What Is Cyclocross?

What Is Cyclocross?
Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing consisting of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5 km or 1.5–2 mile) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount. Races for senior categories are generally between 30 minutes and an hour long, with the distance varying depending on the ground conditions. The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

Cyclo-cross has some obvious parallels with mountain bike racing, cross-country cycling and criterium racing. Many of the best cyclo-cross riders cross train in other cycling disciplines; however, cyclo-cross has reached such size and popularity that some racers are specialists, and many prioritise cyclo-cross races over other disciplines. Cyclo-cross bicycles are similar to road racing bicycles: lightweight, with narrow tires and drop handlebars. They are typically differentiated by their greater tyre clearances, lower gearing, stronger frames, cantilever brakes and more upright riding position. They also share characteristics with mountain bicycles in that they utilize knobby tread tires for traction and, increasingly, disc brakes. They have to be lightweight because competitors need to carry their bicycle to overcome barriers or slopes too steep to climb in the saddle. The sight of competitors struggling up a muddy slope with bicycles on their shoulders is the classic image of the sport, although unridable sections are generally a very small fraction of the race distance.

Compared with other forms of cycle racing, tactics are fairly straightforward, and the emphasis is on the rider’s aerobic endurance and bike-handling skills. Drafting, where cyclists form a line with the lead cyclist pedaling harder while reducing the wind resistance for other riders, is of much less importance than in road racing where average speeds are much higher than in cyclo-cross.

At The Sugar Cayne Bike Fest we’ve added a bunch of fun competitions for Cyclocross riders to do like:
1.Bunny Hop (Hop your bike as high as you can over a height bar)
2.Longest Skd (Pedal as fast as you can then slam the brakes to see how far you can skid)
3.Best Style (How much style, flow, smoothness and even tricks can you get on the track)
4.Longest Wheelie (Pick up that front wheel and try to keep it up for as long as possible)
5.Bike Relay (4 Riders team Up for a Bike Relay Race around the track against other teams)
6.High Jump (How high can you jump?)
7.Last Straight Dash (A Head to Head, elimination style race)
8. Cyclocross Race (Riders do 10 laps around a BMX track in the opposite direction)