Hello cyclocross friends! It's been a while since our last episode, so we wanted to come out of the gates strong. For this week's Crosshairs Radio we chat with the original young gun, the boy wonder, an guaranteed hall of famer who may need a parent or guardian to gain admission to the hall of fame, Mathieu van der Poel. MTB, CX, road, MX, we cover it all in a compact conversation from the inside of the Corendon-Circus camper in Vallnord, Andorra.

For the second half of the show, it's a conversation with Christopher Blevins, who is the current U23 CX National Champ and the 2017 U23 MTB National Champ. In 2018, Chris dipped his foot in the elite waters and ended up on the podium in third. We talk about his life as a bike racer, balancing road, MTB and cyclocross … and we talk about music.

This episode is brought to you by our partnership with Grimpeur Bros and the amazingly tasty Full Schleck blend. You can get these tasty and possibly magical beans here: https://www.grimpeurbros.com/products/wap-coffee.

Also, check out the women's cyclocross camp Crosshairs Cycling is hosting Aug 18 at the Armed Forces Retirement Home (venue for DCCX). We have an amazing staff of coaches including Arley Kemmerer, Crystal Anthony, Rachel Rubin, Dan Chabanov and Rusty Williford who will make faster without you getting any fitter. It's also possibly magical. Categories from junior to beginner to intermediate to advanced are available. Register here: https://www.bikereg.com/dc-womens-cx-camp.

Mathieu van der Poel is on Instagram at @mathieuvanderpoel

Chris Blevens is on Instagram at @christopherblevs

Grimpeur Bros is on Instagram at @grimpeurbrosspecialtycoffee

Thanks as always for tuning in. If this is your first time listening, you can explore the rest of our episodes here. You can support the show and this site by checking out our swag at www.crosshairscycling.com/shop. Also visit www.cyclocrossbook.com to get your copy of Skills Drills and Bellyaches: A Cyclocross Primer.

Crosshairs Radio is part of the Wide Angle Podium podcast network. Check out  www.wideanglepodium.com, listen to the shows, and consider becoming a member.

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Also follow my favorite MTB clients on Instagram, @trekfactoryracingxc and @clifproteam 

Check out Crosshairs Television for recap and commentary video from the latest (predominantly) U.S. UCI cyclocross events (subscribe to the channel, give a thumbs up and leave a comment):  www.crosshairstelevision.com.

Please subscribe to Crosshairs Radio and all of the Wide Angle Podium shows 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 the show on Twitter at @crosshairsradio. You can follow me, @cxhairs,  on Instagram and Twitter. Have a question, comment, complaint or general inquiry? Hit us up at feedback.cxhairs@gmail.com. And don't hesitate to call the hot line: 405-CXHAIRS.