Race Categories

To determine your race "Class", look at the “Course Description” column, select a distance/difficulty that feels right for you, and then note the corresponding field. If you’re a cyclocross or road racer, reference the “USA Cycling Equivalency” table near the bottom of this page. 

For the Women's Field, race categories and distances have been adjusted for Women’s Sport and Women’s Comp which were revised/added in 2020. 

*Times are approximate 

Race Start Times 

Below are start times for each of the fields. Each field may include one or more waves. Be at the start area 10 minutes before for call-ups and staging.

Results & Awards

Results will be POSTED on our Website under "Race Results"

Awards and Points for each Filed are determined based on gender, age group, bike, and/or other category, as outlined in the following table.

USA Cycling Equivalency 

Road and cyclocross racers—welcome to the wonderful world of mountain biking! If you’re unsure of which category you should sign up for, here’s a chart based on USA Cycling categories. The Minnesota Mountain Bike Series is unsanctioned. 

In order to welcome more riders to the MN Mountain Bike Series and improve the experience of transitioning between fields, we’re piloting a new Women’s Comp class for 2021 and adjusting Women’s Sport. 

Here’s what you can expect: 

Women’s Citizen – Less technical course, 6–10 miles, 45 mins*

Adjusted! Women’s Sport – More technical course, 6­–10 miles, 55 mins*

NEW! Women’s Comp – More technical course, 12­–15 miles, 80 mins* 

Women’s Elite – More technical course, 18–20 miles, 110 mins* 

*times are approximate 

FAQ

Why was the Women’s Sport course adjusted?

• We shortened the Women's Sport course to empower more riders to move up from the Citizen field and make transitioning from Citizen to Sport more feasible—that is, adding in the more technical riding and climbing, without adding the extra distance at the same time. 

I liked Women’s Sport the way it was.

• Great! You should race Women's Comp now. The previous Women's Sport class is now the Women's Comp class—only the name changed. 

Women’s Sport and Women’s Citizen are the same distance now—are they basically the same race? 

• Nope! While these two fields are similar in distance, they are very different in terms of course difficulty—giving riders a great opportunity to hone their technical skills without adding additional mileage until they upgrade to Comp. For certain venues, the amount of climbing DOUBLES from Women’s Citizen to Women’s Sport! 

What’s the starting order and who races with who?

• The Citizen and Elite fields will stay the same. Women’s Comp will start after Men's Sport, and Women’s Sport will start after Women's Comp.  

What do you mean by “more technical” and “less technical” courses?

• The more technical courses include roots, rock gardens, logs, small drops, berms, steep hills, and other features that the less technical courses don’t have. That being said, we recommend pre-riding the course so you know what to expect before racing no matter what field you’re in. 

Why wasn’t there a Women’s Comp field until now?

• To explain this, we need to start with the Elite fields. Due to race speed, Men’s Elite usually races 1 more lap than Women’s Elite in the same amount of time. The logic was that, since Women’s Elite already does the same distance as Men’s Comp, racers who would otherwise choose Women’s Comp might as well sign up for Women’s Elite. Plus they’d have a chance at winning money! However, as fields sizes and interest in the series has grown, we realized that it made sense to pilot this program in 2021 so that racers in the women’s fields could feel empowered to pick a field that suits their ability level best and confidently upgrade from Citizen, Sport, and Comp. 

If you're a visual person, consider the following table.

*Times are approximate