To Be Determined Journal

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The 2024 Guide to NYC Bike Racing

Lucia D

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BIKE RACING IN NYC

HOW TO START RACING

If you’re new to bike racing making the leap into categorized racing can be intimidating. Between the licenses, the club membership, and race registration there is a whole plethora of jargon inherent to the sport. But fear not, in addition to a massive race calendar that is probably unmatched anywhere in the country, New York City is home to some great organizations that can help guide you through the process. For a great ‘How To’ we also recommend checking out “How to Start Racing Bikes” on the TBD Journal. This post will focus primarily on road racing, but we do mention cyclocross, track and mountain bike disciplines as well.

THE RACING COMMUNITY

CENTURY ROAD CLUB ASSOCIATION (CRCA)

The largest single organization in New York City bike racing (and largest USAC club) is the Century Road Club Association, or CRCA. Founded way back in 1898, CRCA has over 600 members in New York City who participate in the famous Club Series in Central Park - 12 races that are only open to CRCA members. Thankfully joining the Club is relatively inexpensive - at early registration prices it’s as low as $100 to participate in the full 12 race series ($8.33 per race!) with serving three volunteer “marshal” dates to support the race calendar. The full slate of CRCA membership tiers can be found here. Special mention to CRCA for providing further discounted membership for women and non-binary racers reflective of the average gender pay gap in the U.S.

To Be Determined is one of the many “sub-teams”. There are several dozen that you’ll see on registration sheets as “CRCA/Sub-team name” - that operate under the CRCA umbrella, fulfilling team duties to help support the club. In addition to the Club Series, CRCA also runs a season long coaching program that is free to members and a number of the biggest races in New York City. For the Club these are known as ‘Open Races’ because they’re open to non-members. CRCA Open Races include the Grant’s Tomb Criterium, the Orchard Beach Criterium, the Bear Mountain Classic, the Dave Jordan Central Park Classic and the Mengoni Grand Prix, among others.

We love being part of CRCA - it is a great, volunteer run community that we believe has value for riders and racers of all skill levels, from Cat 5 racers first getting into the sport and looking for coaching to some of the fastest Cat 1’s in the city that show up for the Club Series. For more on CRCA head over to their website at CRCA.net

OTHER NYC CYCLING ORGANIZATIONS

There are also a plethora of other organizations involved in bike racing in New York City:

  • Brooklyn’s Kissena Cycling Club is one of the largest and plays a role in hosting three key race series: the L&C Cup in Prospect Park, the Verge Series in Prospect Park and FBF Tuesdays at Floyd Bennett Field (more on each of these below). Famous for their white and orange kit, Kissena has a long and important history in NYC bike racing. Head over to their website for more information.

  • And while they are not a racing focused entity, New York Cycle Club is the largest recreational cycling club in the City. In addition to running a terrific SIG instructional program, and a plethora of group ride opportunities, NYCC has contributed countless riders to the racing community.

  • Beyond those, there are many other cycling clubs and social groups to suit every type of rider’s needs. We go into that a bit in this piece on How to Join Your First Group Ride.

Racers in action at the 2018 CRCA Club Series Finale

COACHING AND DEVELOPMENT

One of the best (in our opinion) road racing development programs in the city is CRCA’s Coaching Program. Free to all CRCA members (that’s tough to beat on price!), the CRCA Coaching program runs for most of the year, starting in February and continuing through August with select CX focused sessions in the fall. Topics range from bike handling skills to sprinting technique, and generally take place in small group settings with a handful of fellow club members. For more information head over to CRCA.net and consider joining the club while you’re over there.

For those who are more cyclocross focused or just want to learn some skills off-road, the free and completely volunteer led Wednesday Night CX Practice series can’t be beat.

For those who are track or fixed bike racing curious, there are many opportunities throughout the year to participate in free or low cost clinics at the Kissena Velodrome. And in particular, for kids, Star Track is development program you’ll definitely want to check out.

Have another organization or program that should be listed here? Drop us a note at team [at] tobedetermined.cc

CRCA Racers speaking at the 2017 CRCA New Rider Information Session

AN INTRODUCTION TO NYC BIKE RACes

CRCA CLUB SERIES

The CRCA Club Series is a members-only race series held from March until August in Central Park. There are twelve (or thirteen depending on the calendar construction) races per season. Races start early - typically at or around sunrise to maximize race duration in the context of strict finish times required by NYC Parks. The CRCA club series is one of the most inclusive race series around, with at least 2 W fields at every event, and combined with the CRCA Coaching program this is a great series to get introduced to bike racing and hopefully move through the ranks to higher categories.

