goal, Ben admitted to times of acute imbalance in his life, where he was on his bike at 6:30 a.m., back by 8:30 for a quick run before getting to the office by 9:00 or 10:00, then hitting the gym after work for another training session. Eventually, he will bring his life back into balance but for now, he’s working toward his goal and an even greater one, which is the documentary about Project Lead Lap.

Ben rides and races with a 42cm WCS Evocurve handlebar (down from his normal 44cm), which lines up a little bit better with his shoulders and makes it easier to maneuver “in traffic.” He’s paired that with a 100mm Toyon stem because it’s a bit shorter and snappier for him. He’s running the WCS Zero seatpost, which is crucial for its fore and aft adjustment. WCS pedals and bottle cages round out his setup from Ritchey.

Jens grew up in the Belgian countryside without quick and easy access to replacement parts. If he broke something, he’d have to fix it, which also came in handy when he had to buy his own racing bikes because he could service them on his own to make them last longer. Given his mechanical expertise, he commands total control over his race bike setup.

“A ‘cross bike has to be aggressive, but in comparison with my road bike I set my handlebar a bit higher and a bit shorter,” explained Jens. “I love to put my saddle a bit back to have more pressure on the rear wheel, which helps me to create more power and traction in mud and sand sections. For cornering it’s also important to have enough comfort, so I have a two-centimeter shorter reach between handlebar and saddle than my road bike. This is all the result of the experience I have built, and my own personal preferences.”

Jens, as well as the others featured here, all agree that components for cyclocross must be reliable.

“It’s the most intense and demanding discipline in cycling for bikes and components. You have crashes, bad weather conditions, and bikes without suspension or big tires. And of course, bikes for ‘cross have to be as light as possible, but if you want to survive a cyclocross season, it has to be robust and not break down.”

Jens rides with Ritchey’s WCS Skyline handlebar, Comp Switch System stem and headset, WCS Carbon Link Flexlogic seatpost, WCS Carbon Streem saddle, Comp Cork bar tape, and WCS XC pedals.

For any gear nerd, one of the first things you’ll notice about Tofik (Tow Tow) Beshir is that he races on a Swiss Cross. He’s literally a 21st century racer, having been born on March 5, 2007, of the Gregorian calendar or more precisely, on Yekatit 26, 1999, his birthday in his native Ethiopia. This puts him in a league of his own as a racer under the age of 20 who prefers steel over carbon fiber. He’s hard on bikes and his minimum requirement is that they don’t break, which has been marginally successful so far, but he’d prefer a 100-percent success rate. He met his perfect match with the Swiss Cross — a bike he’s ridden to 11 podium finishes this season.

Tofik got into cycling through Phoenix Bikes, a nonprofit in Arlington, Va. (U.S.A.) that combines youth educational programs with a full-service professional bike shop and retail store. He built up his first bike at Phoenix and earned lifelong skills in bike mechanics, which also puts him in total control of his bike setup. This makes him a double threat, since not only is he fast; he can also fine-tune his equipment selection for each race.

“The type of parts you put on the bike can completely change the way it rides,” Tofik explained. “If you use heavier components, like wheels or drivetrains, the bike can feel sluggish — almost like a tank, which makes it harder to pedal. But with lightweight parts, the bike comes alive, almost feeling like it’s flying. This is especially noticeable on the Swiss Cross because of how the frame is designed. The front end is built to flex when tackling rough terrain, which is common for many bikes, but the Swiss Cross feels entirely different with lighter parts.”

Tofik also races with the WCS Skyline handlebar, WCS C220 73D stem, and the WCS 1-Bolt Zero Offset Seatpost.

A chance photo of Gosse van der Meer snacking on Maeda Seika Crickets (bite-sized cookies) went viral on social media in Japan and ended up getting seen by the owner of the cookie manufacturer, Maeda Confectionery. It turned out that the snack boss was also a cycling fan, and he invited Gosse to race ‘cross in Japan for the 2024/2025 season.

Gosse has raced professional cyclocross for more than a decade, and some decisions about equipment selection are second nature to him. As a masters student in satellite engineering, he applies his study habits to analyze each race to form a plan. Yet he still must get to the races to execute his plan.

“Travelling so much and having bikes go in and out of bags to fly with them, I want reliable and easy to access parts,” Gosse explained. “Therefore, I explicitly don't use internal cable routing and a separate bar and stem combination. I can fit two bikes in one bike bag, but I need to remove the forks from the frames. To avoid scratches and dents, I take the stems completely off, as well as run my front brake hoses external to the forks. This has helped to substantially reduce travel costs by only needing to check one bike bag but still being able to use two bikes.”

Gosse races with a 420mm WCS Skyline handlebar because he prefers the subtle anatomical bend and the balance and stability it provides on sandy courses and muddy roots. He’s also equipped with a WCS C220 73D stem, WCS Carbon Zero seatpost, WCS Road bar tape, and Classic Neoclassic handlebar (for his display bike).

Riding and racing with Ritchey isn’t just about the bike, but rather how each rider’s performance has been improved by their preference for Ritchey parts. Choosing the right parts is akin to choosing the right line — a bad choice can cost you the race. We didn’t earn the trust of our ‘cross racers through inflated marketing claims about Ritchey products — they would’ve seen right through that anyway. Instead they rely on Ritchey frames and components because we do what we said we’d do all along: design and build elite parts for professional cyclocross racers.