Cycling Sport

The International governing association that oversees competitive cycling sport events - The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) accepted the sport of mountain bike racing comparatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Purgatory, Colorado. Initial mountain biking world cup series occured in 1991. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents - Europe and North America - and was sponsored by Grundig. In 1992, the Grundig-UCI world cup circuit expanded to ten races, and remained a trans-Atlantic series. Cross-country racing was the only world cup sport at this time, then in 1993 a six-event downhill world cup was introduced. In 1996, cross country mountain biking events were added to the Olympic Games. NORBA refers to the Board of Trustees that represent the sport of mountain bike racing for USA Cycling. There are three USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendars- Endurance, Gravity and Ultra-Endurance. USA Cycling runs the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships. In 2006 cross country mountain biking events will become part of the World Deaf Cycling Championships for the first time in San Francisco, USA.

There are different types of mountain bike races:

Cross-country:
Cross-country (XCO) racing is held on a varied terrain circuit, normally around 6-8 km and is always a massed-start race. Under the controversial new 2006 UCI rules, elite, U23, and Junior Expert riders at UCI sanctioned races, are allowed technical assistance, but only in designated zones and only by an authorized team mechanic. However, riders in the same team can help each other at any point in the race. Under NORBA rules, no technical assistance is allowed. Professional level races are longer in distance, around 30 miles.

Downhill:
Downhill (DH) racing is a time trial event. Riders start at intervals that can vary from 30 seconds to three minutes-depending on the stage of the competition - and the rider with the lowest time wins. As the name of this discipline implies, DH races are held in steep, downhill terrain, resulting in higher speed than in cross-country racing. The terrain is also often somewhat rougher than in cross-country racing. The bike is specialized and has a long travel suspension and powerful disc brakes.

Super D:
Super D (SD) is a blend of cross-country and downhill. Most of the race is downhill, on trails similar to the downhill segment of a cross-country race. There are also short (100-500 m) uphill sections which make the use of downhill bicycles difficult, as a result, most riders use cross-country or 'trail bikes'. Depending on the trail and race venue, the start may either be seeded (riders start in short intervals), or Le Mans mass start (riders run to their bikes, timing is started when the riders start running). Probably the most famous of this type is the Megavalanche.

Freeride:
Freeride (FR) competitions are not so much a race as they are a competition of skill. Courses contain varying cliffs, drops, obstacles, and ramps. There are usually a large number of ways in which to complete the course, and scoring is dependent on the competitor's choice of routes, the fluidity of riding and tricks performed (style), and sometimes also the time in which the course is completed.

Dual Slalom/Dual:
Dual Slalom (DS) is a ski-inspired event which pits two riders against each other on two identical man-made tracks side-by-side with the same jumps and berms, with a rider on each track, and the first across the line wins. The contest has a knock-out format. Dual (DL) events are similar, only two riders share the same course/track. So dual is a contact sport.

Four cross:
(4X, also known as 'mountain cross' or 'bikercross') inspired by the dual format and by BMX racing, this event pits four riders on the same course from starting gates to finish. There can only be one winner per event, so the races can quickly eliminate riders making the progression faster for a day's events. This is the reason it was chosen as the race-format to replace Dual-Slalom by the UCI at World Cup events. 4X also replaced Dual in the UCI World Cup series in 2002. There is a difference between 4x and mountain cross. The difference is that in 4x, riders are each given a run down the course which is timed and the top 50% of the field then progress to the elimination rounds. In mountain cross, riders are given 3 heats against 3 other riders and points are allocated for your position in each heat. once again, the top 50% progress to the elimination rounds. 4x is the format raced in world cup however mtnx, is the preferred format for amateur races.

