Cyclocross - First Race

So I have found out that there is a Cyclocross race nearby me this Saturday morning.
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7079

I have never been in a bike race before, and I do not have a cyclocross bike.
I have been seriously debating using my Trek mountain bike, fixed fork, and racing this weekend.

I have no idea what to expect and am looking for some insight on this.
I have looked at a lot of cyclocross stuff and it looks like such a blast, but I don't know if I will be able to last for a full race.

Any thoughts?

The race lasts less than an hour, how hard could it be?:roflmao2:

I am doing my first race this weekend. Its 35 minutes. Anyone can last that long if they ride slow, lol.
Check to make sure your mt bike is legal for the race. Some races allow them but UCI usually doesnt.

I did my first race last Saturday. I thought about writing up a "newbie tips from a newbie" or something like that, but I wasn't sure how useful it would be. I'll give you my thoughts here. Hopefully at least some of these will be useful. More experienced riders should feel free to ridicule me if my advice is dumb.

1. Do it! It's a lot of fun. I was unprepared in every possible way. This was my first time racing, and I'm very slow (everyone else in the race beat me by a full lap), but it was really fun anyway, and everyone was really cool about it.

2. Get help pinning your number on. The human arm just doesn't bend in the way necessary to pin a bib number on the side of a jersey by yourself. If you're absolutely too stubborn to ask for help (like me) take your jersey off and pin the number on.

3. Use run ups for recovery. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it worked really well for me. As you're riding through grass mud and who knows what else, your heart rate is going to be elevated. If you know you're not going to place well anyway, take the time off your bike as a break. Walk up the hill and catch your breath.

4. Nearly anything can be a run up. Just because the other guys are riding up a hill doesn't mean you have to. If you want to get off the bike and push (see 3 above), do it. Nobody will think the less of you for it.

5. Stick it out. You can do it -- really. There was a moment in the first lap when I thought maybe I should quit. But I stuck with it, and pretty soon everywhere I went people were cheering for me. When you're obviously sucking wind but you stick it out anyway, people root for you. It's very cool (and I can't tell you how much I appreciated it). One of the volunteers out on the course even pushed me up a hill.

6. Don't worry about how bad you're doing. There were only nine other riders in the race I did, and right off the starting line I fell way back. I felt like an idiot. But just after I finished the second lap, the leader passed me. From then on I was distinguishable from the other racers only by how badly I was sucking wind. The guy who finished next-to last passed me in the last 100 yard (despite a flat tire) and he had no idea I was a lap behind him.

7. Watch the lines other rides are taking. When you've got somebody ahead of you in stretch of mud, sand, gravel, water or what have you, watch where they ride. If it looks like it worked well for them, take the same line. If not, try something else.

8. Keep pedaling. The absolute worst thing you can do in the mud is stop pedaling. You won't get started again, and mud isn't fun to run through.

9. Don't overdress. When my race started, it was about 38 degrees out. I wore a thin thermal undershirt, a short-sleeve jersey, bike shorts and tights. That was about right -- maybe a little warm. Over 40 degrees and I'd probably have been regretting the thermal. The other guys were mostly using short sleeve jerseys, but they did have their legs covered.

10. Know when to stay out of the way. At my pace, I was more of a roving obstacle than a racer, so when I saw a faster rider coming up behind me, I made sure to give him plenty of room. It was appreciated.

your bike should be fine.

"how hard could it be"

Cyclocross is the most godawful, vomit inducing piece of smelly wet dog booger glob stink foot white head 30 minutes of your life. Halfway through you'll sell your mother to the glue factory and swear you'll never do it again....if the pain would just stop.

your gonna suck and there's no shame in being last. Blast your heart to not get pulled and never give up.

Cyclocross gets under your skin; you'll return over and over to master your pain but you never will.

Andy_K, I think that's great advice for a newbie...regulars might learn something too.

I just have to stress that you just have to get out there and do it....just show up!!! Once you get to the course and put on the bib, you're only going to have fun afterwards!

They are offering all sorts of categories I am planning on entering beginner Mens Cat 4/5, does that seem like the right way to go?
Also, any info on the laps/race itself?
Is the format most laps wins?
What is an average lap distance?

Thanks

Do the lowest category you qualify for.

There will probably be a mix of terrain, last race I did had pavement, loose dirt/gravel/ grass and pack dirt/mud.

The race is a free for all, go as hard as you can for the time, get off the bike when you need to and, this is key if you want to be competetive, don't rush to get back on the bike, get some speed up by running first, you can pass guys by doing running a little longer before remounting.
It's all about busting a gut to catch the guy in front of you.

Race lasts for a fixed time 35-45 mins, once the winner crosses the finish line you're done next time you do, lapped or not.
Av. lap is around 1.5 miles, sometimes less.

