Virgin

[clboss302]

Ok i used the big V word to get everyones attention! Alright here is the deal...

I have been riding XC for some time... I am a 21 yr old college kid and I am thinking about entering my first race. The race is not until September. I am up in the air about which category that I should enter, beginner or sport. I consider myself having an intermediate XC skill level. Trails that I ride include normal ST with the usually ruts and rocks. (Rocky Ridge and Lake Redman, York PA, Patriots Path and Blackriver, Chester NJ) I usually ride about 4-5 times a week when I get into my groove and my outting range from 2 to 2.5 hours of time on the bike. Now being unfamiliar with racing (only race i was at was the 96 Atlanta race) i have nooooooo idea what kind of riders enter into each group. I also have no idea about the range of courses that can be is riden and usual times for the loops. Basically i am a virgin to racing. I have no clue! I was looking for some input about which is the best way to go, beginner or sport. Oh yeah, if it makes a difference as of today my legs are not shaved! ;) Let me know what you all think, or what you did. I always get good advice from all the other riders here! Thanks!

[Roadkill611]

Dude, if you don't shave your legs you will definately have to enter in the beginner cattegory.
Seriously though, I have been racing sporadically for a few years and I would recomend starting out in the beginner category for a couple of different reasons.
Having never raced before it is a good idea to get a season as a beginner to get the feel for the flow of how a race works. The sport guys get a little more competative and the last thing you want to do is just jump right in to sport and get stomped on and hate it.
Also, check with the guidelines of the race officials, but many times once you race as a sport rider, you can't go back to beginner(novice). So if you race sport the first time out and decide you're in over your head, you can't drop back to novice. I race with EFTA here in the northeast and that's the way it works with them..
And if you start racing consistently, and placing as a novice, you will most likely get bumped up to sport anyways. Theres no rush to get there..
Hope this helps.

[wooglin]

Race beginner, crush the competition, then switch to sport.

[LizzyB]

If you enter sanctioned races, like by EFTA, then by all means race Novice. It'll give you good experience and if you end up crushing the competition then you'll get promoted to Sport soon enough. Most of all have fun!!
Lizzy