Mason delivers performance for the ages at European Championships: 'What a privilege it is to pour my heart and soul into it'

There were 35 riders at the start of the European Cyclocross Championships for elite men, and the long starting straight would prove crucial, given the narrow course that followed. Mason had an extremely poor start: he entered the first turn in 28th place. After one lap, he was more than twenty seconds behind, but gradually he worked his way through the pack. And so he closed in on the top positions.

He left truly strong riders like Michael Vanthourenhout and Mees Hendrikx behind and, with the fastest lap of the day (6:19), closed in on the chasing group, which included Joris Nieuwenhuis and Niels Vandeputte. There, he immediately took control. With one lap to go, he had closed the gap to Nys and Joran Wyseure to about eight seconds. Was there still more he could do?

In the end, the answer turned out to be no. Mason had to admit defeat in the final lap: in the sprint, Vandeputte, Nieuwenhuis, and Kevin Kühn were too strong. After finishing sixth, Mason is absolutely gutted. “I didn’t stop believing until one lap from the end, when I threw it all away,” he said in a statement on X. “Even after the shocking position I’d put myself in during the first part of the race, I wasn’t raised to give up.”

The resilience the Scot showed was remarkable. “Today, just like with the rest of life, I realised that no one is going to solve it for you. There are so many wonderful people who will help you, guide you, and believe in you. But when it comes down to it, you have to do it yourself.”

"That's why today was so painful," Mason laments. But he also knows that if he can keep this form going, he still has a very promising cyclocross winter ahead of him. “I showed how much I wanted it, but I fell short of a result on paper. But what a privilege it is to pour my heart and soul into tackling tough challenges. I’ll be back,” he concludes.