CRCA OPEN RACES

CRCA also hosts some of the biggest and best races in the City as part of their ‘Open Racing’ calendar - that is CRCA promoted races that are eligible to non-CRCA members. CRCA’s marquee event is the CRCA Grant’s Tomb Criterium, still the largest all day bike race in New York City to date. While not in NYC, the Bear Mountain Classic is the area’s most prestigious road race, held at Harriman State Park, approximately one hour north of the city. Beyond that, the CRCA Open Race calendar is rounded out by three races held in Central Park: the Dave Jordan Central Park Classic, the Mengoni Grand Prix, and the Lucarelli & Castaldi Open.

PROSPECT PARK SERIES

There are current two major series in Prospect Park, both run by Kissena’s Charlie Issendorf:

  • The Lucarelli & Castaldi Series is a long-standing season long race series that brings out some of the city’s top riders. The Series is also notable for featuring both a points based GC competition as well as Sprinter and KOM Jerseys. The L&C Series currently features three fields: P/1/2/3, Category 3/4, and Novice.

  • The Verge Series has evolved and rebranded in recent years but generally mirrors the structure of the L&C Series with GC/Sprint/KOM competitions. The main difference is simply in field structure where the Verge Series features Category 2/3, Masters 40+, and Novice fields.

  • As of 2023, a 4 race Women’s field series was also created with GC/Sprint/QOM and Cat 4 leaders jerseys. We are hoping this series returns again given the growing popularity of W fields in Prospect Park.

FLOYD BENNETT FIELD

The fractured concrete of Floyd Bennett Field is home to the famous Tuesday Night Series. Starting at the beginning of May and running until the end of August, Tuesdays at Floyd’s are a hard fought affair where the wind can play a big role in the outcomes. Racing on a 2.3 mile lap, the imagery of bike racing at FBF is hard to forget. Current categories at Floyd are P/1/2/3, Category 3/4 (Cat 3’s younger than 40 must race the P/1/2/3), Womens, and Category 5. Last year, there were also Juniors fields at some races. There are intermediate sprint competitions for most fields, and in the W field, there is also a separate Cat 4 leader’s competition. The leader of each competition gets to race in the leader’s jersey for that week and try to defend it for the series!

In recent years, there’s been an unfortunate struggle to obtain permits to preserve racing at FBF. This year, with the ongoing migrant crisis and resulting temporary shelters at FBF, it’s unclear whether a permit will be possible. The most up to date info can be found here.

HArlem SkysCraper

While not a series, the storied Harlem Skyscraper Cycling Classic is a marquee summertime event on the NYC racing calendar. The classic 4 corner criterium takes place around Marcus Garvey Park in a quintessential brownstone and tree-lined NYC Harlem neighborhood. The entire community turns out for this event and it has a joyful block-party like feel. This event is not to be missed whether you’re racing or spectating.

KISSENA VELODROME TRACK SERIES

Kissena Velodrome in Queens is home to New York City’s track scene, with more serious races also making the trek to the Velodrome in Texlertown, Pennsyvanlia or up North to Canada. There are two major Track Series held at Kissena throughout the year. The Lucarelli & Castaldi Six Days of Kissena series covers six early season weekend races dates while the Kissena Twilight Series takes place on Wednesday evenings in the summer. Beyond that, there are many other races and events at the velodrome including tracklocross and skills clinics. Check out the Kissena Track Fam website for the full schedule.

CYCLOCROSS RACING

While our favorite (and only) hometown race, Rainey Park Cross, is on hiatus due to park renovation/permitting issues, we still have a few races on the super robust tri-state area cyclocross calendar that are w/in an hour of NYC. Croton Cross, Bubblecross, and HPCX are the closest and always well attended by NYC folks. Check out bikereg in the fall for this year’s dates, and of course, follow us for the latest Weekend Forecasts, where we break down all you need to know to prepare for each event.

MOUNTAIN BIKE RACING

If mountain bikes is more your thing, we’ve got a surprising amount mountain bike races within a 1-2 hour drive (some accessible by train) of NYC. Check out the H2H Series (primarily in northern NJ), the NYS MTB Series (including the Chainstretcher, an awesome & relatively close event put on by our pals at Gambit Racing at Blue Mountain in Peekskill), and some events on Long Island put on by the Race Awesome folks.

LOCAL BIKE SHOPS

We will be updating this over time - have a favorite shop that you want to be featured? Drop us a note at team [at] tobedetermined.cc.

OTHER RESOURCES

  • TBD Race Calendar - we maintain a year round race calendar (for road / gravel / MTB / CX). Head here for a complete listing of all regional events.