3 tips to help you pick your next MTB race

How to choose races that match your skills, interests, and vibe

by Karlie Fitzgerald @karliefitz

Karlie Fitzgerald

Whether you’re choosing your first mountain bike race or trying a new race type, these tips can help you have a great experience at your next competition. 

1. Pick a race your friends are doing

Typically, the first place you'll hear about MTB races is from your friends! Does your group typically enjoy a 15+ mile ride on a weekday, or choose routes based on how many hills you can attack? Or do you and your friends practice jumps or mob downhill laps at the bike park? When you’re out on rides with your friends, ask them what competitions they’re doing this year. Since the people you like riding with the most are the people who will be doing races or competitions that you might like. The other reason to pick a race your friends are doing, is that whether you race to win or ride for fun, you’ll get to be with your homies! 

2. Do a little research

You know the saying, “google it”, so you probably know where this is going. Cross country, enduro, downhill, gravel, short track, BMX, freestyle, the possibilities for mountain bike competitions are wide. After your friends, the next best place to determine what race would fit your riding style the most, is to learn more about mountain bike races online. For example, when researching gravel races, this article about Unbound Gravel from our sponsor, Sweet Protection, is helpful. You can also find lots of information about specific race types in the AI overview on your browser search. 

3. Choose the category that fits your skills

Beginner (Category 3) - If you’ve never raced before, Cat 3 is typically a great place to start! The beginner category doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a beginner rider, it can mean you’re just new to racing. Some races will list average times, skill levels for each category, route difficulties/ options, and other markers to help you choose the correct category. 

Intermediate/ Amateur (Category 2) - Usually for riders who are familiar with the course, or have experience with the style of race. This is a great category for the majority of riders at a race, and is typically split into age groups for better comparison of times. 

Elite (Category 1) - This category is for riders who are familiar with the route, race type and have reached top times and podiums of races they’ve participated in. 

We hope these tips help you find a race in the 2025 mountain bike season that suits your skills, feels fun, provides a sense of accomplishment, and gives you more excuses to ride your bike! If you’re looking for more tips, check out “First time Racer Guide” by USA Cycling. See you on the trails! #spreadthespoke

We see you bike season! But...MORE POW NOW! Until then, another winter training tip.

Libby Ellis staring down bike season. Not quite ready to give up this unbelievable winter we have been having.

The V-Line

Virginia Solomon is PCBR's resident PMBIA Certified Intermediate and Advanced MTB Coach. They work locally with Momentum Mountain Bike Instruction, Women in the Mountains, WomenMTB, and nationally with Ninja MTB Performance, Norco Dirt Series, and Ryan Leech Connection Online MTB Coaching.

Hey! It's winter!! While for many folks that means putting up their bikes, barring a trip to the desert here or there, this actually is the time of year where you can make a MASSIVE difference in your riding without a lot of effort. Leaving lots of energy for skinning, skating, or even letting the lift help you earn your turns.

Yeah, it's cold. Going out for a ride might not sound exciting, and we're not here to talk about fat biking. There's no need to even change after work, or any of your activities! Unless you're in ski boots. Maybe take off your ski boots...

Because winter is the perfect time to work on slow speed balance skills. Trackstands. Brake hops. Rocking. Fakies. All of these are skills that can be done in your driveway in a sleeping bag onesie. Or in a garage stall. Or, in a pinch, in your kitchen. Slow speed balance is cool in the parking lot, and a great way to make a playground out of any random park or parking lot in which you might find yourself. But it also is a game changer and will help you hit the trails come spring significantly less rusty than if you just let the bike collect dust for the next couple few months.

Virginia Solomon in their puffy and winter boots doing the work.

First, let's talk about trackstands. Contrary to what many people think, a trackstand isn't about standing STILL, it's about making constant micro-adjustments to maintain balance in place. Work on your track stands in all possible combinations. Wheel turned to the left, right foot forward and left foot forward. Wheel turned to the right, same with the feet! Everyone has a favored combo, but it pays to work on them all.

Choose which combo you want to start with. Turn your wheel 45-60ish degrees, and think about having your shoulders parallel to your bars (see pic above). From there, think about putting a bit more weight into your hands, so that you make sure you have some weight on your front wheel. Position your front foot, whichever one it is, a bit higher than three oclock, so it is easy for you to keep pressure on it. And you'll want to focus your vision on a spot 2-3ft in front of you. That's your starting position for a trackstand!

Now let's talk about those constant micro-adjustments that are how you keep your balance. Remember how you're standing with your front foot a little bit above 3o'clock, with weight in your feet but also in your hands? This will feel a lot more natural and comfortable if your hips are a bit on front of your saddle - this is different from your normal standing ready position. You actually want your bike to move forwards and backwards a little bit, putting a little bit of pressure into that front foot and then backing off and shifting your hips back a hair to let the bike roll back a little (this is why it's MUCH easier to learn a trackstand on a hill, as the gravity of the hill makes the bike roll back, but we're hoping no one's garage or kitchen has much of a slope. We can approximate this a little bit by using our brakes to push against instead of a slope, but see if you can work towards doing this without using your brakes). Having the bike roll forwards and backwards is the first plane of movement we use to maintain balance. The second? Side to side! Move them shoulders, them elbows, them knees and hips. Many people, maybe even you?, have experienced their front wheel flopping back and forth trying to keep side to side balance. Try and keep that wheel still and move your body to keep balance instead. Notice the difference it makes to move your shoulders vs your elbows, or your hips vs your knees. The more you practice, the quicker you'll feel the need to make an adjustment, and the smaller adjustments you'll need to make!

