Race Protocol
Before the Race
You must be fully signed up for your marshal requirements to be eligible to participate in club races.
Sign-in opens 45 minutes before race start at the Rambles parking lot in Central Park, near start-finish line at the top of Cat’s Paw Hill (at East 78th Street). Show your USCF license and club card, pay the entry fee ($10) and sign the sheet. Registration closes 15 minutes before the scheduled start time.
Your number should be pinned on the lower-left part of your jersey for our mass start races; pin on the lower right for races that finish behind the Metropolitan Museum.
For time trials, rider are given special numbers in consecutive order at registration; because it is inappropriate for teammates to start consecutively in individual time trial (or teams from the same subteam to start consecutively in team time trials), please make sure you do not line up at registration directly behind a teammate in an ITT (or in two sets of riders from the same sub-team for team time trials). Look for instructions at the race on where to place the numbers.
Riders are required to wear CRCA jerseys (gold-and-blue or sub-team jerseys), with allowances for cold-weather jackets or rain clothes.
Bags and personal belongings will be unattended, but most riders put their stuff together in a pile on the west side of the road at the start line. The club is not responsible for items left unattended.
Field Eligibility
Club races generally have three or four groups (fields) racing separately: A, B, C and Women. For the men, Category 5’s participate in the C field, Cat 4’s in the B field, and Cat 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s in the A field. For the women, if there is no separate women’s field, W4’s may participate in the C or B field depending on experience and strength. W1’s, 2’s, and 3’s may participate in the B or A field depending on experience, strength, or choice. On days when a women’s-only field is racing, all women race together, separate from the men. We sometimes have a field for masters 40+; women 35+ can participate in that field if they want.
Team Size Limits
9 riders in the A field
12 riders in the B field
Any team violating these rules will forfeit any points scored that day in either the Team Cup/Challenge or Jim Boyd Award.
Race Formats
There are four race formats:
- Scratch Races
Various finishes, first to the line wins. - Points Races
Points awarded at the finish line on every lap
1st place 6 points, 2nd place 4 points, 3rd place 2 points
Points awarded on the final lap
1st place 9 points, 2nd place 6 points, 3rd place 4 points, 4th place 2 points, 5th place 1 point - Harlem Hill Points Races
Points awarded at top of Harlem Hill on every lap except the first
1st place 6 points, 2nd place 4 points, 3rd place 2 points
Points awarded at the finish line on the final lap
1st place 9 points, 2nd place 6 points, 3rd place 4 points, 4th place 2 points, 5th place 1 point - Power Points Races
Points awarded at top of Harlem Hill on every lap except the first
1st place 6 points, 2nd place 4 points, 3rd place 2 points
Points awarded at the finish line on every lap
1st place 6 points, 2nd place 4 points, 3rd place 2 points
Points awarded at the finish on the final lap
1st place 9 points, 2nd place 6 points, 3rd place 4 points, 4th place 2 points, 5th place 1 point
For more details on scratch and points races, consult the USA Cycling rulebook.
Jim Boyd and Team Cup/Challenge Rules
The CRCA’s individual season-long competition is named in honor of Jim Boyd; series rules are online.
Sub-teams compete in the season-long competition called the Team Cup and Team Challenge; series rules are online.
Results
The race officials will compile results for each field in the parking lot immediately after the race. Riders who think that they’ve placed in the top seven should report to the race director to confirm their result. The race officials are obliged to attempt to pick and list the top seven finishers only.
Results will be posted and after a 15 protest period the results will be official and no subsequent changes will be made in normal circumstances.
If you believe you placed in the race, please also check with the Race Director immediately afterwards to confirm your placing and pick up any prizes; usually the top three finishers in each field receive a small cash prize. Prizes not claimed on the day of the race are forfeited. Similarly, if you have any protests or complaints about results or the conduct of other riders, inform with the Race Director immediately following the race.
Safety/Courtesy Before, During and After the Race
Please stay out of the recreation lane on the left side of the roadway. During the race this should be treated like the center line in a race on open roads. Violation of this rule will result in relegation or disqualification for advancing position; and a two race suspension for a flagrantly dangerous attack.
Do not ride on park walkways at any time.
Immediately after crossing the finish line please take care to stay out of the way of other racers by continuing on a ways and being careful before turning around. This is especially important in time trials, in which other riders may be continuing on for additional laps. For races that finish behind the Metropolitan Museum, please continue forward to leave the park at 90th Street and head south to 72nd Street to re-enter the park.
The biggest problem is after the race, when some riders congregate on the road. We have received numerous complaints about this, and we’d like to help keep that lane open for the other park users. Members may be disqualified from the current race and/or suspended from future races for standing in the road after a race.