[Closed] How whats the average speed in an XC race?

It's course dependant. At a guess, most recreational riders are unlikely to finish top 1/3 IMO, it's v. competitive!

I'd say the buzz of racing is about progressing throughout seasons.

You won't be last.

yea, but I'd rather just ride the courses the week before/after for free and do the training untill I can at least do some overtaking rather than just dying at the back of the group.

no point splashing out however much it is to enter if I'm completely uncompettative.

I never let that stop me.

I still get a racing buzz even if I'm two-thirds down the results and quite unfit.

Start off in sport category.

You won't be last.

Only if were counting the DNF's and DNS'!

Supposedly a 5.5 mile lap and young Steve James in Expert (there's an older Steve James in masters) had the single fastest lap I can see @ 22:16 - that's just under 15mph

For mere mortals in the Fun Category, the winner finished in 1:00:24 at an average of 10.9mph; 1/3 down (your 'target') would be 9.83mph

And don't think that by entering your age group you'll do any better..... masters and vets are all pretty quick too. Fun winner would have been about 2/3 down in masters and 1/3 down in Vets.

We started with the Vets a few years ago.

First year we were been lapped, before the end of our second lap (and their third and final lap). In later years my goal was sub-150% of distance winner - a good start really helps, as the first 'pinchpoint' can really make a difference, even to 'slow' guys.

In every class there are always very fast people, so ignore the first 1/3 as said.

Their Enduro is on the 2nd May in Swinley, you can enter as many laps as you want (up to 7), and for the 1-2 lappers quite laid back. Its usually a very good event, lots of singletrack and little aggression.

as the first 'pinchpoint' can really make a difference, even to 'slow' guys.

Has any one noticed that the numbers in the gorricks are really low in comparison to last year.

I managed to head off near the start of the open group and there was no pinch point for me which was nice.

Are more people doing fun ?

I commented the same yesterday which was odd as it was a really nice day. Only 45 in fun, I think.

Dunno how low numbers were, still a couple of c***s thinking they're McRae in their octavia estates leaving at 4:30pm ish, bit daft considdering how many kids there are on bikes on those roads.

So a reasnoble target for starting out would be to average 10-15mph on Swinley singletrack, which doesnt actualy sound too hard, maybe the course was more technical than it looked.

Then again I was suffering on my bike yesterday and probably just lusting after something stiff with light wheels rather than a steel frame, big rims and high rollers.

Course will still be easy to follow today. Try doing a lap and see how long it takes. Don't forget your permit 🙂

So a reasnoble target for starting out would be to average 10-15mph on Swinley singletrack, which doesnt actualy sound too hard, maybe the course was more technical than it looked.

Course was nt particularly technical and again for alot of racers the speeds are nt that great.

But what your'll probably realise is when you normally ride you probably stop alot to eat drink or just take a breather and this does make a big difference.

yea, but I'd rather just ride the courses the week before/after for free and do the training untill I can at least do some overtaking rather than just dying at the back of the group.

You just won't go at the same pace - racing always drags more speed out of you than training!

Just enter a race and do it!

Agree, just do it and see how you get on!

If you do Open you'll probably be somewhere in the middle, better bet than sport I'd say.

The numbers are always down on the later races as there's more going on, so you lose many of the 'serious' racers. With a Southern XC last week and an NPS in 2 weeks a lot of people will be missing the Gorrick, they don't need the extra race training. Where the Gorricks tend to get massive numbers is in the early spring where there's no other events on.

haha, need a new bike (or at least one of the more suitable builds finished) first, 30lb hardtail with big fat tyres and flat pedals is great for swinleys downs, but not the ups!

Anoyingly I sold a cannondale F500 not so long ago. Even with stock bits it was 25lb ish. Could have been a good basis for a cheep XC bike.

Would have thought you would be fine if you are thinking 10-15 mph sounds OK
If you want to be closer to the front then start doing interval work as well

There is a flippin lot of difference between running at 10mph to 15mph, like a year or two of dedicated training assuming you already have a decent base fitness..

Just pop some fast and light tyres on what you got and enter one.

Just pop some fast and light tyres on what you got and enter one.

+1, the Gorricks are friendly anyway, and there's always a full range of bikes and riders!

If you do their enduro in a couple of weeks as B R said, many of the categories are like an XC race, but with a full range of abilities. I'm planning to do the 3 lap, hopefully somewhere near the front, treating it as a longish XC race, and there'll likely be people over an hour behind who are just out for more of a plod! It's a good chance to gauge yourself against the racers without any chance of feeling like you're going to look silly (which you never would anyway!).

haha, I said it sounded "not too hard" based on I used to assume 12mph for a ride back home in Derbyshire. No idea what I'd average now.

Struggling to average 10mph on a fairly untechnical flatish ride at the moment, need to get my road bike down here to get some mid week riding in to start ramping up the fitness for the summer if my knee holds out.