# Average race speeds



## Incident (Nov 22, 2011)

Okay so I know there are lots of varibles in cyclocross due to terrain, equipment and general fitness among racers but I am just wondering what does your average speed look like after completing a race?


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## Gripped (Nov 27, 2002)

Incident said:


> Okay so I know there are lots of varibles in cyclocross due to terrain, equipment and general fitness among racers but I am just wondering what does your average speed look like after completing a race?


I race SS. Most races I use 42x18. Twice I've busted out the 42x20. Once the 42x22 was the obvious choice.

Almost every race I've done would have had a different speed profile such that an "average speed" number would have been meaningless.

Here's my crossresults.com profile. It's a much better indicator of how I might stack up against my peers. Use it if you want to see how yours measures up ...


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## simonaway427 (Jul 12, 2010)

Avg speed is irrelevant - way too many variables - one course is 13-14km/h, where another is 22-23km/hr.


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

most ontario races are report average speeds, take a look

Race Results | Ontario Cycling Association

seems like 20kph is pretty common, I observed the same with many of our races here, sometimes 13-14 mph in the early season.

The sport isn't hard because of the average, it's the standard deviation and range that get you.


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## 251 (Nov 2, 2009)

According to my phone, the last three CX race average speeds were 22.38, 22.05, and 21.38 kph. This is on a 2x9 (36/46,11-32) and in the B-grade where I generally finish in the top five. I'd imagine you'd find significantly higher average speeds at the top of A-grade.


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## TWD (Feb 9, 2004)

From a recent cyclingnews article about Tim Johnson using discs: Disc Brakes For Cyclo-cross: Tim Johnson's Opinion | Cyclingnews.com



> What made this win more interesting were the course conditions: flat, with loose corners, and very fast with riders averaging over 30kph


30 kph = 18.6411357671 mph

That should give you an idea of what constitutes the upper part of the range (one of the fastest guys in the US on a fast course).

What does my  average speed look like? Probably less than 30 kph, but I've never measured or calculated it.

It's not really a useful metric to judge cross racing by. There may be some limited value if you are comparing average speeds for one course vs another or one category against another, but on the whole not so much.

Just like when my non-cycling friends ask me about my cross races by saying "how many miles was the race?" An answer like "14 miles" doesn't really convey an accurate portrayal of 60 minutes of pain.


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

I've been watching all the Pro races via torrents. They're consistently doing 27-30kph/lap averages for their courses.

How that relates to our courses I haven't the foggiest.

I DO know the fast guys are fast. I can't keep up with em. ...no matter what I'm racing!

M


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