*If racing isn’t your jam, check out our popular spring cyclocross series and weekly recretional mountain bike rides throughout the riding season (April through October).

2026 Season Information

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 7 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.

Requirements

This program is designed for racers with a cyclocross racing age of 9-19. Cyclocross Racing Age is your age by the end of the following year, therefore the minimum age requirement is being 9 by the end of 2027.

Participants must also be Northampton Cycling Club members who are ready to learn, work hard, and compete. Acceptable bikes include cyclocross, gravel, or mountain bikes.

In addition to the program fee and individual race entry fees (typically $0 - $35 each), riders will also need a valid USA Cycling junior race license ($40), 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.

>>Register here<<

Racing Team Policy

This program is run by the Northampton Cycling Club (NCC) and NCC Membership is required. Participants are encouraged to race for the NCC Trail Blasters race team and are able to participate at a discounted rate for representing the team and sponsors at races. Community members who race for other teams are welcome to join this program and race for their other team at our standard community rate. A $100 clothing reimbursement is offered to cover the cost of a Trail Blasters jersey or other racing gear for all participants in the program.

Practice Dates & Locations

We practice on Tuesdays (typically cyclocross specific skills & workouts) and Thursdays (typically endurance or interval workouts).

• August 18th - November 7th
• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:00 arrival, Practice Runs 5:15 - 7:00 Lights are provided as the sun sets earlier and earlier.
• Tuesday Practice: Southampton, Easthampton, Northampton, Hatfield, and Williamsburg locations (skills / cyclocross specific work)
• Thursday Practice: Holyoke and/or Williamsburg, Hatfield locations (gravel endurance ride)

Race Schedule

• River Valley Series Race #1 Sunday, 8/30/2026 Blunt Park CX / Springfield, MA
• River Valley Series Race #2 Saturday, 9/5/2026 NCC Hydra Cross / Holyoke, MA
• River Valley Series Race #3 Saturday, 9/26/2026 Kilowatt Cross / Northfield, MA
• River Valley Series Race #4 Saturday, 10/17/2026 Tree House Cyclocross / South Deerfield, MA
• Cycle-Smart Northampton Weekend: Saturday & Sunday 10/31 - 11/1 Northampton International Cyclocross / Northampton, MA
• River Valley Series Race #5 Saturday, 11/7/2026 West Hill Shop / Putney, VT
• Optional: Various September & October Races

Some team members also may attend more races in the Northeast in September and October and the USA Cycling National Championships in Fayetteville, AR 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!

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. All of our coaches are background checked and SafeSport certified; most also have First Aid and CPR certification and have years of experience running youth cycling programs.

Ross Krause
NCC Trail Blasters Head Racing Coach
rkrause@nohobikeclub.org

I have questions!

• I’m not sure if my child is ready for this!
• Do we have the right bike?
• We have other sport or extracurricular commitments that may interfere.
• I’m not sure we can afford the program or race fees.
• What is a racing age?!

Feel free to reach out to head racing coach Ross Krause if any of these ring true or you have other questions (use the ‘Contact Us’ link below).

Register to be part of the team and pay the program fee on our BikeReg page.

Youth Mountain Bike Racing Opportunity

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

For riders looking for a dedicated race series and season, there's the local River Valley Riot (grades 5-12) and River Valley Rumble (grades 2-4) New England Youth Cycling (NEYC) teams. NEYC is a youth program consisting of over 30 teams across all five states in New England and more than 900 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. The Riot race team is led by Ross Krause and the Rumble team is led Justin Glaze. Please reach out to rivervalleyriotteam@gmail.com or rivervalleyrumbleteam@gmail.com for any questions you may have.