I’m newer to cycling with a long term goal of doing a cross country race and someday maybe doing Single Track 6. My question is what are some good milestones to know when I should think about trying my first race. I am to win or anything but I don’t wanna dnf or get totally embarrassed either. What are some goals I should work towards to know I am ready? Is it an ftp goal or something else? Advice would be great.
Firstly - who cares if you do DNF? Really, really good athletes DNF all the time.
If it was my first ever race, I’d probably choose something shortish in duration - maybe an hour or two.
I’d enter my age group or lowest grade (C or D)
I’d research the course as much as possible and be confident I could ride for an hour or 50km or whatever it is
I’d rock up to the race, prepared, having been to the race briefing, read all the emails, watched YT vids of previous years and with a plan - don’t go out super hard, sit comfortably for most of the race and push when I know I can get to the end at that effort level.
At the end of the race you’ll have a much better understanding of fitness, race tactics, equipment choice, nutrition and training needed for the next one.
oh, and enjoy yourself!
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Yeah defo enter the novice category or whatever. I entered the next one up and regretted it! And that wasn’t high level by any stretch
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You should race when you get the itch to race. There will be someone there with less experience/skill/speed than you, and if there isn’t, you’ll still have learned a lot about race prep, fueling, technical skills, pacing, etc.
As a musician, this question reminds me of when people say, “I play the guitar for an hour almost every day, but I don’t know when I can start calling myself a guitarist”. You play the guitar, you’re already a guitarist. Same with bikes. Just enter the appropriate Category and get out there.
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If it’s not too far to travel I think it’s always worth pre riding the race course at your race pace.
You’ll learn the course layout, where you’re strong and weak, and how well your fueling/hydration strategy will work.
You should try a race immediately, if not sooner. No reason not to. It’s best to start out with no expectations other than being there, collecting your credentials, pinning numbers on, and riding around the course. The learning experience will be priceless.
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If you are training then you are ready. The only way to determine where you are is to race. Someone will be first and someone will be last. That’s racing. If you have the bug just go do it. Chasing down people in a race is great fun. It’s even more of a thrill to pass the leader.
I’m gonna add that local knowledge of the course is a huge plus.
Figure on doing that a lot at first. Unless you do all out hard hitter group rides with cat 2, 3, 4s and can hang with the lead group…
Do those group rides as I mentioned.
Otherwise, just go for it. There’s nothing like experience.
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You should get into racing when you are comfortable in that environment when going hard, tired, and fast.
The minimum requirements IMO are not fitness related but safety related. Nobody but you cares if you DNF. Trust me. The people at bike races are either very supportive and will just be psyched that you went out there and pushed yourself or they will be wrapped up in their own performance and won’t even notice you.
The only time people will get upset at you is when you do dangerous things that could hurt other riders.
So if it’s road, do some group rides and learn to ride in a fast group. If it’s off road, do the trails at a hard pace and make sure that you can tackle the obstacles while tired.
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Either just enter a race with a novice or fun category, or, if you’re really not sure, find a race to go to and watch in person. Maybe take your bike, and ride the course after the race (even the next day).
For XC racing, there isn’t really a power target to reach imo, but you should feel confident riding the course features. It’s ok if you have to get off for something, but it’s no fun (and a bit dangerous) if you spend most of the race walking.
It’s a bit different with road races, because not enough power / low FTP will just see you dropped quickly, and then you’ll either just ride on your own, or you’ll be pulled from the race.
Another important skill is being able to ride in groups. Definitively for road and gravel, but even XC and CX have mass starts, and you’ll have to be safe to ride in that group for a bit. If you usually ride on your own, try some mass starts with friends. Or see if there is some sort of organised group you can ride with, even just occasinally. That’ll also allow you to judge your skills and performance, before entering a race.
Cross country there’s technical skills you need to learn. How are they progressing?
You own a bike and have enough money for registration. Those are the milestones.
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You’ll never feel 100% sure about when to do your first race. Id say the best thing you can do to prepare are set a goal race on your calendar and do a full TR training plan in prep with Base, Build, and Specialty. Once you complete this to the best of your ability, you can at least feel you’ve “trained” sufficiently. You can always race sooner but if you want to feel you’ve done your homework its nice to have a full training course under your belt. Pick a local race that youre interested in and try that before you pick something that will involve major travel time and expenses. Racing is more than FTP so local races can be great to pick up some racecraft. Closer to the race start going over your equipment and race day supplies. Figure out what you’ll need in terms of bike/tires/gearing, zip ties for your number, tools for race day fixes, shock and floor pump, and nutrition for before/during/after the race.
Good luck and enjoy!
For XC, the only thing I’d worry about is having the skills to get around the course safely. Cat 3 MTB will have some fit people, but lots of weekend warrior types and it’s very welcoming (at least around here). Also, if you have any local races, go to a race and check it out without racing to see what it’s all about. Maybe volunteer to help with the race, it’s a fun way to get involved and some organizers will give you a free entry for volunteering.
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What’s the adage again? The best time to start is 10 years ago. The second-best time is now.
I wouldn’t worry about fitness, FTP and some such. There is a lot to racing that’s not related to your fitness numbers.
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My first race I was basically brand new to MTB, 34, borrowing a super cheap entry level Walmart level bike, for a 12 hour endurance race.
My life went downhill from there.
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I’m very much a beginner when it comes to racing.. I did a few CX races a couple of years ago, just go for it! It’s great fun and worse case you’ll see what you are against, best case you’ll catch the bug!
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Here in Midwest USA there are lots of local grass roots races that are the perfect place to start.
If you can ride your local trails safely, you can race those or similar trails.
Cat 3/beginner will have folks that signed up because they lost a bet and grabbed a helmet and pumped the tires up on a borrowed bike. So yeah, no real milestones before you are ready.
The earlier you start, the more reps you will get to figure out your race routine—packing, driving, check in, bike futzing, and warm up.
I race because I enjoy the adrenaline and exploring my limits. Certainly not because of my awesome results. I‘ve been in thrilling sprints to not be DFL. 
I did my first race at 42. I had been riding casually, but consistently for the previous three years.
I was decent enough technically for my local trails - typical Midwest singletrack - not that tech, but still opportunities to crash if you’re not paying attention.
Before the race, I knew I’d be fine technically. I didn’t know where I’d rank fitness wise.
I entered the Sport division, and lined up towards the back. That turned out to be a mistake, as I was noticably stronger (fitness) and better technically than most around me. I spent close to the first half of the race, maybe 30 mins, having to pass people in pretty assertive moves - as no one seemed to want to move to the side to make passing easier for those behind. Then it settled down into where people were riding a pretty even paces, with occasional passing.
Note: there were a lot of people in the race - maybe 70-80 from memory.
Looking back, I would have probably been fine entering a race 1-2 years earlier. The main thing is to have sufficient confidence in your technical skills where you have confidence on the bike and not going to crash if things get a little hairy on the trail, or bumping other riders.
And don’t worry about results. No one is really paying attention unless you’re at the pointy end!
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Sounds silly - but just do it. My first cyclocross race I crashed a few times, went way into the red, blew up, pulled out of the race with a DNF, and I got a case of exercise-induced asthma and ended up coughing for like 2 days straight.
I still had fun, ate some great cookies, cheered other racers on, met some fine folks on bikes, and was proud of myself for getting out there and “doing the thing”.
I was 55 when I did my FIRST race ever. I lived to tell the tale and I’m still happy I did it.
Just. Do. It.
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