Don't run too much tire pressure, 35-40lbs is fine for most courses.

They are offering all sorts of categories I am planning on entering beginner Mens Cat 4/5, does that seem like the right way to go?
Also, any info on the laps/race itself?
Is the format most laps wins?
What is an average lap distance?

Thanks

Beginners / Cat 4/5 should be the most beginnerist of races. According to the program it'll last 40 minutes. Might feel longer.

There are three common formats, a specified time period plus one lap or a specified number of laps or a number of laps to be specified after the first two laps. This last is only used at higher level races. Most cross courses range from 1-1/2 to 2 miles a lap.

They got a helmet cam of the course last year so you can get an idea.

The rigid mountain bike isn't a bad idea. If you've got bar-end take them off and get some plugs in the ends of the handlebars. It's a safety thing. Go ride and have fun.

MODS- Maybe we can sticky this and even have people add to it...this is great stuff for noobs like me!


I did my first race last Saturday. I thought about writing up a "newbie tips from a newbie" or something like that, but I wasn't sure how useful it would be. I'll give you my thoughts here. Hopefully at least some of these will be useful. More experienced riders should feel free to ridicule me if my advice is dumb.

1. Do it! It's a lot of fun. I was unprepared in every possible way. This was my first time racing, and I'm very slow (everyone else in the race beat me by a full lap), but it was really fun anyway, and everyone was really cool about it.

2. Get help pinning your number on. The human arm just doesn't bend in the way necessary to pin a bib number on the side of a jersey by yourself. If you're absolutely too stubborn to ask for help (like me) take your jersey off and pin the number on.

3. Use run ups for recovery. This may seem counter-intuitive, but it worked really well for me. As you're riding through grass mud and who knows what else, your heart rate is going to be elevated. If you know you're not going to place well anyway, take the time off your bike as a break. Walk up the hill and catch your breath.

4. Nearly anything can be a run up. Just because the other guys are riding up a hill doesn't mean you have to. If you want to get off the bike and push (see 3 above), do it. Nobody will think the less of you for it.

5. Stick it out. You can do it -- really. There was a moment in the first lap when I thought maybe I should quit. But I stuck with it, and pretty soon everywhere I went people were cheering for me. When you're obviously sucking wind but you stick it out anyway, people root for you. It's very cool (and I can't tell you how much I appreciated it). One of the volunteers out on the course even pushed me up a hill.

6. Don't worry about how bad you're doing. There were only nine other riders in the race I did, and right off the starting line I fell way back. I felt like an idiot. But just after I finished the second lap, the leader passed me. From then on I was distinguishable from the other racers only by how badly I was sucking wind. The guy who finished next-to last passed me in the last 100 yard (despite a flat tire) and he had no idea I was a lap behind him.

7. Watch the lines other rides are taking. When you've got somebody ahead of you in stretch of mud, sand, gravel, water or what have you, watch where they ride. If it looks like it worked well for them, take the same line. If not, try something else.

8. Keep pedaling. The absolute worst thing you can do in the mud is stop pedaling. You won't get started again, and mud isn't fun to run through.

9. Don't overdress. When my race started, it was about 38 degrees out. I wore a thin thermal undershirt, a short-sleeve jersey, bike shorts and tights. That was about right -- maybe a little warm. Over 40 degrees and I'd probably have been regretting the thermal. The other guys were mostly using short sleeve jerseys, but they did have their legs covered.

10. Know when to stay out of the way. At my pace, I was more of a roving obstacle than a racer, so when I saw a faster rider coming up behind me, I made sure to give him plenty of room. It was appreciated.

I just did my first 2 cross races this year, and I agree with everything I've seen in this thread.

I think the best advice in the whole thing is to not worry about how bad you're doing. 2 laps into the race you'll be wishing your frame would snap so you can take a break from the pain, but you'll be back next week to do it again.:)

The thing I do before I race is I pick one guy who looks about my same build, and then I do everything I can to beat that guy. It's a way to not think about how I'm getting my ass kicked by 60 other guys, just the one :)

Beginners / Cat 4/5 should be the most beginnerist of races. According to the program it'll last 40 minutes. Might feel longer.
It varies here, but if there's a beginner's race it's usually just 5s. Then it's either 3/4's or 4's alone, and finally 1/2 or 1/2/3. Cat 3/4/B is by far the largest category, but I agree that you should start as low as posible. Even if you're really fit cross racing takes some time to learn how to do competently. Best to just sit back at first and get a feel for it, unless you're the next Nys or something.

4's can have some realy skilled riders, it's just often the people who can't/don't feel like training enough to mke it up to 3's. If I weren't so lazy, I'd probably be a 3...maybe next year.