Xan Crees – Lake Ambassador

Riding to the summit, off-road with Xan

Alexandrea, or Xan Crees as she is known, has been quietly making a big impact on the U.K. cycling scene, and especially so on the growing gravel bike scene and cyclocross. Currently the U.K. national cyclocross champion, Xan also won the women’s elite gravel title, back in 2023. It’s fair to say that this young rider from the East Midlands area of the U.K. can handle a bike at speed, off-road. In a sport where bike handling skills can lift your performance above others, it’s going to be interesting to watch Xan as her cycling career continues to evolve.

Currently based near Brighton, where she moved after university, Xan’s cycling began after she watched her dad racing a 24-hour mountain bike marathon – Mountain Mayhem. In her own words, this relaxed and naturally funny individual, jokingly tells me that dad was having a mid-life crisis! However, watching him with her sister, Xan was inspired and said to her dad, ‘I’m going to win this one day!’ True to her word, a few short years later, Xan did what she’d promised, winning the women’s team category race at this legendary mountain bike festival.

Joining the local Derby Mercury club, Xan recalls riding a new Isla Bike after only 3 weeks with the club. Riding her first cyclocross season as a youngster, she tells me that it felt good, whilst in her own words ‘wasn’t spectacular.’ After her first season on the road, racing the U14 category, the feeling was on the road bike was likewise good; and, when she returned to cyclocross in that autumn, her heart was firmly set on mastering this tough and demanding cycling discipline. It remains her favourite form of riding, and it’s a testament to her dedication, that she’s amongst the youngest winners of the national title. However, after talking with Xan at length, I’d be really interested to see her riding more gravel races, too.

Developing as a rider & race

Development for a cyclist such as Xan always entails heading off to Belgium and the amazing cyclocross scene, where the level of the locally based riders and teams was an eye-opener compared to the lack of support for junior women’s teams within the U.K…  Even in terms of the basics, such as post-race cleaning, whilst Xan and her teammates had a wipe down themselves, she was amazed at the cleaning facilities for the Belgium based teams! Her racing career in those early days showed her naivety, as she says herself.

At national events, her progress was good, but she knew that she could do better. Joining the Spectra Team provided a massive confidence boost for this determined athlete and cyclist, and it provided the leap onto podiums that she strived for.

‘At this point, I thought: “I’m really good enough!” It was a great feeling and quite exciting for me. I believe that results follow that mindset of being positive.’  Listening to Xan and seeing her face light up as she talks racing and development, it’s clear that she loves racing and that she won’t stop until she cements her position at the top.

Achieving a cycling life

Whilst women’s cycling has grown in recent years, and has started to receive improved funding and focus, many young riders in the ranks of the women’s pro peloton still have to work alongside their training and race commitment. It’s one reason why Xan made sure that she attended university, at Loughborough, studying natural sciences. Ultimately though, this exceptional young rider wants the freedom to train and to race full-time. Considering her 2 national titles already – on gravel and cyclocross - it’s worthy of note that the system still has development needs in supporting women riders with Xan’s talent and growing cycling palmares.

Talking with Xan, she tells me that ‘In Europe now, thankfully this is happening for women; however, there’s a long way to go in our own setup, and women still have challenges to face as young and developing riders.’

Toughest day & best day on the bike…

As cycling fans and riders living a cycling lifestyle, we often recall the great days watching the pro riders. The smiles and elation of finishing a race successfully. However, it’s the “not-so-good” days that form rider character. Chatting with Xan and asking her this question, she recalls the 2023 gravel bike world’s, held at Treviso, in Italy, and following her success in the national championships in the U.K… She tells me how the course and the climbing seemed to be ridiculously tough, with 5 hours of hard and unrelenting riding, without let-up. Two hours into the race, her nutrition levels were down, and she had to pull on all her mental and physical reserves, just to finish the race.

Conversely, her best day on a bike, and her best feeling ever, was when winning the national cyclocross title for 2024/25. Her face lights up as she tells me, ‘It was the best feeling ever! Everything went right on the day for me and fell into place! I went into the race feeling confident and I really wanted a podium. I thought to myself, “All I need is to keep going and I will get a podium” and was so delighted when I actually won!’

Lake Shoes – Firmly fitted to deliver maximum performance

Xan has been wearing our legendary Lake cycling shoes since her very first team. However, when moving teams, the shoe of choice was another brand, which she says was ‘Not as comfy off-road, whereas Lake really stand out in this area. You can run off the bike easily, due to the excellent sole construction and grip. This really opened my eyes, and I didn’t realise how good I had it until I lost it! Best of all, it allows me to just focus on my riding and having the best possible race!’

Her favourite Lake cycling shoe was the legendary MX332 with toe spikes, due to the exceptional grip that the spikes gave to Xan. This legendary shoe has evolved into our new MX333, providing Xan with increased comfort and improved fit; and she wears the MX333 in her own custom colours as a national champion! Many of our shoes are available in custom designs, for all riders, in all corners of the cycling world – simply look at our custom options here:

https://uk.lakecycling.com/pages/custom-shoe-builder

Racing into the future

You can’t help to like this warm and friendly cyclist, as we continue to talk about career, races, aims and the different challenges that gravel biking and cyclocross bring. AS Xan herself says, ‘The disciplines go well together, but I’m aware that I must be careful and I avoid overlapping the training. My handling skills are ideal for both events.’

However, there’s a recognition from Xan that gravel racing is more of a survival event, where the power is sustained and seemingly endless. Out gravel specific shoes, such as the Lake MX239 Gravel, or the MX20G or MX30G can help here, and we have probably one of the best selections of gravel specific cycling shoes in the world, currently. Whilst the event is still developing, we’re ensuring that our innovation and excellence in cycling shoe design keeps pace with things, and like Xan – we’re driven to be the leader!

Our MX30G is Xan’s own choice of gravel footwear. It’s a classically designed, pure and simple off-road adventure shoe with style. It’s perfectly suited for long days on the gravel grind or races that require speed and performance. It comes as a stylish all-microfiber version and an ultra-lightweight mesh version, for those hot and humid days. The mesh option is ideal for fast river crossings in races, allowing the water to be easily released and aiding the drying process with an airflow around the foot. The microfiber upper option is tough and hard-wearing, taking care of those knocks and rocks that frequently accompany a fast paced, technical trail with the dust and gravel flying around the wheels.

Cycle sport is always undergoing changes and developments. Here at Lake, we’re one of the most innovative brands in the cycling industry. Even as a young pro rider, Xan has already seen significant technological changes to benefit riders. She cites the change from rim to disc brakes, electronic gearing and the changes to frame geometry in the last 5 years. However, in that time, this exciting young cycling racer from the U.K. has won 2 national titles in 2 different cycling disciplines. Clearly, she’s a person who is driven to succeed, and we’ll be watching closely as Xan continues to light up the tracks and trails on her race to the top, wrapped in some of the world’s best cycling shoes – by Lake.