MiSCA provides a comprehensive rule book, and it is each family’s responsibility to review the rules and understand them. In our experience, the rules are applied consistently and help ensure a fair and enjoyable race day. Theser rules applies to races and practices.

MiSCA Racing Rules and Regulations

Highlights from the 2024 Rulebook

This is just a summary. Please review the rulebook for details and ask coaches if you have questions.

  • Helmets – Wear your helmet any time you swing a leg over your bike at the event (even in the parking lot, or elsewhere in the park away from the race). Penalties include time added to a racer, points taken away from the team, or a disqualification. They are dead-serious about this one, so don’t test it. We recommend putting your helmet on before you touch your bike at all. This is detailed in section 4.1.5 on page 12.
  • Concussions – MiSCA details their concussion policy on page 29 of the 2024 rulebook. Please review this and/or visit MiSCA’s concussion web page.
  • Bikes (what’s allowed and what’s not): While MiSCA is pretty lenient on what they allow, the following govern what kind of bikes are allowed at races:
    • No e-bikes, tandem bikes
    • No switching bikes mid-race
    • MS/HS Minimum tire-width 1.75″ (no CX tires allowed). Elementary riders are exempt from this regulation.
    • Front and Rear brakes required
    • No drop-bars or aero-bars permitted
    • No kickstands are allowed in races or practices (please see a coach if you need help removing a kickstand… they can be very dangerous in crashes, and they can cause crashes by getting caught in brush)
  • GoPro cameras are allowed during races. Please ensure they are securely fastened to the bike. Cameras may not be helmet-mounted (4.1.4.3)
  • Headphones are not allowed while your bike is moving (races, practices, etc). They’re obviously fine in a stationary trainer at the team-tent.
  • Footwear – No sandals or open-toed shoes are allowed in races or at practices.
  • Leaders Jersey – The series leader of each category will be awarded a yellow leaders jersey. This is yours to keep. Leaders should wear the leaders jersey in races. Previous-leaders should return to wearing their team jersey if they are dethroned.
  • Feed-Zones are an interesting item. USAC designates a small feed-zone at every race, and that is the only place you’re allowed to hand up a bottle or gel to a rider who needs one. MiSCA has this same rule, but often designates the feedzone as “the entire course” or “the entire infield (start/finish venue).” If you have questions about where you’re allowed to give you rider a handup, please check with the coaches or race officials at a given race. This can change from week-to-week, so do not assume last week’s “full course feed zone” policy applies to next week’s race.
    • Littering is a 10-minute penalty. If you’re taking gels during a race, stow the empty wrapper in your jersey pocket.

Passing at Races

We talked about this in our parent kickoff call. We expect our riders to encounter traffic, both from their own race category and others that are racing simultaneously. Guidelines for passing at in section 4.1.6.7 of the MiSCA rule book on page 14 (in 2024 at least).

Here is our summary of passing:

  • The passing rider is responsible for making a safe pass. If there’s not room, don’t pass. Ask nicely (and often more than once) to get past and then go.
  • “On your left” and “on your right” work great, but wait for the overtaken rider to confirm they actually hear you. Don’t just yell it and fly by.
  • If you are walking your bike (e.g. up a hill, or over an obstacle), GET OFF THE COURSE, so that other riders can overtake you easily. This is basic trail etiquette for recreational riding too, but it’s critical during a race.
  • If you’re getting lapped, you are required to let the faster rider past you.
  • If you’re getting caught by someone from a different race category, please let them by quickly. An example of this would be when Advanced MS is on the course at the same time as Varsity. Often, the fastest Advanced MS riders catch the back-of-the-pack Varsity riders. In this case, the slower Varsity rider needs to allow the Advanced MS race-leaders pass unimpeded.
  • If you’re a race leader catching slower riders, let them know you are the race leader requesting a pass. They should let you by quickly.

Mechanical Assistance

There are specific rules about what assistance we can give to racers (in the middle of a race). These rules are on page 14 of the 2024 rulebook. Highlights include the following:

  • Varsity riders may not receive any physical assistance of any sort from coaches or parents during a race. That includes touching a rider’s bike during a repair. To be safe, please do not touch a Varsity rider’s bike during their race. They are considered self-supported and should receive no assistance of any sort at any time once the race begins. Obviously medical assistance is both encouraged and allowed.
  • Varsity Racers may assist each other during the race. That means that another active racer may help a varsity racer with a repair (usually this means sharing tools, but there are no specifics to this rule). Racers that are not in the race may not help (i.e. if you have DNF’ed a race, you are prohibited from helping others).
  • All riders must finish the race on the bike they started with. So there is no swapping of bikes mid-race for any reason at any time.
  • JV / Novice HS / All Middle School / All Elementary Riders may receive assistance from anyone at any time. Nobody is obligated to assist riders with repairs but any assistance is allowed.