Racing

The club races in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC) against schools all over the northeastern United States and even some parts of Canada. The ECCC fields a vast variety of racers ranging from first-timers to experienced racers competing at the elite amateur and professional levels.

The ECCC sanctions collegiate racing for road, cyclocross, mountain, and track at all levels. The club reimburses entry fees, gas money, and lodging for all collegiate races, making collegiate racing the most cost effective racing you will ever find (unless you go pro, of course)! In addition, the club races non-collegiately in local races.

The road season is during the spring and is our biggest season in terms of number of racers. Collegiate racing is open to all levels, with categories A, B, C, D, and Intro ensuring that there is a level of competition for everyone ranging from beginners who have never raced before to people interested in racing at the national level! Road racing is not only a test of who has the greatest fitness, but also who can outsmart their competition which makes it a fascinating sport to watch and compete in.

The mountain season is during the fall, and we are fielding a strong team this fall in all disciplines. The mountain riding in Ithaca is some of the best in the Eastern United States which gives our racers access to incredible training grounds. This season we hope to expand our mountain biking program and become one of the most competitive teams in our conference.

The cyclocross season comes during the late fall and early winter. For many of our road racers, it is a gateway to racing and competition even though the weather may be cold for competitive road riding. Cyclocross combines the technical skills of mountain biking and the tactical skills of road racing to make CX a discipline open to a variety of backgrounds. The club competes in collegiate races throughout the northeast as well as a variety of races held locally.

The track season is during the summer and there isn’t a velodrome particularly close to town, so there isn’t a track team at the moment. In the past, there have been some very successful club members on the track, including a pair who competed at tandem track worlds, so we would be interested in fielding a track team if there’s any interest.