Northampton Cycling Club

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Trail Blasters Racing Team

We offer a mountain bike racing team in the spring and cyclocross in the fall. If racing isn’t your jam, check out our popular spring cyclocross series and Trail Blasters weekly rides throughout the riding season (April through October).

Youth Mountain Bike Racing Team

To get a sense of our race team, read last year's recap: NCC Trail Blasters 2024 Spring MTB Race Season Recap.

In 2025, we will offer two mountain bike racing options. You can participate in either, or both:

First Option: Trail Blasters Mountain Bike Race Team

This team will practice once a week on Sundays from 3:00 – 5:00pm and participate in the regional races linked below. Practice start date will be determined by the weather, most likely starting early April. This race team will be lead by Trail Blaster Coaches Craig Neal, Amy Stephens, Tom Hoogendyk and Jasper Sargent. This race team is open to all club members at no additional cost.

2025 Trail Blasters Race Schedule:

March 23, 2025 – Winterraden – Middleboro, MA
May 3, 2025 – Secret Squirrel – Taunton, MA
May 24, 2025 – Gnar Weasels – Brownsville, VT
June 14, 2025 – Norbrook Farm Brewery Trail Festival – Colebrook, CT
June 1, 2025 – Bikes for Bovines - Keene, NH
July 26, 2025 – Barn Burner – Walpole, MA
August 17, 2025 – Carolina Hills – Marshfield, MA
September, 7, 2025 – Landmine Classic – Hingham, MA

Second Option: River Valley Riot, not NCC club sponsored but aligned in mission, vision, community.

For riders looking for a dedicated race series and season, we have shifted that program over to New England Youth Cycling (NEYC) as the River Valley Riot team. NEYC is a youth-only race series program consisting of over 30 teams across all five states in New England and more than 850 athletes participating throughout the season. The season will start with practices in late March and will consist of six races; three in May and three in June with practices twice a week in Northampton or surrounding towns. This race team will be lead by Ross Krause. Please reach out to rivervalleyriotteam@gmail.com for any questions you may have.

Coaches

Our head racing coach is a licensed USA Cycling coach and all our coaches are SafeSport certified and have years of experience running youth cycling programs.

NCC Trail Blasters Youth Cyclocross Racing Team

NOTE: 2024 Dates Below, 2025 Season information coming soon!

Northampton Cycling Club’s youth cyclocross racing program focuses on a local series of races (The River Valley CX Series) and a few other local events. The season includes twice-weekly team practices (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and 6+ race days. Program dates, locations, and details below.

We welcome riders with a range of speed and skill levels, however we want to emphasize that our program is geared toward athletes who are ready to be engaged in practice and improve their skills and fitness for a season of racing. Riders are expected to be motivated and ready to be challenged at an appropriate level for their age and skill level. Riders should be ready to climb uphill, ride for extended periods of time, spend significant time on trails and grass, run for short distances, and will be expected to come in to the program having enthusiasm and a base level of fitness, but maybe not the racing experience or advanced handling skills just yet. We expect the riders to work hard, focus, behave, and have fun. We will spend time at the start of the season setting expectations around behavior and commitment and ask that parents help us reinforce these expectations.

This is a great way for motivated kids to get out and try their hand at cyclocross racing, or gain some new skills and fitness if they already have experience! Practices will focus on strategy, skills, faster-paced riding, and will be tailored to our team’s needs. Races will offer multiple age groups and will be attended by trained coaches and parent volunteers.

Participants must be Northampton Cycling Club members with a cyclocross racing age 10-18 (age as of 12/31/2025) who are ready to learn, work hard, and compete. Acceptable bikes include cyclocross, gravel, or mountain bikes.

In addition to the program fee ($325 with scholarships available) and individual race entry fees (typically $0 – $20 each), riders will also need a valid USA Cycling junior race license ($40) to cover them at most races, and they must be a current NCC member with either an individual junior ($25 per child under 18) or family membership ($75/year) to participate. This ensures all riders and coaches are adequately insured and covers our program costs.

Team Practices

August 20th – November 7th
Tuesday and Thursday practices from 5:15 – 7:00 This may shift earlier as daylight necessitates
Tuesday Practice: Southampton and Easthampton locations (skills / cyclocross specific work)
Thursday Practice: Hatfield, Northampton, and Holyoke locations (gravel endurance ride)

Race Schedule

River Valley Series Race #1: Sunday 8/25/2024 Blunt Park CX Springfield, MA
River Valley Series Race #2: Sunday 9/1/2024 NCC Hydra Cross Holyoke, MA
River Valley Series Race #3: Saturday 9/28/2024 Kilowatt Cross Northfield, MA
Optional Team Races: October
River Valley Series Race #4: Saturday 11/2/2024 Treehouse CX South Deerfield, MA
Look Park Race Weekend: Saturday & Sunday 11/9 – 11/10 Northampton International Cyclocross Northampton, MA
River Valley Series Race #5: Saturday 11/16/2024 Chicopee Cross Chicopee, MA

Some team members also may attend more races in the Northeast in September and October and the USA Cycling National Championships in Louisville, KY in December

All races will have youth categories for our team and plenty of racing opportunities for adults and younger kids too! We plan to make the races a fun time with food, cheering, and friends!