Cyclo Cross Entry

superbike

A few questions from a newcomer to cyclo cross:

1. Are all races entry on line?
2. Do races ever have a full field and turn away entrants?
3. I'm use to road races and usally sign on about an hour before the start, is this the same?
4. How is the level effort needed to compete compare with a 4th cat road race?

All infomation no matter how small is appreciated.

SBezza

Hi there, not sure of your location.

1. Yes normally, apart from Championships/Nationals
2. Not that I have seen
3. Yes, it is about the same
4. Can't say really, you put as much effort in as you like, there are all degrees of riders riding, from very good cat 1, even elites sometimes, all the way down to cat 4 races, or even those that don't road race.

I raced pretty well last year, and I am not a road racer, I suppose if I did road racing , I would be a cat 3, possibly a cat 2. I was generally in the top half of the field here in the London CX League, generally just outside the top ten veterans.

MikeWW

I'd say the level of effort compared to a Cat 4 race is higher. Its essentially flat out from the off then go a bit harder for the last lap

superbike

Thank for all the info fellas, it looks like I may be in for a tough first season of cyclo cross if what MikeWW has to say!

MikeWW

All depends how hard you try of course
In a Cat 4 race you have time to recover in the bunch etc
In a cross race there just isn't any recovery (apart form the couple of secs you might stop peddling round some bends) They tend to be fast starts as everyone wants to get into the single track first
Fantastic fun though. Practise dismounting and remountng as well as you can save/lose a lot of time

Mark Alexander

I had my first season of cross last year and got a hammering but i learnt quickly. My theory is this. Go hell-for-leather for as long as you can. hard and fast.

Enjoy it and don't take it too seriously.

SBezza

MikeWW wrote:

I'd say the level of effort compared to a Cat 4 race is higher. Its essentially flat out from the off then go a bit harder for the last lap

I personally wouldn't even compare it to a road race at all, it is more like a 25m TT with some sprint efforts thrown in for good measure.

Sponging-Machine

In response to question 4, it should be an hour of the hardest level you can ride at. I always finish close to last but I like it 'cos it means I really push myself for an hour.

Turn up and have fun.

GiantMike

Turn up, sign up, man up, throw up.

Should be flat out from start to finish.

Pross

You can go as hard or easy as you want but if you are pushing yourself I would say it is similar to a crit with effort from the gun and similar duration. There generally won't be a 'bunch' after a lap or two just several small groups and lots of individual riders so getting dropped isn't really an issue. If you race regularly you will find you get into races within races after a while as you'll start to find similar faces around you each week. The beauty of it is there's not the embarassment of coming along 10 minutes after the leaders and within a few laps no-one can really tell who is where. Just make sure you give way to people wanting to pass, they should tell you which side they want to pass on. It really is the best form of racing to start with so should be a doddle if you've road raced previously.