The 2003 Wisconsin Cycling Association's (WCA) Cyclocross Series -- Technical GuideGuide organized by John P. Ericsson (cx@brazendropouts.org) |
pdf version: most recent version as of 9/11/04Part 1: OverviewA. Introduction This document is intended as a guidebook, rules and regulations for the 2003 Wisconsin Cycling Association's Cyclocross Series. Additionally we hope it will promote consistency throughout the WCA Cyclocross Series and to help promoter's design safe, exciting and USCF legal racecourses. This document will be made available as a reference to other cyclocross promoters to assist in the continued growth and promotion of Cyclocross in the Midwest and nationwide. B. Series Goals and Philosophy Cyclocross, as many of you know, was developed and has a large following in Northern Europe. In recent years its popularity in this country has risen tremendously. In the East Coast, Rocky Mountain States and West Coast of this country, large and prestigious Cyclocross Race Series have evolved. Here in the Midwest cyclocross has finally "caught on," with race attendance between 100-150 racers common. Due to our location, far from the large cyclocross Series East and West of here, we need to develop our own brand of "Midwest Cyclocross." The WCA and its race promoters should be open to working with other regional cyclocross and cycling (mountain biking, for example) events and Series, to avoid conflicts and promote cyclocross in the region as a whole. The goal of the WCA Cyclocross Series Technical Guide is to provide race promoters with the rules and philosophy of cyclocross course design; and developing a Series "standard" for categories, race times, minimum cash prize lists, course design and course setup.
A. Series Costs & Benefits 1. Series Costs: 2. Series Benefits: B. Series & Individual Promoter Responsibilities 3. Series Responsibilities 4. Promoter Responsibilities
A major goal of the WCA Cyclocross Race Series is to provide equal start times, race durations, entry fees and minimum payouts for all Series Races. A. Race Categories 1. The WCA Cyclocross
Race Series will recognize the following categories: 2. Promoters must detail
the Category Rankings on their race flyers, and at registration.
This is to avoid any confusion, as Cyclocross categories are different
than normal USCF categories. We recommend the following wording:
B. Race Start Times, Entry Fees and Race Duration (Recommended) Start Time Categories
Race Duration Entry Fee(Recommended) The C Men, Juniors and C Women will line up and start together (mixed, not separated), but will race for separate prizes and finish results. The 40+ Masters Men will start approximately 20-45 seconds after the B Men. They will all race for separate prizes and finish results. The B Men and 40+ Masters Men will all finish on the same lap as the leader, after the leader. If turnout is low, the B Men 40+ Masters Men can all line up and start together (mixed, not separated), but will race for separate prizes and finish results. The A/B Women will start approximately 20-45 seconds after the 30+ Masters Men and race on the same course the same time; and they will race for their own separate prizes and finish results. The 30+ Masters Men and A/B Women will all finish on the same lap as the leader, after the leader. Even if the turnout is low, The A/B Women will not start together with the Masters Men, unless agreed upon by all entrants (and officials) in the Women's A/B race. Adequate warm-up time on the course will be allowed between races. There should be NO cash
rewards in the Category C & Juniors race, in order to discourage
"sandbagging" and encourage the C race as an introduction
to new and less experienced racers. It is encouraged to waive entry fees, or offer reduced entry fees, to current State Cyclocross Champions, if they race in their State Champion jersey. C. Prize List: 2005 Prize List This is a Recommended Series Minimum Cash Prize List. Larger and "deeper" Cash Prize Lists are encouraged. We feel a Standard Series Minimum Cash Prize List will add to consistency to the Series and higher cash prizes will encourage higher quality racers to attend events. D. Scoring (Series Points) (Place-Points Awarded) A. General Cyclocross Course Design Philosophy The current USAC rules and regulations for course design strongly reflect the new UCI cyclocross rules and regulations. That is, courses are to be rather wide, open and fast. This may be a point of discussion to many, but WCA will require all series races to follow the USA Cycling rules and regulations. However, venue limitations often require the spirit and intention of the USAC rules and regulations over literal interpretation. The WCA Series Technical Staff will work with the individual race promoters to ensure that the WCA Series races follow the rules and the intentions of the USAC rules. Cyclocross is a unique bicycle sport. It is not a variation of either mountain biking or road racing. There are some common aspects of both those sports in cyclocross, but it is a mistake to view cyclocross with a road or mountain bike