What is Cyclo-cross?
It’s an all-out effort held over a course with a variety of terrain to test your lungs and bike handling skills. Courses are usually 2.5/3.5km long on varied terrains of grass, tarmac, woodlands paths etc. If you’re new to the sport and need more information why not check out our New to Cyclo-cross page.
Are gravel or mountain bikes allowed?
All bikes are welcome at our events, though you may want to ride something that might have grip on some of the slippery surfaces. If you are thinking of riding National or International events, then you will need a specific Cyclo-cross bike.
Do I need to have a spare bike?
No. You are more than welcome to race with just one bike. We have introduced a new ‘One Bike’ category to our overall event standings.
Head over to our ‘One Bike’ page for full details.
I have a spare bike and wheels. Where can I put them?
Cyclo-cross rules allow riders to have spare bikes/wheels to deal with the dreaded mechanical. Also as Cyclo-cross is a winter sport, we can have very muddy courses that would be an advantage to receive a clean bike every lap. The area designated on the course for all this to happen is called the Pits.
There will be an entry and exit point for the pits that will be signalled by yellow flags. Important rule to know is that once you pass the exit point of the pits, you have to continue in the direction of the course, you cannot simply leave the course or retrace your steps
The Pits is where you may also meet the most dedicated and friendly of supporters in cycle sport, The Pit Crew. They will be armed with an array of equipment including Rechargeable Jet Washers, water canisters, bike stands and various equipment to service riders’ needs.
Of course many riders will self service and simply place their spare bikes or wheels in the pits. What we do say is that please be careful leaving your equipment in the pits as this is your responsibility as the pits are not managed for security and many of our events are in public places.
We also ask riders to place bikes and equipment in an orderly fashion in the pits and leave the service pit lane free. This will be marked. We also ask that riders only place their equipment in the pits just before their race and not whilst another race is still on to avoid congestion.
Please note that for all under 12 riders there is no option of a Pit. These races are 1 bike only.
How are riders gridded at the start of each race?
In the adult and youth under-14 & under-16 races, riders will be gridded according to their placing in the YCCA Yorkshire Championship standings. For the first race of the season YCCA will determine the gridding positions based on previous YCCA Yorkshire Championship results.
The main reason for gridding is to ensure a safe transition from the start of the race, faster riders are placed towards the front and slower riders towards the rear of the field.
Riders will be able to self-grid according to their arm number. Rider numbers 1-10 will be on the front row of the grid, 11-20 on the second row, 21-30on the third row etc.
Any rider who considers their gridding position to present a safety issue for the race start should present themselves to the race Commissaire and provide a valid reason. The Commissaire may decide to adjust their grid position accordingly, however the Commissaire’s decision is final and must be respected.
The Under 12 and under-9 races will be gridded randomly.
What is British Cycling membership?
To race our events you will either have to be a British Cycling member or purchase a “Day Licence”. The minimum membership requirement for our events is the Race Bronze membership package that includes a provisional licence that allows you to race our events. However if you wish to race the Regional champs, National Trophies or the National champs, or receive national ranking points, you will need to upgrade to a full racing licence that would also require an upgrade to the Race Silver membership.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership/licence
There are great benefits to being a member and certainly if you are looking to race a few events it will be cheaper than paying the Day licence charge at each event you race.
What if I’m not a British cycling member?
No problem at all, you pay an on the day £5 “Day licence” if you are not a member of British Cycling. This is applicable for each event and is included in your non-member entry fee.
Under 8/10/12/14/16 & TryCross categories are exempt from this charge.
YCCA Yorkshire Championship Qualification
To qualify for a YCCA Yorkshire Championship placing and therefore be eligible for a trophy, each rider must enter and ride the minimum specified number of events as set out in the table below. (A DNF will count however a DNS will not count.) Any rider who enters and completes a YCCA Yorkshire Championship race is deemed a member of the YCCA Yorkshire Championship race series and will be gridded for the next round of racing according to the Championship series standings.
