New to bicycle racing but want to join the Century Road Club Association (CRCA) community? Here is a step-by-step guide!

Join USA Cycling

USA Cycling is the sanctioning body for bicycle racing in the United States. Most bike races in the region require that you be a USAC member to participate, and all CRCA members must have an active USAC license. 

  • Go to www.usacycling.org, become a member and purchase a road license.
  • IMPORTANT: To be eligible for CRCA races, your road racing license must identify you as a CRCA club member. When purchasing, select “Century Road Club Association” as your road club.  If you are on a CRCA sub-team, select your applicable sub-team.
  • Make note of your license number.

Join CRCA

To take part in CRCA club races and members-only other events, you must be a CRCA member. There are a variety of membership levels available.

  • Join the club by clicking <>here.
  • If you want to race in Club Races in Central Park, you must join as a Racing or higher member. Please not that all Racing and Season Pass members must marshal at CRCA events. CRCA would not be able to function without these marshalling obligations. Donor members do not marshal.
  • If you only plan on racing in Open Races, you can join as an Associate member. Associate members are not required to marshal, but cannot participate in club races. Associate members may partake of CRCA’s free coaching sessions.
  • You must sign up for your marshal dates before you can race. You can read about what your responsibilities are as a marshal here.
  • If you are a new racer (category 4 or 5), you must sign up for and complete a Racing Skills coaching session before racing. The coaching schedule is available here.

Use CRCA Resources to Prepare to Race

Whether you are looking to race or just looking to take part in coaching sessions and group rides, CRCA offers an array of resources to get you ready.

  • CRCA Coaching Program sessions are a terrific asset and are free to all members.
  • Coaching session information is here.
  • Orientation Page here.
  • Bike Racing Safety Suggestions here.
  • Your First CRCA Race slideshow here.
  • To prepare for your race, read this.
  • How to pin your race number here.

Participate in a Club Race

Club races are the centerpiece of the club’s activities and are a great, low-cost opportunity to race in a community environment.

  • Club races are training races. You can compete against other racers of similar ability and in a familiar environment as you hone your skills and fitness.
  • Category 5 men race in the C field, category 4 Women race in the W field (though there are specific W3/4 and W4 fields on select dates).
  • No advance registration is required for CRCA Club races. Racing members just show up on race morning with a signed waiver and pay the race fee. Season Pass and Donor members are prepaid in advance and can use one waiver for the full season.

Participate in a CRCA Open Race

CRCA hosts a number of high quality Open Races – meaning open to both CRCA members and non-CRCA members. Depending on the race and the category, these races feature longer distances and higher prize purses for race winners.

  • An Open Race is a race open to members of all clubs – the list of CRCA open races is available here.
  • You will improve your racing skills, fitness and strategy by racing on different courses and against different riders.
  • Additional open race options in our region and beyond can be found on BikeReg.

What’s Next?

  • Have fun. Get to know others in the club and find riders to train with.
  • Have patience. Training for racing and learning excellent racing skills takes time and practice.

Need more information or help?  Contact a member of our Board of Directors.