RACER INFO

After a triumphant post-covid return in 2021, New York City’s only sanctioned cyclocross event is back for its sixth year on Saturday November 19th. 2022. Rainey Park, a small waterfront park along Vernon Blvd in Western Queens will once again offer up its undulating terrain and stunning backdrop of the city skyline to host this year’s festivities.

Click here for the 2021 Rainey Park Cyclocross Technical Guide
2022 Tech guide coming soon

Find us on:
BikeReg
#raineyparkcross on Instagram

REGISTRATION

Registration will open in early November on BikeReg. Due to NYC Parks Department rules the event is pre-reg only! Registration closes at 7pm on Thursday November 21st. Don’t sleep - many fields will sell out!

Once again, this year we are offering discounted entry to all women as well as continuing the tradition of FREE one day licenses to beginner racers. Sun and Air will be sponsoring Women’s Category 4/5/Novice entry fees. One-day licenses may only be purchased by Category 5 racers for use in the appropriate category races.

NOTE: USACycling Rules 2014 - 1A2(c): One-day license may only be purchased by someone who holds the lowest category for the discipline of the race. Nobody who ever held a higher category can purchase a one day. In other words, it is a beginner, trial license.

Racers may compete in a second race where eligible for an additional $10. Women that wish to race in the SingleSpeed race can contact us for a discount code to use.
Wait listed riders will be let in only if spots open up prior to close of registration.

Visit https://www.bikereg.com/raineyparkcross to register!

SCHEDULE

Early number pickup will be between 10am and 6pm on Friday 11/19/21 at Sun & Air - 788 Driggs Ave, Brooklyn, NY. Stop by, have a coffee and make sure your bike is in working order.

Athlete check-in opens at 8:30 AM and will close 30 minutes prior to your scheduled start time. Please be prepared to show your valid USAC license (via app, website or paper). One-day license holders will need to fill out a hard-copy form at the registration table, please allocate time for this.

The course will be open for inspection and warm-ups at 9:00 am on race day. There are off-lease dog-hours until the morning so please be respectful of other park users. Absolutely no pre-riding in the park prior to race day! Any other access is at the discretion of the Chief Referee; but will usually be available via the course crossing beyond the finish line after the race leader has completed the race. Riders who interfere with those that are still racing will be relegated to the back of the starting grid and heckled mercilessly throughout their race!

STAGING

Staging for all categories will be done according to CrossResults.com ranking after registration closes.

Front row call-ups will be awarded to volunteers that sign up for a shift prior to race day!

Staging will begin 10 minutes prior to listed start times. Please listen for announcements. If you miss your call up, please fill in the next available spot in the starting grid and do not try to force yourself into an opening that isn’t there.

RESULTS

Timing will be provided by Mainsport Event Solutions at the finish line. Results will be e-mailed to you and posted at the registration tent, located near the start/finish line approximately 10 minutes after the last racer has finished in an event.

Racers have 15 minutes from the time that results are posted/announced to protest the standings. After that time the results become official and no further changes will be made. Results will be submitted to CrossResults and USAC by the following morning.

Podium presentations for the top-three in each category will take place approximately 30 minutes after race finish. Please listen for announcements.

$311 cash payout for Elite Men's field and $420 for the Elite Women's field! Swag packs for top 3 in all races from a bunch of generous partners.

TRAVEL AND PARKING:

One of the main goals of putting this race on is to create a race that New York City residents can ride their bikes to. The Vernon Blvd bike lane goes directly to the entrance of Rainey Park. 

If you are driving, there is a parking lot immediately north of the park with about 75 spots in it. There should be a decent amount of street parking directly in front of the park and in the surrounding neighborhood. Parking meters are in effect on Saturdays. There is a municipal lot on 31st Street between 34th Ave and Broadway, which is about a 6 min bike ride down the 34th Ave Bike lane. There's also a large parking garage just over the bridge on Roosevelt Island which is about the same distance and you can exit out of the garage onto the bridge's bike path. If you are not familiar with NYC street parking rules, just pay attention to the signs and avoid being less than 15' from a fire hydrant or parking in a driveway/curb cut. 

This is NYC, so be prepared for some level of traffic and trouble with parking. New York car ownership is up 40% in the last year and a half. Please carpool if you can, and if you're not entirely familiar with city rules make sure to pay attention to fire hydrants, bus stops, driveways and bike lanes when parking your vehicle! Lock your car and don't leave your B bike unlocked on your trunk rack while pre-riding the course or spectating.

The park is an easy ride from almost anywhere in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens, so we highly encourage you to ride to the race if you are able!

COURSE MAP:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Like most things in NYC, we're cramming a lot of action into a little bit of space! The prologue starts on a slightly false-flat section of grass, turns onto pavement briefly and then back onto grass where it links up with the main course. A slight drop in elevation flows into a series of U-turns before a fast sweeping turn around the baseball field, followed by some brief up and down along a small hillside (which is in the outfield for some reason?) before passing the pit for the first time. Next up is a quick dip down onto the pavement, down an off-camber right hand turn and back onto the paved, slightly up-hill finishing stretch. The following section is a series of flat zig-zags in between and around the large trees that line the park. Once the course takes you along the water it starts to get interesting. A set of ~30cm high barriers (lower than the standard 40cm, but still tricky to bunny hop!) precedes a series of up/down off-camber turns leading to a stair run-up. After passing the pit for the second time there is a long sideways off-camber descent back down to the lowest elevation in the park. Some more up and down before an up hill drag with 3 Belgian steps (spaced apart enough to be ride-able with some finesse). Elevation levels out again as you begin to approach the street, and some more rooty turns follow. Next up is a fast section back towards the playground before one last trip up and down the off-camber hillside and heading back towards the prologue. Average lap time for the pointy end of the Elite fields the last two years has been between between 6:45 and 7:45 depending on weather conditions. 

*As always, course is subject to change - and we'll probably scheme up some new goodness for 2022!