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An Introduction to Junior Cycling
If you are like many juniors, your first experience
in organized bicycle racing may have taken place in a public road race, or
perhaps a BMX or mountain bike event. The purpose of the Junior Cycling Athlete
is to provide you with the information you might need to take the next steps:
to join (or start) a juniors racing team in your area and to understand what
is involved in preparing for and participating in the sport. I will
admit that JCA has been created with a decided bias towards road and track
cycling, largely because there are fewer resources available to youth who
desire to enter this kind of bike racing than with BMX or MTB racing. If
your interests are in BMX or
mountain bike racing,
please check my Organizations links pages. Anyway, stick around, as I think
you will find more in common than you might think (There are some great road
racers who started as BMX racers, and some of the best MTB cyclists train
heavily on the road).
OK, so what is road racing? Road racing involves racing relatively tall, light weight, thin tired, multi-geared bicycles in a variety of racing events on (mostly) paved surfaces (duh!?). Road racing events include criteriums (run as a closed loop, less than 1 mile per loop), circuit races (similar to a "crit", but more than 1 mile per loop), road races (usually long events over a variety of terrain and many roads), and time trials (a race against the clock over a fixed distance). Stage races are multi-day events that are comprised of several or all of these road events. The most famous stage race is the Tour de France (also known as "Le Tour", or "TdF").
Track racing uses bicycles that at first glance appear
very similar to the bicycles that are used on the road. A closer look,
however, and you will find that these bicycles use a fixed gear and have
no brakes! These bikes are raced in a variety of events on a closed track
called a Velodrome. Racing a bike on the track develops bike handling and
sprinting skills, so it is probably not surprising that some of the best
junior riders have trained on the track. A good source for information
on track racing can be found at
the 'drome, a web
site dedicated to velodrome racing.
Cyclocross.
Remember, earlier I said "mostly" paved surfaces? In Cyclocross, cyclists
ride and carry (run, plod?) their bikes across a variety of terrain (usually
mud or snow). It seems the worse the conditions, the better the race. The
bikes are usually a variant between road and mountain bikes, with frames
similar to road bikes, slightly wider tires than road bikes, and cantilever
brakes like MTBs. Advocates of Cyclocross claim benefits in training for
those athletes participating in the events. Nah! They just like mud! (Dan
Wolfson (NEBC) runs the hurdles - photo credit: Harry Wolfson. There are
more photos at the
NEBC
Site)
There are Junior Racing events in all of these kinds of races and events. Junior road races tend to be shorter versions of the senior events. For example, in Southern California, junior crits are usually 10-20 miles, road races 25-60 miles, and time trials 10-20 miles (or, for metric races, 15-40km). Junior races are almost always shorter for younger (10-14) riders. Older (17-18 yr) riders may race regular senior distances.
You need a USCF license before you can race. Juniors may be licensed beginning at a racing age of 10 (the year you reach your 10th birthday). The USCF is the United States Cycling Federation, and is owned by USA Cycling, which pretty much owns any and all organizations responsible for racing anything with two wheels and no engine (including NORBA). USA Cycling is recognized by the US Olympic committee as the national organization for cycling in the US. One of the goals of the USCF and USA Cycling is to develop junior cycling athletes into Olympians and professionals. Check out the USA Cycling site for more detailed information and an application for membership.
Cycling is organized around cycling clubs. These are licensed by the USCF. The USCF has a list of clubs, contacts, and phone numbers organized by state at their web-site. Cycling is also based around the local bike shop. Probably the best way to find a club is to check through your local bike shop. Although most bike shops cater to MTB sales (they need to eat, too!), a good shop will know who to contact for a road cycling club, and may even sponsor a team themselves. If you walk into a shop with lots of narrow road frames with Italian-sounding names, you're probably in the right place! (OK - before I upset anyone, my house is full of road bikes that sound like Trek, GT, Giant, and Cannondale - BUT, if what you see sounds like "Murray" or "Huffy", you need to turn around, pass by those bags of Sam's Choice Dog Food, and go find a local bike shop that understands racing bicycles! It's better to buy a good used bike for the same money!)
The club and bike shops are the places to check to find out times and locations of races near you. In the Southwestern US, there are some form of racing nearly year round, but the "season" begins in March and lasts through October. (This doesn't mean that you don't ride during, the off-season! Au Contraire! Bicycle racing demands year-round training and fitness in some form! More on this in the Training section of this site).
Clubs are required to put on a race every year. Juniors
races are generally included in all-day race events that may include many
seniors, masters, and possibly pro races. The juniors events in criteriums
typically last between 30-45 minutes, and it is not unusual to have two races
run at the same time (the officials stagger the start). Although I
can't comment on the rest of the country, for some reason in Southern California
most juniors races begin early in the morning. Often at 7:30am. Plan on being
at the race start no later than 1 hour before your race start. You will need
to check in, pin your numbers on, stretch and warm up. Hopefully you (and
the other juniors) sent in your registration before the late fee cut-off,
so there is still a juniors race! So, if you have to drive for 2 hours to
get to the race....well, you get the idea (ZZZzzz.........).
Promoters, officials, other teams, coaches- you'll get to know these people because you'll probably see them at every race! It pays to be nice to the folks! Promoters work hard to put on quality events that attract a good race field. The officials have a very difficult task trying to keep track of position and placement, especially when there is a large pack sprint finish or, sometimes in Juniors races trying to keep track of who's been lapped or who's on the same lap with the field. They typically use video cameras and tape, and sometimes it will take time to sort out a finish. Be patient. And remember this is why you pin on numbers so that they will be visible at the finish!
Cyclists are licensed and race in specific categories, which are assigned by racing experience and ability. Juniors are assigned into the same categories as senior riders. They start as Category 5s in both road and track. Each region has their own specific rules for upgrading categories, but generally you move up through a combination of performance in "mass start" races and experience. After you reach category 3, upgrading becomes more subjective and may require references from coaches and other category 2 and 1 riders.
Juniors typically race in juniors races by age until they reach 17-18 (18-22 riders now are in the Espoire category). Many 17-18 year old racers (and many younger racers) can easily race in their respective senior categories. Junior races are usually broken down by AGE and not category, so that the youngest riders don't have to keep with older ones. This isn't always the case, and one race promoter in So. Calif decided to try a handicapped format, in which younger racers are given a "head start". Because we had many strong 13-15 yr-olds, this proved VERY successful! It is great to see 30 or more young juniors actually RACING each other rather than just doing laps!
Interested in what it's like to race as a beginning junior? Read what one junior writes about his first racing season...
Contents
Getting Started |
Clubs |
Organizations |
Events |
Results |
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Contact: Jr Cycling Athlete