What type of bike will I need? Any type of bicycle is legal to use in a beginner cyclo-cross race. With that said, cyclo-cross courses utilize a mixture of surfaces: pavement, hardpack dirt, groomed grass, tall grass, loose gravel, mud, and/or sand. A cyclo-cross style of bike is characterized by 700c knobby tires (30-34c width), cantilever or disc braking, drop handlebars, and slight tweaks to frame geometry for more stable handling in adverse off-road conditions. So a true cyclocross bicycle is fastest and ideal, but a mountain bike will do fine if that’s what you have (USCF rules require the removal of bar ends though).
What do I need to do to enter my first race? Not much really. Look at the OVCX schedule and find your first race. To register for the event, you can either pre-register online, or show up and register on race day. Registering on race day will cost an additional $10, so pre-registration is preferable all-around. To find the pre-registration site for your event, go to the Schedule tab up top and find your event – the pre-registration page link will be next to your event.
Do I need a license to race cross? Yes, you will need to purchase a racing license. There are two ways to do this: you can buy an annual license for $60, or buy a one-day license for $10 (beginners only). If you already have a current USCF or NORBA racing license – they will do fine. You can purchase an annual license one of two ways; either at a race or by going to usacycling.org and registering an account online.
What do I do when I get to a race? Try to arrive at your race venue about 90 minutes before your scheduled start time. This gives you plenty of time to park, use the facilities, register, and warm up for your race.
What do I do when I’m finished? If you think you finished in the top three in your category, hang around afterwards. Results for the beginner race should be posted about 15 minutes after completion of the race. If you have time, stay and watch! Cyclo-cross is very spectator-friendly, so take in the action from the other side of the caution tape. Hang out at technical sections that were giving you difficulty and see how the advanced riders take it. Check out the bikes, grab some food, soak up the scene!
How long is a beginner race, and how does a cyclo-cross race work? All cyclo-cross races are mass start, and a beginner race will last somewhere around 40 minutes for OVCX events. The way that the race duration works is that after a couple laps, the officials will look at the average lap time for the leaders, and work it out with the remaining laps so that the leaders will finish the race somewhere around 40 minutes. So typically for all of the riders the race could last anywhere from 40 to 50 minutes depending on their position. Lapped riders are not pulled in beginner races. For 2008, all beginner riders, including masters, will begin their races at the same time. This will put 50 or more riders out on the course in the first wave. The open Beginner, Masters 35+ and Masters 45+ will race together, then be scored out separately into their categories when the race is over. The women’s beginner categories (open and masters 35+) will start their races one minute after the men start their race.
Help me out: I'm a pretty good triathlete, and I want to try a cross race in the fall. What category do I race, and what does all this UCI stuff mean? Thanks.
Here are the OVCX categories for the upcoming year:
