We were in the woods, but there was no joy involved. These guys are pretty fast, elite class, but the races in question are free-for-all affairs, so I guess these frequent dismountees could have been roadies who ride their cross bikes twice a year or so. And the race is more difficult, I suspect, than the average cross course; I ran down some descents, and I had my MTB. No pride here, whatever is faster.

When you say you can scoot back behind the saddle, are your hands on the tops or the drops? I'm setting up a CX bike for a road-riding family member who intends to race it, and we are trying to determine the best position for the bars and seat.

Edit: maybe this should go in the CX forum, I'm way off the original topic. Mael, I was just thinking that the freeride types are going to be looking at this and wondering what we are talking about; my DH bike handlebars, which I cut down quite a bit, are vastly wider than the road or CX bars I ride with.