Under-12 and Under-9 riders do not earn points because British Cycling structures these younger categories entirely around fun, skill development, and low-pressure participation.
TryCross riders are also exempt from series standings.
Which Category should I enter?
If you are new to the sport and are not sure, we run TryCross events, which are open to all riders over the age of 13 and offer a 15min race over a shortened course to give you an introduction to the sport.
If you are ready to commit to the full program then you’ll find races are generally split into age categories.
27/27 Season:
| Year of Birth | Category |
| 2018-current | Under 9 |
| 2015-2017 | Under 12 |
| 2013-2014 | Youth – U14 |
| 2011-2012 | Youth – U16 |
| 2009-2010 | Junior |
| 2005-2008 | Under 23 |
| 1987-2004 | Senior |
| 1977-1986 | Masters 40 |
| 1967-1976 | Masters 50 |
| 1957-1966 | Masters 60 |
| 1956 and earlier | Masters 70+ |
Can I enter on the day?
No, you can only enter in advance online. Entries close at 9pm prompt on the Wednesday before a Sunday race and 9pm prompt on the Sunday before a Wednesday race.
Is there an enter all series option?
No, you need to enter each event separately.
I don’t live in Yorkshire, can I still enter an event?
Absolutely. We welcome everyone.
How do I cancel my entry in unforeseen circumstances?
If for unforeseen circumstances you are unable to start a round that you have entered, we do allow one transfer of an entry to another round per season. Please get in touch before the race weekend that you can’t attend for us to arrange this.
Do I get my entry fee refunded if an event is cancelled?
We very rarely find ourselves in the situation where we have to resort to cancelling events. However we have become very aware that some events in the past have been very close to us having to make this decision due to health & safety concerns. This usually means we are short of marshals to make the event safely viable. You can help us make sure we never have to come to this decision, by offering a small amount of your time to marshal.
In the unlikely situation that we do take the decision to cancel because of this reason, then due to unrecoverably fees, we regrettably inform you that entry fees cannot be refunded.
Can I practice on the course?
We have included three practice sessions into our on the day schedule. These are included in the event info on the event’s listing on the British Cycling website.
Practice is only available when the Chief Commissaire has declared the course ready and riders have signed on and are displaying their timing chip and/or race number. It is the riders responsibility to ensure compliance with both of these requirements. Any competitor not following this rule risks being disqualified from their race.
After the U12 race a Sweeper wearing a hi-viz vest will ride the course and competitors from the Youth and Women’s race are permitted to access the course behind the Sweeper. Any competitor not following this rule risks being disqualified from their race.
A Sweeper wearing a hi-viz vest will ride the course after each subsequent race (Youth, Women’s, Senior) and no competitor (or coach) should access any part of the course ahead of the Sweeper. Any competitor not following this rule risks being disqualified from their race.
Practice sessions are indicated on the race entry information and at sign on.
Sign On and Race Insurance
All riders must sign on before practising on the course. This is for race insurance purposes, racers are not deemed to be insured unless they have signed on and they are displaying their timing chip on their ankle and/or their race number on their left shoulder. Riders risk being disqualified from their race for failure to adhere to this rule.
No one else is permitted to ride on the course with the exception of coaches with the appropriate qualification: British Cycling Level 2 Cyclo-Cross Award. This qualification will be displayed on your race licence and coaches wishing to ride the course should present their licence to the sign on team who will provide them with a temporary race number to display on their bike.
No other non-participants other than race officials are permitted on the racing course and will be asked to leave by the race officials if not displaying the proper identifier.
Riders are only allowed to ride on the course if they have entered a race at the event and are displaying their race number on the bike.
What is a Commissaire?
Commissaries are trained volunteers who ensure fair and safe competition in cycling races. Commissaires are present in all levels of racing and operate in all racing disciplines. What they do are –
- Oversee and approve pre-event planning and documentation
- Check risk assessments
- Ensure clear communication with organisers, event teams, riders and parents.
