Cyclo-Cross
CYCLO-CROSS
Cyclo-cross consists of many laps on a short 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.
@Bob Holtsman Photography
Cyclo-cross racing is a unique sport that started in Europe as a fall/winter activity that starts once the road racing season is finished. A cyclo-cross race is traditionally done on a cyclo-cross bike, but a mountain bike will work well for beginners.
Cyclo-cross is a great competitive activity for all levels of riders. The format is such that races are either 50 or 35 minutes in length for all participants. The races are held in city parks with a 2.5-3.5 km course length. The course is a mixture of hills, grass, paths and obstacles. The unique feature of cyclo-cross are the obstacles that are placed around the lap. These obstacles can be natural course features such as stairs to run up, a steep hill to run up or an artificial barrier. Artificial barriers are very short hurdles (40 cm tall) that require the rider to dismount, lift their bike and hop over the barrier before remounting their bicycle. Rules state that there will be no more than four artificial or natural obstacles per lap.
Cyclo-cross racing categories are designed to place riders in groupings of similar fitness and racing ability regardless of age. The categories are similar to those in Road Racing.
| Ability Categories (Including Provincials) | Optimum Winning Time |
| Long Race | 50 – 60 minutes |
| Category 1 / 2 Men | |
| Category 3 Men | |
| Category 4 Men | |
| Category 3 Women | |
| Short Race | 35 – 45 minutes |
| Category 5 Men | |
| Category 4 / 5 Women | |
| Category 6 Men / Women |
*Categories may be combined at Commissaire discretion dependent on the number of registrants in each category.
*Provincial Championship age categories may be re-instated, instead of ability categories, at the discretion of the SCA Technical Committee.