Race

Roll •

• Ride

Race Day(s)

Race weekend is a festival-like event that spans the weekend.


While not mandatory to attend, Saturday is our primary day to pre-ride the course and become familiar with the challenges faced on race day.

There is a food truck, music, and a free bike technician available all day.


Sunday is race day and each age group has their own start times so be prepared to show up at least 45 minutes prior to their race (see schedules below).
Before each race, a race flyer with more information will be available*.

*Check our race venue‍ ‍tab or the SCICL website for a link before each race.

Race Weekend Schedules

Saturday Pre-Rides

12:00 PM – Coaches Pre-Ride

1:00 PM – GRiT Ride (girls)

2:00 PM – MiddleSchool Only

3:00 PM – High School Only

4:00 PM – Open Pre-Ride

5:00 PM – Pre-Rides Closed

Sunday Warm-Ups

8:30 AM - MiddleSchoolBoys. Be at the venue at 8 so you can be ride ready for warmups @ 8:30 

9:40 AM - Girls Be ready for warmups immediately following MS boys start

11:30 AM - High School Boys Be at the tent, ride ready for warmups @ 11:30

Sunday Races

9:30 AM Middle School Boys Race

10:30 AM Girls Race

12:30 PM High School Boys Race

Race Weekend Tips

  • While racing is not required, most who attend enjoy it.

    Traveling to races:

    Race weekend starts on Saturday (optional but recommended) and conclude on Sunday.

    Many families choose to come up on Saturday to pre-ride the course and reduce crack-of-dawn travel on race day (some warm-ups and races start relatively early on Sunday.)

    Free or affordable camping options are available for all venues, but is optional. Some venues are better suited for tent camping only, some allow you to bring your whole house, a horse and Aunt Henrietta too. We will highlight each venue closer to the race, but in general, if you have a tent, you can camp anywhere. If wheels (a van, a trailer, a camper or RV) is part of your set-up, there will be some limitations for some on-site camping.

    Hotels/Airbnb/VRBO’s are also options some of our families pursue. (Book early as many of these venues are either remote or availability is limited.)

    That said, some race venues are close enough that driving there and back for pre-race day and race day is definitely an option. 

  • The PitZone is a designated area at the race venue where all teams, volunteers, families and core staff congregate on both Saturday and Sunday.  

    THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE PITZONE

    👉Hop off your bike. 

    👉WALK your bike in the PitZone. 

    ⚠️It is a safety issue.⚠️

    • MCR has a designated plot with tent and bike racks in the PitZone.

    • Each family brings their own folding chairs. 

    • The MCR tent is our central hub for meeting, hanging out, eating together, checking in… everything.

    • Each race starts and ends in view of the PitZone.

    • There will a food truck in/close to the pitzone

    • Portapotties are available in/close to the pitzone

  • Pre-riding! 

    Pre-ride is for course assessment; athletes collect their race plate from the MCR tent, then join coaches and teammates to roll the course, session (practice) challenging features and discuss strategies. 

    Riders have shared that these pre-rides are invaluable for gaining confident for race day.

    Estimated start times for pre-riding is typically 

    • 1pm for girls (GRIT)

    • 2pm for MiddelSchool Boys  

    • 3pm for HighSchool Boys and everyone else who still wants to ride.

    • The course closes at 5pm.

    Parents visit with each other, walk, run, read, set up camp, do whatever while athletes pre-ride.

    What about FOOD?

    Each rider/family is responsible for their own food on Saturday. (i.e., bring or send a cooler, or plan to visit the food truck)

  • On Sunday morning riders will:

    1. Collect their race plate from the MCR tent 

    2. 1 hour before your race: be ready to ride - tires pumped, chain lubed, helmet on, shoes fastened, raceplate on, waterbottles filled

    3. Warm up as a group 

    4. Go back to the tent for water/race nutrition/restroom run/🙌 from parents&team mates

    5. Enter the staging area with a coach (20 minutes before start of race)

    6. Be called up into their starting line

    7. Waves start 2 minutes apart… wait for your countdown… RACE!

    What about FOOD?

    The team usually shares a Sunday post-race team meal - details will be on SportsYou.

    See our Race Nutrition Tab for guidelines on your athlete’s race nutrition needs.

  • BREAKFAST/MORNING MEAL 3 hours before race:

    Complex carbs and protein e.g.

    🥣Oatmeal w/sausage

    🫘Rice w/beans

    🥣Granola w/Greek yogurt 

    🥚Egg and whole grain toast 

    🥦Avoid significant fiber less than 3 hours before a race.

    SNACK 30 minutes before the race:

    A simple carbohydrate in the form of an electrolyte drink, energy bar or a glucose gel/block.

    IN-RACE nutrition:

    (Mostly applies to HighSchoolers racing more than 1 lap)

    Water

    Sports drink with glucose and electrolytes

    Glucose/Electrolyte blocks or gels (e.g. Cliff blocks/ Hüma gels)

    These are simply suggestions. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to find what works best for individual riders. That said, best not to try anything completely new ON race day! Use practices to experiment since some electrolyte-glucose options do not sit well on all tummies. 

    Feel free to ask clarifying questions in SportsYou or in person!

  • It takes a few races to take in the full experience. The MCR tent and “repeat” parents/riders will be excellent resources for where to stand for the starts and  finishes, where to get the best views, where to take the best pictures, when to cross the course, etc. 

    Cowbells. They are everywhere. It is a thing. We will have some available at the MCR tent and the league also sells bells. RING ON!

    The NICA community aims to be curteous, supportive and positive towards all athletes.  Comments and encouragements along the course as riders pass by and at the finish line reflect these values. 

    VOLUNTEERING: 

    NICA has a small core staff, but an army of gazillion volunteers making the races possible. There are numerous volunteering opportunities - both formal and informal. If you thrive on serving, formal volunteering on race weekends might be a fulfilling pursuit. Ask Steve and Monica Perry about their experience and for pointers about signing up! But there is NO PRESSURE to volunteer in a formal capacity. We encourage new families to just take it all in the 1st season - assisting your own rider and getting to know team parents and team culture is time well spent. As the season progresses, you may find yourself naturally drawn to lend a hand - whether in the team tent or on the course.