- Hold briefings and debriefings
- Demonstrate a duty of care
- Assume responsibility for fair and safe conduct during racing
- Approve results, levy and complete reports post-event.
At each event we appoint 2 to 3 qualified British Cycling Commissaires and Trainee Commissaries. They are very visible in their Blue uniforms, they will blow a whistle 5 to 10 minutes before each race and arrange rider gridding and start each race. They will hold a short rider brief before each race that is very important for all riders to attend.
How do I find out how I’m doing overall?
The results and overall standings will be available on this web site.
What facilities do you have at your events?
All events will have toilet facilities and most events will have refreshments, usually Ralph from Coffee2U serving Tea, Coffee, and of course the cyclists favourite food, CAKE.
Do you have First Aid?
Yes. They will be very visible in the uniforms and ambulance vehicle on site.
I want to know more about all the rules for Cyclo-cross?
The following link is to the British Cycling rules handbook that we follow for our league events.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/cyclocross/article/bcst_rulebook_and_constitution?c=EN
For those riders looking to race the big events, this is the UCI rules
https://www.uci.org/regulations/3MyLDDrwJCJJ0BGGOFzOat#part-v-cyclo-cross
Race Incident communication process
This will be communicated at the start of each race in the commissaires briefing but good to know this beforehand. This is guidance in the rules.
16.5.1 For all events measures must be made to ensure adequate communication of incidents
16.5.2 Designated course marshals and key officials shall be equipped with yellow and red flags and a whistle in order to indicate race incidents.
16.5.3 In official training and competition marshals shall wave a yellow flag and sound the whistle to indicate a potential hazard on the course. Riders observing a yellow flag must reduce speed and proceed with caution.
16.5.4 On the instructions of the Chief Commissaire or Chief Marshal, marshals shall wave a red flag and sound the whistle to indicate a serious incident on the course which warrants the stop.
So in a nutshell…
If you see a marshal or commissaire waving a Yellow Flag, this means Riders observing a yellow flag must reduce speed and proceed with caution.
If a marshal or commissaire is waving a red flag and blowing a whistle, this indicates a serious incident on the course which warrants you to stop.
Lapping riders etiquette
The great thing about our events is that you could line up at your race next to national or world champions. With fast racing on short circuits it is inevitable that you could be lapped by the lead riders. Now we understand that everyone has a part to play with good race etiquette. We would expect the lead rider to call ahead in plenty of time “Leaders, on the left/right” as most appropriate for the conditions. They are responsible to ensure they pass you when it is safe to do so. The rider being lapped we would expect you to give up the racing line to allow them to pass safely.
If you encounter an unsafe pass or other unsporting conduct please make a note of the offending rider’s number and inform a commisssaire on completion of your race. The YCCA does not tolerate unsporting conduct and if riders are found in breach of our riders etiquette, we will DQ said riders from an event. If a rider offends repeatedly then we reserve the right to ban that rider from further events. Remember, we are all racing. Its fun!
Spectators code of conduct
The YCCA Cyclo-cross Association sets out to be welcoming, encouraging and supportive of all riders and officials at our events. We also expect spectators and support crews to bring their “A” game to create that buzzing Cyclo-cross atmosphere we all love by ringing cowbells, blowing trumpets, singing songs, waving flags and generally being noisy in supporting all riders (All as long as you are far far away from the timing team gazebo!)
However there is an old saying that is quite apt “If you cannot say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all”. Please leave any race commentary to our race announcer.
Want to become and organiser or have a new venue to explore?
If you are interesting in looking to host an event in Yorkshire or indeed have a venue that looks like it would be a great fit for racing, then please do not hesitate to get in touch through the website contact us page as our experienced team can help guide you on next steps.
Do you have a brand you’d like to be involved with YCCA? ?
We are grateful to our current supporters, Insync Cycling, Hope and Sixty/8 but we are more than happy to have a chat if your brand would also like to be involved. Please drop us a line. Our contact details can be found in our menu.
Yorkshire Cyclo-Cross Association 