Give this a shot and see how it goes. You can see a lot of benefit from just 5-10 minutes at a time. Slowly build up how long you hold your trackstand before pedaling out of it, and eventually challenge yourself to not pedal out of it at all, just move your bike and your body to stay in the same place! And when spring comes back around, appreciate cresting a hill, stopping to choose your line, and not having to take your feet off the pedals :D.

Come back for more of the slow speed balance skills in future blog posts, and hit those comments if you have any questions!

Winter Training: PCBR Style

PCBR Team Members: Mike Burton and Andrew McCloskey

Winter, yes please!

For a lot of us winter is coming in hot… or cold?!?...you get what I mean. Here at Park City Bike Racing (PCBR) in Park City, UT winter is something that is more than welcomed. While bike season goes into hibernation team members choose 3 main activities to keep and improve their fitness for the Spring season:

Strength and Mobility Training

Indoor Trainer

Nordic Skiing

PCBR Team Member: Jay Burke

Strength and Mobility Training

If there is only one option to pick as a Winter training option we suggest it’s Strength and Mobility. PCBR team members have been fortunate to work with Off The Mountain (OTM) here in Park City, UT. OTM’s mission is to keep people out on the mountain by strength training and building joints that can handle the activities we all love.

Here’s Ben Vantresse from OTM (Owner and Trainer):

“One of the best things a cyclist can do during the winter is to strength train. Several PCBR team members have had the opportunity to train with Off The Mountain here in Park City, UT. OTM has helped members overcome injuries and have moved the needle with performance training.

Two of the main benefits of strength training are increasing your strength to weight ratio (increased power on the bike) and moving in different ways than cycling provides (injury mitigation). Everyone can use more power and the simplest way to do this is to begin a strength training program. By strengthening the entire body you are creating a healthier, more robust human. A healthier human can have more fun and play harder on the bike.”

PCBR Team Members: Sam Sweetser and Erin Sweetser

Indoor Training

No indoor trainers on a powder day! That's a thing, right? In all seriousness indoor training with a structured training plan can set you up for an amazing riding season. Structured plans are efficient and the most effective way to meet your season goals. Smart trainers and training apps have made this option a lot more convenient in recent years. Having workouts customized and differentiated allows more time to do other things like ski pow!!!

After choosing your coach/training app/plan, setting your space up is key. Here are our top suggestions for having a dialed indoor set up:

Towel or Towels - You are going to sweat…a lot. So, make sure to have your towel or towels on hand. These can be used to wipe your face, arms, legs or anything else. These can also be strategically placed on your bike so that all that sweat is not pouring down onto your drivetrain or other expensive parts. Your handlebars (as seen in pic) are another place people like to place a towel.

Fan - You are going to sweat…a lot. Having a fan with a remote is a pro move.

Yoga Mat - You are going to sweat…a lot. I feel like that may have been mentioned already? The pro move is to set the mat up under your bike so you don’t have to mop your floor every workout!

TV, Monitor, Audiobook or Podcast - Staring at your wall is not that fun. Especially for those longer workouts. This is a great time to use a streaming service, catch up on your favorite podcast or listen to a new Audiobook.

Water and Fuel - Don’t let not moving, your fan and towels fool you! It’s important to remember you are still working hard! So, stay hydrated and don’t forget to consume those carbohydrates. Another pro tip, now is a perfect time to try different products and see what works for you. For example, pick up a Starter Pack from PROBAR and you get all their products to see which options you love!

Significant Other Sitting Next to You, Working - You don’t really need this. But, I love this pic from team members Erin Sweetster (on bike) and Sam Sweetser (on computer) that gives you a glimpse of what it's like when the twins are finally asleep.

PCBR Team Member: Libby Ellis and her Mom

Nordic Skiing

First, if you have never tried Nordic Skiing know that it is super fun. Second, know that it is very very hard! But, you are reading this because you can do hard things and seek out hard things to do!

Nordic Skiing, specifically skate skiing, is so fun! There are a number of team members that choose this as their number one choice for cardiovascular fitness during the winter months. PCBR team members Libby Ellis (shown in pic w/mom) and Rose Kjesbo both skied collegiately and crush. That said, it does not matter if you have been Nordic skiing your whole life or for a few years the pain is the same…but some may move a bit faster than others.

Here are our top five reasons you should Nordic Ski this winter:

1. Some say it is “the best cardiovascular activity known”. Mic drop.

2. Gliding on snow could be the best thing ever.

3. Super efficient workout as you are activating so many things/muscles!

4. It is considered a “low impact activity”. Once again, sliding on snow is the best thing ever.

5. You get to be outside in the winter.