Interview: Cameron Mason

A Scottish rider attracting attention to himself with some stunning performances, Cameron Mason has been interview by Dutch website and magazine WielerFlits. Here’s a google translation of said article.

Interview: Cameron Mason

Cameron Mason: A Scottish rider attracting attention to himself with some stunning performances, Cameron Mason has been interview by Dutch website and magazine WielerFlits. Here’s a google translation of said article.

The 22-year-old Scot only made his entrance for this season in the Dublin World Cup, but has had an outstanding time results and performance wise during the Christmas period. “At Trinity there is no pressure of having to ride a full cross program and that is why I was able to peak in a targeted manner,” he told WielerFlits.

During 2022, the MTB Under 23 World Championship was his main goal. “It was a very impressive week there in Les Gets,” says the Scot. “It was my first World Championship and after a very fast season, I wanted to end the summer well. However, Rab Wardell died four days before the event.

“We rode together a lot. When I was ten or twelve years old, I really looked up to Rab. He was the rider who raced abroad and represented Scotland. His loss has hit the entire British cycling family hard.”

“A week after the World Championship it became clear that I had gone quite deep physically and mentally,” explains mudmaster Mason. “I immediately quit my summer program and gave myself four weeks off to reset. I started training again at the beginning of October. I set clear goals: to be good over the Christmas period, at the British championship and at the World Championships in Hoogerheide.”

“Those are the crosses that matter. In the meantime, I felt like I took home a cross in Falkirk, which I won. During the World Cup in Dublin, I then wanted to see how I was doing. With tenth place, that turned out to be more than decent.”

Winning the last time out at Cyclopark

Until the World Cup in Gavere, Mason trained very hard, at home in Linlithgow (close to the capital Edinbrugh) and in Cyprus. “I have come to realize that you have to take what you can get,” he cryptically refers to Wardell’s death.
“I have now taken the time to prepare myself really well. I’ve always let working in the weight room slip, despite several people pointing this out to me. That was a real weakness. Now I have completed a gym program for eight weeks, with this result. I have to keep prioritizing that.”

Posing a danger in the ‘World Cup show’
Mason was fifth in the X2O Trophy in Herentals on Tuesday, after he was surprisingly best of the rest in the Exact Cross of Loenhout after Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pidcock.

“I seem to be able to maintain the form that I have built up towards the Christmas block. Putting concrete goals on paper and remaining patient is now paying off. I am surprised that the specific preparation makes such a difference. And it’s cool to be a part of the impressive hype surrounding those big three. When I open Twitter, I only read opinions and quotes about crosses that I ride. Also the atmosphere is really beautiful!”

With Pidcock absent from the British championship, Mason now feels the pressure to capture the national tricolour. “That was also there last year, when Tom also did not participate. But now I am a year wiser and more mature. Hopefully that helps. Thomas Mein is my main competitor and like me, he has shown strong results in recent weeks. It’s always a crazy game.”

Winning as the snow falls at the National Trophy in Bradford

“You just have to hope for good legs. I look forward to that. On the other hand, I don’t feel any pressure either, because I’ve already shown myself in the last two weeks. My winter can not go wrong, the British championship is not a make or break-cross.”

Then he hopes to play another special trick. “I will skip the World Cups in Besançon and Benidorm. Then I go to Girona for a training block. I could also have gone to Calpe, but then I would have been tempted to ride Benidorm anyway. I deliberately stay away from that.

I’m going all-in for the World Championship in Hoogerheide, with the same approach as before Christmas. That is where the confirmation of my season should come with a top result. Initially, I thought of top-10. But maybe the rest will forget me a bit if I skip Besançon and Benidorm. As a dark horse, on a really good day and with the right amount of mud, I might be able to aim for an even higher result. I know my weapons.”

Cameron Mason Programme
05-01-2023: X²O Trofee Vlaamse Duinencross Koksijde (C2)
07-01-2023: Clanfield Cross (C2)
08-01-2023: National Trophy Series Gravesend (C2)
15-01-2023: Brits kampioenschap veldrijden, Crooklands
28-01-2023: X²O Trofee Flandriencross Hamme (C2)
05-02-2023: WWorld Championships Hoogerheide

Source: https://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/cameron-mason-baart-opzien-dankzij-wake-up-call-ik-ken-mijn-wapens/