What equipment do I need?
This is a really open ended question, but crucially you need four things:
- Bike
- Helmet
- Footwear
- Safety pins to attach your race number
It should be noted that unless you are riding for a British Cycling affiliated club, in that club’s registered kit, you must wear plain kit without sponsors or branding, for example if you do not ride for Team Sky or Castelli you cannot where kit displaying their logos. If necessary logos should be covered up with tape.
What kind of bike?
British Cycling rules state that races shall be open to any type of bike without restriction, with the exception that all non-standard wheels must meet UCI regulations. However, National Championship and National Trophy races are restricted to cyclo-cross bicycles only, as defined by the regulations of the UCI.
Most CXNE riders use cyclo-cross specific bikes, but a few do use mountain bikes, especially when they are first getting into the sport.
What kind of footwear?
Things will get muddy and wet very quickly in a cyclo-cross race. We suggest you wear MTB type cycling shoes, or a pair of trainers that you don’t mind getting dirty.
How do Cyclo-cross North East events work?
Each round is hosted by a race organiser, and overseen by British Cycling commissaries. CXNE oversee the running of all the events and manage the overall organisation of the league, maintaining high standards throughout all of the events. We provide race organisers with an information pack to help them get started and provide some guidance on how to produce the highest quality events.
What about the league?
League placings are determined by the calculation of the points accumulated from your best eight finishing positions. If you have entered more than eight races, your lowest scoring rounds are excluded.
All riders wishing to place in the league must also complete eight rounds.
On the day, racing is split into a number of independent races of different categories. Categories are based on the riders age and sex. You will race the same category at each round. Details of the categories and races a can be found in the next section of our “Get Started” guide to cyclo-cross, Entering a Race.