bikr13

I am a fifteen year old getting into road biking after racing mountain bikes for two or three years. What are some good beginner clubs or teams in the upstate of South Carolina to start riding with?


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bassic wilson

I wish you were in Kentucky. It would then be a possibility that I could help. I would try posting this question in the road racing sub group of road riding. Hang in there, you'll find out something. Good luck.

jamiewilson3

What part of the Upstate are you in?

There are several options to choose from, based on your exact location and riding interests.

bikr13

I am located in downtown Greenville and would love to get into some road racing or some crits in years to come. I also would like somewhere that i be on the team to train until i got ready to race.

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jamiewilson3

The first option is to join up with the Greenville Spinners Racing Team. They do not have a junior squad, but cover Cat 5 and 4 pretty well.

Also, Les Amis has a decent number of beginner juniors. That is probably the best option. The Les Amis club rides out of Sunshine Cycles, which is on Pleasantburg - not far at all.

bikr13

Okay, do you have to race to be on les amis or can you start out just training with them and then work up to racing. Also what does the term "Grassroots" mean in terms of a cycling program.

jamiewilson3

You can just start out training with them. A good way to start would be to go to the Sunshine shop and talk to them about it.

I dont know exactly what grassroots means for a cycling team, other than it doesnt have a team director and stuff like that - more clublike. Perhaps someone else can field this question better.

Porter20

The only real Junior Race team that I know of is the Hincapie Junior Development Team (www.hincapieracing.com ) but I know they are very serious as far as training and riding & their riders come from all over the east coast. However, you could contact them & inquire about what their tryout policy is or what other options you could find in the Greenville area.

jamiewilson3

You are exactly correct about Hincapie. There are a few other teams out there as well, but they tend to be fed by the club teams, as they are looking for some proven results, typically.

I actually rode with a 14 or 15 year old Les Amis rider on Saturday AM. He is actually pretty good.

eggman

I'd go check out the training series.

https://www.hincapie.com/events/springseries/

You should be able to meet all the locals and find out about the cycling community.