Road Races

You think you might want to start racing bikes but are not sure what kind of events you'll race in. If you watched the Tour de France last summer, you saw a lot of road races. Road races are just like the name implies; you race on the road. You can race a circuit or road race, a criterium, or a time trial. You can put all three of them together over a long weekend, and you've got a stage race.

Let's take a closer look at these races via a good resource for the racer, the USA Cycling web site. This site has a lot of useful information for the beginner as well as the veteran racer.

• Road Races
• Criteriums
• Time Trials (also see this months posting on time trial racing)
• Stage Racing

Now that you know what kind of races you can compete in, a future posting will look at the different categories you will race under. Don't want to wait for me? Fully explore the USA Cycling web site on your own...and start riding.