Marathon:
Marathon (XCM) is perhaps the toughest form of mountain biking because riders often have to cover more than 80 kilometers in one race on mountaineous terrain. The distances usually vary from 60 kilometers to 100Km. Races often exceed 100Km, but are then termed Ultra-Marathons. Recently UCI has inaugurated the Marathon World Cup. Basically it equals point-to-point (PP) discipline and that means that riders have a mass start from point "A" and they finish at point "B". Stage races are also permitted in mountain biking.

Enduro:
Enduro (ND) is a relatively new development that has its roots in Marathon mountain biking. Endurance races tend either to last for 12 or 24 hours and although this can vary, there will generally be the following team categories: solo rider; pair; mixed (gender) pair; team (usually four people of the same gender); mixed team (five people of mixed gender). Aside from solo and paired riders, there are often intermediate (i.e. fun, expert, pro) classes within the other categories. Only one member of the team can be on the course at any one time, and it is a competition not to finish first, but to complete the greatest number of laps before the end of the event. Enduro races are also credited with the revival of mountain biking in recent years, mainly as a result of their participation and festival nature.

Epic Riding:
All day or multi-day adventures in remote wilderness areas.

And finally, the Bike Trials:
Slow negotiation of man-made and natural obstacles where setting a foot down constitutes a penalty.

Road bicycle racing is a famous sport which takes place on roads, using racing bicycles. As a rule, the term road racing is applied to events where competing riders start at the same time (except riding a handicap event) with the winner being the first at the end of the course (individual and team time trials are another form of cycle racing on roads).

Road racing is extremely well-liked worldwidely, notably in Europe. A very competitive and devoted countries are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, although the sport is popular also in Australia, Russia, and the United States.

Talking about its history, road bicycle racing started as an organized sport in 1868. The first world championship was held in 1893, moreover cycling has been part of the Olympic Games since the modern sequence started in Athens in 1896.

Interestingly, road racing in its modern form taked its roots from the late 19th century. The sport was popular in the western European countries of France, Spain, Belgium, and Italy. Some of Europe's earliest road bicycle races remain among the sport's marquee events. These early races include Liege-Bastogne-Liege (founded 1892), Paris-Roubaix (1896), the Tour de France (1903), the Giro d'Italia (1909) and the Ronde van Vlaanderen (1913). They provided a template for other races around the world. While the sport has spread throughout the world, these historic races remain the most prestigious for a cyclist to win.

Going further through the road race types, a single-day races: The first competitor that crosses the finish line after completing the prescribed course is declared the winner. Race distances vary from a few kilometres to more than 200 km. Courses may run from place to place or comprise one or more laps of a circuit; some courses combine both, ie: taking the riders from a starting place and then finishing with several laps of a circuit (usually to ensure a good spectacle for spectators at the finish). Races over short circuits (often in town or city centres) are known as criteriums. Some races, known as handicaps, are designed to match riders of different abilities and/or ages; groups of slower riders start first, with the fastest riders starting last and so having to race harder and faster to catch other competitors.
Stage races: are based on several races, also called stages, ridden consecutively. The competitor with the lowest cumulative time to complete all the stages is declared the overall, or General Classification (GC), winner. Stage races may also have other classifications and awards, such as individual stage winners, the points classification winner, and the "King of the Mountains" (or Mountains classification) winner. A stage race can also be a series of road races and individual time trials (some events include team time trials). The stage winner is the first person to cross the finish line that day or the time trial rider (or team) with the lowest time on the course. The overall winner of a stage race is the rider who takes the lowest aggregate time to complete all stages.

As the principle of winning is being the first to cross the line, many of the riders are grouped together in teams, as a rule with commercial sponsors. On professional and semi-professional teams, names are by and large identical with the primary sponsors. The size of the team alters from three in an amateur event for club riders to a dozen in professional races. Team riders decide between themselves, before and during the race, which has the best chance of winning. The selection will depend on hills, the chances that the whole field will finish together in a sprint, and other factors. The remaining will apply itself to promoting its leader's chances, taking turns into the wind for him, refusing to chase with the peloton when he escapes, and so on.