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Notre Dame Race Weekend: March 21-22
Posted by Adam Bee on March 2, 2009
The Notre Dame Cycling Team is hosting its first-ever weekend of collegiate racing on March 21st and 22nd. Scholar-athletes from across the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference will fly around the roads south of Buchanan on Saturday and Rum Village Park on Sunday for glory and points toward a conference championship.
Spectators are welcome at both events, but the criterium at Rum Village (March 22) is the more spectator friendly of the two, as the peloton flies by every two minutes or so.
We still need a few more volunteers; if you’re interested you can sign up here. Email me at cbee (at) nd.edu if you have any questions or would like to sign up for a half- or quarter-shift.
Preliminary race flyers can be viewed here. Mark the weekend for a thrilling spectacle of speed and power!
Jeff Nixa said
Great news, Adam. Thanks for posting.
This will be a big year, finally, for bike racing in South Bend: with also the upcoming Howard Park criterium race in South Bend, June 20th. (Part of EcoFest, 10a-3p that day.)
I like the name for this “Chip-n-Seal” classic: our own Michiana version of the classic springtime Paris-Roubaix cobblestones, yes? Maybe we can get George Hincapie to make an appearance!
Joe Canarecci said
Ive never entered an actual race and was curious what the steps are?
Like is this the kinda of race I would enter? Would I just show up race day?
I guess I have a bunch of questions…maybe you guys know of some “Intro to Road Racing” guide or something…
Adam Bee said
Joe-
Yeah, it’s nearly identical to a usual race, except that it’s part of the Midwest Collegiate Cycling Conference, so that pretty much restricts entry to teams in the conference.
In the summer, though, there are USCF races open to absolutely anyone. All you need is a USCF license, and you can usually buy a one-day license on the day of the race, along with registration for the race.
There are a bunch of online sites with advice on how to start bike racing (eg. startbikeracing.com), but I think the #1 most important thing to do is to show up at some group rides and get experience riding in groups. Outpost, SpinZone, and Proform all host weekly rides during the summer (on Tues, Wed, Thurs respectively). The Michiana Bike Association hosts frequent rides as well. The Bella Vita Cycling Club also goes on some really long rides.
The ND cycling team is already riding every weekday that the roads are dry. Email me at cbee (at) nd (dot) edu if you want to get on the ND cycling team mailing list and receive near-daily updates on when we’re riding. Or if you wanna just show up, we usually roll from the Main Circle (at the north end of Notre Dame Ave) at either 3:15 or 3:30.
Hope this helps! And of course post up if there are remaining questions– I’m always glad to see new people get interested in racing!
Adam Bee said
I realized I didn’t even answer the question. The steps are:
1. Get comfortable riding fast in groups.
2. Find out about a race nearby you’d like to enter (often at usacycling.org or truesport.com).
3. Find out if pre-registration is required and if so register online for the Category 5 or the lowest possible category (sometimes called “Citizens”).
4. Get an annual license if you think you’ll be doing at least 3 races over the course of a year.
5. Show up on race day, register if you haven’t already, and get a one-day license if you haven’t already.
6. Warm up either between races or on nearby roads off the course.
7. Line up at the starting line at the designated time.
8. Race!
As you can see, they’re all very easy to do except for maybe #1.
Rodney said
When does the race start at Rum Village?
Adam Bee said
Racing starts at 7:30am at Rum Village, and the premiere Men’s A category goes off at 11:25. They are incredibly fast.
The official race flyers are here: http://www.mwccc.org/sp09/