What You Need to Know About Cyclo-Cross

What is Cyclo-Cross?

Cyclo-Cross is a mix between road racing, mountain biking and cross country. Cyclocross competitors race laps around a course featuring a variety of surfaces (pavement, grass, sand, gravel, dirt, etc.) while negotiating a number of obstacles that may require them to dismount and remount their bicycle along each course.

What is NCCX?

Tim Hopkin is the founder of the North Carolina Cyclo-Cross organization also known as NCCX based here in Hendersonville, NC. He was born in England, raised in Brazil and then came to America to attend college at North Carolina State University where he affirmed his love for the vigorous sport of Cyclo-Cross. 21 years ago, there was no Cyclo-Cross in the south at that point so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He started out as an outdoor specialist for county parks and recreation and Cyclo-Cross was just a hobby for him, but his love for the sport inspired him to turn a single race into an entire series. That’s when NCCX was born. NCCX allowed his team to compete statewide on multiple courses with dramatic terrain changes all across North Carolina.

Can anyone race?

Each race consists of different athletes racing for different teams; basically a traveling road show. There are 15 races over 13 weeks all over the state and races fall into different categories based on skill level. 5 is the lowest category while categories 1 & 2 are for elite riders; usually homegrown pros or part of USA Cycling (the official national governing body for cycling). Age- based categories encompass kids, seniors, males, females, beginners and pros. Each race is time-based which means each lap should take a rider between 7 and 10 minutes. The goal for each participant is to see how many times they can race multiple laps in 30, 45 or 60 minutes depending on the category.

Cyclo-Cross used to be mostly popular for off-season training, but has become a very popular sport in its own right. Races are very exciting to watch because they consist of adrenaline-filled laps around short courses—typically less than two miles in length.

North Carolina is now recognized as one of the nation's hotbeds for cyclocross and the NCCX Series is the premier series in the state. The NC Cyclo-Cross season begins in the middle of October and runs through the end of January. Find the full race schedule at https://www.nccyclocross.com/.

While OrthoCarolina sees patients and athletes of all skill ages and levels, we are proud to support such a unique organization inspiring active and healthy lifestyles in North Carolina through our partnership with NCCX.