SMBA Racing Opportunities for 2024

 Curious about mountain bike racing? Want to try a race or two this season? 

 SMBA offers coach supported race opportunities to our team athletes throughout the year.  Athletes can sign up for our Full Season Race Team Program or sign up to travel to a specific race with SMBA coaches and race team athletes.

Program fees for race support vary depending on race format, location, and travel time, and do not include race entry fees, lift tickets, or additional license fees.

Please see the Races/Event or Race Support Pricing tab for more information about SMBA supported races and dates.  

2024 SMBA Coach Supported Racing Opportunities:

CB Junior Bike Week

Summer Session, June 26th – 29th (Summer Mini Adventure)

Join SMBA coaches and athletes for a mid-week mini adventure to Crested Butte for CB Devo’s annual Junior Bike Week. Both XC and Gravity races are offered and are tailored to Jr. athletes. 

For more information about the races/event and registration Click Here 

Sign up to travel to CB Bike week with SMBA Here

Additional Races & Events

TBD – Stay tuned for more details!

Race Support fees for SMBA Athletes: 

Floyd Hill Session Series – $12

Fee includes van transportation to and from the race venue and coach support at the race.

Vans will depart the SMBA office promptly at 3pm on race day. Athletes will be instructed to call or text their parents when the van departs the race venue and is headed back to the SMBA office. 

CB Junior Bike Week – $475

Trip to this event is part of the SMBA Mini-Adventure trip offered in June. Athletes will leave on Wednesday and camp in Crested Butte. The group will return on Saturday. 

Beti Bike Bash – $100

Fee includes: van transportation to and from venue, Saturday course pre-ride and coaching; camping/park entry fees; dinner and snacks at campsite Saturday night, Breakfast, lunch & snacks on Sunday; and coach support on race day (registration assistance, preparation, warmup, start support, feed zone assistance) mechanical support, and pit space).

Athletes will be dropped off at the SMBA office on Saturday at 10am and will return to the office Sunday after the race. 

Additional Races – TBA

Fee includes: van transportation to and from venue; camping and camping fees; dinner and snacks at the campsite; breakfast, lunch & snacks on race day; course pre-rides & coaching; and coach support on race day (registration assistance, preparation, warmup, start support, feed zone assistance) snacks, mechanical support, and pit space.

Athletes will be dropped off the day (or two) before the race and will return to the SMBA office after the race. Times will vary depending on race location and travel times. 

Program Fees do not include race entry fees, licenses, lift tickets, or any additional equipment costs.

Athletes must register for races and pay for race entry fees separately through each event’s website.  

Stay tuned for race support registration updates!

What types of races can SMBA athletes sign up for during the season? 

SMBA participates in and provides support at a variety of race formats each year. Below are some of the race formats that may be available during each season:

Cross Country (XC): is a mass start off road cycling event held on singletrack, doubletrack and dirt roads. Most courses are approximately 10-25 miles.

Short Track (ST): a mass start, short circuit style event. Courses are short (0.5 – 2 miles) and approximately 20 minutes in length.

Enduro: a cross between a gravity event and cross-country racing. Generally, racers ride on a combination of timed stages and non-timed transfer sections between stages during the race.  Racers start at the top of a timed stage and race to the bottom of the stage. Racers then proceed to transfer to the next timed stage. Racers are separated from each other on each stage by 30 second intervals.  Ranking is based on the fastest times of each stage, and overall fastest time across all stages. 

There may be some uphill pedal transfers between stages and the technical difficulty tends to be less than that of a downhill. Some enduros are multi-day races with longer pedal transfers and stages while others may be single day races with shorter stages or lift-accessed transfers.

Downhill (DH): a time trial event where one rider descends a technical course to the bottom as fast as possible. Race courses are approximately 4-8 minutes in length.

Dual Slalom (DS): a gated event where competitors are “seeded” according to their qualifying time and then race head to head down similar courses in elimination rounds until a winner is decided. DS races are approximately one to two minutes.

Endurance/Marathon Races: longer distance point-to-point race courses (30 – 100 miles) where racers complete the course or laps on a course within a set time limit, or shorter courses (10 – 18 miles)  where racers complete as many laps as they can during a set time (6, 12, 24 hours). 

Endurance races can have solo, duo, or team relay options. 

To insure a safe and pleasant race experience, please be sure that your bike is well-maintained and in good working, race-ready condition. A mechanical failure can turn a fun racing experience into a not-so-fun experience. 

In addition to a race-ready bike, athletes should also have the following items on race-day: 

• Weather appropriate clothing
• Cycling gloves
•  Helmet (Full face if racing downhill or some enduro courses)
• Cycling shoes
• Sunglasses
• Spare tube,  CO2 Cartridge/hand pump, multi-tool
• Sunscreen
• Water bottle or hydration pack
• race fuel (e.g. gels, blocks, bars, etc.)
• Some races may require additional equipment; please see pre-race packing list in your registration confirmation for any additional required equipment. 

A short note on race foods: It is important to stay properly fueled before, during and after each race. On race day it is also important  that your athlete stick to foods that they consume regularly  during SMBA training rides (race day is not the time to test out a new hydration mix, energy bar, or gel).

Carbohydrates are the body’s main fuel source for most mountain bike events so it is important that the body’s glycogen stores are ready for the race ahead. Glucose stores can be severely diminished during the night so making sure that carbohydrates are consumed the morning of a race is very important. During the race athletes should try to consume 30 -60 grams of carbohydrate per hour (USA Cycling Introduction to coaching Cyclists). After the race it is important to re-fuel by consuming a snack that contains electrolytes, carbohydrates and protein.

A short note on hydration: Staying hydrated is very important. Make sure your athlete is fully hydrated before practice and events. The easiest way for the athlete to check that they are hydrated is to make sure that urine is relatively colorless. Each day of training and racing is different so there is no rule on exactly how much water needs to be consumed during an effort. In general it is very hard to keep up with water loss, so athletes should drink plenty of water and avoid feeling “Thirsty”. It is possible to drink too much fluid so finding the right balance and consuming enough electrolytes is important.