bias in either course design or race preparation. Cyclocross is a race of transitions: on and off the bike over natural or artificial barriers, quick entry and exiting of the corners, onto hard pavement or hard ground from soft ground, handling tricky off-camber sections, and or sprinting from a remount. Course design should emphasize these aspects of cyclocross. In general, a cyclocross course should be 2-4 kilometers in length (1.2 - 2.4 miles). A 1-km course lap could be designed, but the laps would be very fast, it would be very hard on the officials for scoring, would allow for only 1-2 dismounts per lap and would be both dizzying and boring. For these reasons it should be avoided. Also, a 5+ km course lap could be designed, but would be very boring for both racers and spectators. For these reasons it should be avoided. Lap times at race speed with good conditions are ideally 5-8 minutes in duration. Laps times for the A Men's race should be around 5.5-6.5 minutes. Under ideal or dry conditions, the recommended lap lengths should be around 2.5-3.0 kilometers (1.5-2 miles). If turns out to be exceptionally wet and muddy on race day, shortening up the lap lengths is recommended, if possible. Courses should be designed with 1-2 "artificial" barrier sections per lap and up to two "natural" barriers per lap. Common "natural" barriers are sandpits (volleyball pits work great); a long log(s) laid across the trail, extremely technical sections and exceptionally steep run-up sections. Artificial barrier sections can be placed on a climb or flat part of the course. A flat and fast barrier section, easily visible on the course, is recommended to encourage spectating. The amount of pavement run on a cross course should be none to 3/5 of the racecourse. At least 1/3 to 1/2 of the course should be over firm ground (pavement, hard dirt roads and paths, hard packed trails, or firm grass fields). In general, at most, 10% of the lap time should be spent off the bike. Courses should be designed with the racer and spectator in mind. A course that allows one to stand at one part of the course and see riders at different parts of the course is great. The ability to walk to different parts of the course quickly and easily is excellent, too. The course should be designed so that it is dividable into thirds or quarters. Each of these sections having a physically hard or technical section/feature and a section that allows the riders to rest a bit. Remember, "a race of transitions." This allows the riders to maintain a faster pace and prevents the race from turning into a boring grind. Single Track is not appropriate for cyclocross! Wooded sections with adequate width can be a great addition to a cyclocross race, but tight, technical, rocky singletrack is not suitable for a cyclocross race. Remember the course should be designed for a skinny tired cyclocross bike, not a full suspension mountain bike. B. Hurdle, Barrier and Run Design The purpose of barricades
in cyclocross is to force a dismount, not to test a rider's ability
to bunny-hop. The current USAC regulations for hurdle design and
placement are clear: "The course may comprise of two sets
of artificial barriers. These artificial barriers shall consist
of wooden planks, or uniform material, placed no less than 4 meters
apart. They must be 40 cm high (15.7 inches) and shall stretch
the full width of the course." The overall length of obstacle, or barrier section, shall be no longer than 80 meters (262 feet), in accordance with USAC rules. Distance between hurdles should be set at 4 meters (13 feet) on flat ground, mainly to discourage bunny hopping. The number of hurdles per section should be between, 1 to 3. On climbs, where bunny hopping is difficult anyways, hurdles can be spaced further apart. If the course conditions are poor, due to rain, ongoing wetness, or snow, it may be a good idea to shorten long running sections, as runs in poor conditions may slow the race and fatigue the racers beyond reason. A barrier section, natural or artificial, should be placed on the course only if a wide, flat, or slightly uphill area is available for remounting onto the bike. A remount part of the course should not be technical, exceptionally rooted or rocky, skinny, or downhill, to ensure rider safety. The hurdles need to be of solid construction. No PVC, no lattice work, no gaps from top to bottom. They should also be of substantial thickness, i.e. no plywood. A light yet strong barrier can be constructed of a 2x4 framework with a plywood face to cover the openings and add strength. Two barriers between 6-8 feet in length can be set up end-to-end to stretch the entire width of the course. The anchoring of the hurdles is an important subject. Experience has found that the best way to secure a hurdle into the ground is to drive "re-bar" down behind them as bracing. The re-bar should be driven down far enough so that no bits are sticking up! Electrical conduit brackets are inexpensive and work well for securing the re-bar to the barrier. Be sure to use at least 2 brackets per re-bar rod, but more may