Who Should Mountain Bike Intermediate VS Beginner VS Sport?
Should I Race Intermediate, Beginner or Sport at Over the Hump?
Sometimes it’s easy to spot a beginner, sometimes it’s not.
Million Dollar Question(s). ‘Who Should Mountain Bike Intermediate VS Beginner VS Sport?’ AND ‘How do I know if I’m choosing, you’re forcing me to move, or my “friends” have ‘ratted me out’ as a non-beginner?’
Over the Hump is a finely hung balance of FUN with the perfect(est) mix of Epic Competition. Here’s how we calibrate the scale.
Age brackets for Beginner and Intermediate Classes: 29-, 30-39, 40-49, and 50+ yrs
Beginner RE-Defined (6 Race Series): an Over the Hump Beginner Racer is an entry level, dip your toe in the water, have an interest in participating in a mountain bike race with your friends, but no idea what you’re getting yourself into… (insert breath)… someone who is entering the mountain bike race as a new racer, without previous race experience, or who has an inability to compete with the Intermediate Race Class. (short version: Beginner is not a forever class) If you’re looking to get into mountain biking more seriously and you’re not sure what bike to buy for your skill level, sites like www.mountainbikereviewer.com could help you choose what bike is the best for you to start on.
Intermediate The intermediate class is a bridge class between beginner and sport. It was designed for racers with prior race experience (or those of you who have been training your ass off before you pulled the trigger on racing) who know they are a bit too fast to be called a beginner. If you’ve been racing for a while, and cringe when you tell your coworkers that you race BEGINNER, this is for you. It’s designed to be a challenging race class for racers who don’t feel they are ready for 3 laps.
Beginners who move up are: Intermediate racers are qualified by one of three things:
- Been racing Beginner since 2014, 2015 or earlier?
- You have actually been TRAINING, and are gunning for a top 10 finish in beginner.
- You’ve finished in the top 30% in the past season a couple of times, and were rewarded with the coveted OTH pint glass!
- Your gut (not the size of it) is telling you that Intermediate is the right place for you.
If you answered yes to ANY of these question… welcome to Intermediate!
How do I move?
Disclaimer: we all love winning. OTH has created this new class, Intermediate, to create a safe place for Beginner (True Beginners) to test, experience, and enjoy their first or early mountain bike race experience. Mountain Bike Riding has changed many of our lives. Join us in investing in more people having a life changing ride.
A Note to Sport Racers: are you sitting in the bottom 20-30% of Sport Class you’ve been racing this year? If you’re not having fun, or needing to overcommit training hours to keep with the demands of the Sport speed and distance. You may be a candidate to move to Intermediate. Need help deciding? We can help, just send us a note (Click here to fast track your request)
Sport racers, two points of distinction when you drop to Intermediate!
- You will not move your points from Sport, you leave the 12 race series, and enter the 6 race Intermediate series.
- You will be riding the Beginner/JR/Intermediate Course for 2 laps going forward.
How do you move if you’ve registered for the entire series already, with the season pass, or registered for a race in the 2nd half already?
- Simply email timing@raceoth.com with your Name, Number, Class you’re leaving and class you’ll be adding.
- If you’re in the top 30% of the 1st half of the series points, there’s not a question. Please initiate the move yourself, and double check it on July 19th, when we return to racing.
We will be reviewing all season passes as well prior to the start of July 19th to confirm you have been moved appropriately.
We can’t wait to see you again on July 19th, and look forward to the best 6 and 12 race series in the world (because you’re there)!
Keep it fun!
2 Comments
What about the people that are cherry picking the sport class and should move up to super sport? There are guys with extensive road racing at a fairly high level racing sport!
I like that you said to go with your gut on if you should be in intermediate. I’ve been biking for a few months, and I know my limits and when to call it quits. Thank you for writing this article so I can say with certainty that I can race in the intermediate section.