be required. Barriers shall be supported so that no metal poles, driving stakes, etc. shall protrude from the barrier! C. Course Width The course should be wide enough throughout the entire length of the lap for riders to pass one another. USAC rules clearly state that the entire course shall be wider than 3 meters (9.8 feet). Sections this narrow shall be short, not placed so that race bottlenecks are caused and at only a few spots on the course. In general the course width should be at least 4-5 meters wide. The first 300-500 meters of the course should be extra wide (up to 30 meters (100 feet) if possible) and free of obstacles or barriers. The first 1/3 of the course should be extra wide and may include wide obstacles or barriers. Again, Single Track is not appropriate for cyclocross! Somewhat technical wooded sections with adequate width can be a great addition to a cyclocross race, but tight, very technical, rocky singletrack is not suitable for a cyclocross race. One exception on course width is rider safety. For example, a small section of the course may need to be "skinny" to avoid a hole, drop-off, rock(s), large tree or branch, etc. Use your better judgement, and/or refer to the official on race day. D. Course Material The surface of a cyclocross cross can be quite variable, but certain conditions should be avoided: rocky ground or heavily rooted ground, too much soft, grassy or mulchy ground, which when dry tends to be too bouncy and when wet turns into a complete quagmire. Some is good and an entire course of it is not. Intentionally wetting the course to create mud is prohibited. Sandy sections are acceptable, but too much can ruin a race. Use good judgement; cyclocross should be a fast race of transitions. Wide wooded paths, gravel and dirt roads, grass fields, pavement, mud and plain old all-American dirt are all good for cyclocross racing. The more variety the better. E. Course Marking In an ideal world the entire course would be marked with tape. That's not practical, or even required. The purpose of marking the course is to direct racers, and prevents spectators from crossing the course and/or getting run over by a cyclist. Key areas of the course should be taped off such as, start finish areas, path crossings, curves, dangerous parts of the course, etc. Metal poles should NOT be used to hold the tape. If they are used, cover the tops with foam, plastic cover, etc. Oak surveyor stakes work great and should be angled away from the course to reduce the risk of injury. The tape should be set up at least 1-2 feet wider than the course, if possible, to prevent it from interfering with the racers. F. Start and Finish Areas In reference to the starting stretch, USAC rules state that, "The starting stretch shall be a minimum of 300-500 meters in length and at least 6 meters wide to allow the field to stretch out properly. It shall be as straight as possible and not downhill. The first narrowing or obstacle after the starting stretch may not be abrupt but shall allow the riders to pass easily." The start section does not have to contain the finish line and does not even have to be part of the regular lap. The purpose of the start section is to allow the field to string out before the first dismount or technical section. In reference to the finishing stretch, USAC rules state that, "The finishing stretch shall be a straight line. It shall have a minimum length of 200 meters free of obstacles or barriers and a minimum width of 6 meters (20 feet). It shall be flat or uphill." The finish line should be set up as noted, free of obstacles or barriers, and wide enough for a group sprint. A tent of some kind should be set up next to the finish line. It is shelter for the officials in the case of bad weather and points out to racers and spectators the finish area. A banner spread above the finish line with your sponsors name is a nice professional touch. G. Equipment Pits and
Feeding Areas All WCA Cyclocross Series races will allow for feeding on the course in all category races. Feed zones shall be clearly marked with signage. They should be placed at wide and slower riding sections of the course and should not interfere with the equipment pits, finish area, or other racers not taking a feed. H. Other Key Points and Rules The use of sharp or uncapped metals poles, for trail marking or to hold up barriers, shall be forbidden. All staking used to mark the course shall be placed angling away from the course, to reduce the risk of rider injury. The course shall not be placed near any object that could constitute a danger for riders. An exception to the course minimum width rule, and other rules, may be considered if it takes rider safety into consideration. Consult with the official(s) on race day if you have any questions. Again, Barriers shall
be supported so that NO metal poles, driving stakes, etc. shall
protrude from the barrier.
2003 WCA Cyclocross Series Schedule (As of 6/1/03) Race Date Day WCA Race
No. Race Location Club Contact Telephone E-Mail Part 6: WCA Cyclocross
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