211 Parish Park Rd Ruston, Louisiana 71270
601-720-0297
rolando@mscxproject.org

About

Mountain Bike Festival

The 2024 Piney Hills Classic Race will take place on April 12-14, 2024. We are looking forward to hosting another great race weekend. Please take the time to review the below details for the weekend.

A few notes & reminders:

  1. We have a packed week of racing, kicking off with a Double UCI Elite men/women, and JR men/women C2 on Friday, April 12th, and Saturday, April 13th. Friday, April 12th Junior Race will be part of the 2024, UCI XCO Junior Series. 
  2.  The Amateur cross-country categories event will take place on Saturday, April 13th for all Category 3 racers and on Sunday, April 14th for all Category 1 & 2 racers. 
  3. Race registration is online only. will close on Wednesday, April 10th at noon (CST) for all UCI Groups. We will then begin validating international licenses and looking up UCI ranking points which is why registration closes at that day/time.
    Race registration will close at 5:00 PM on Friday, April 12th for all Category 3 groups that race Saturday. 
    Race registration will close at 5:00 PM on Saturday, April 13th for all Category 1 & 2 groups that race on Sunday. 
  4. Racing License:
    • UCI Groups require a valid International license.  If you are from the USA, for UCI Elite Men/Women, you need to be categorized as “Pro” in Mountain Bike Endurance.   If you are from the USA, for UCI Junior Men/Women groups you need to be categorized as “Cat 1” in Mountain Bike-Endurance.
    • Amateur Groups
      USA Cycling Annual license or One Day license is required.
      One-day USA Cycling licenses are available during the registration process for Category 2/3 categories for $15.
      One-day USA Cycling license available via the USAC website for Category 1 racers.
  5. Online Registration
    • Registration for UCI groups closes on Thursday, April 11th at noon (CST)
    • Amateur groups racing Saturday (Cat 3) – registration closes at 5:00 PM (CST) on Friday, April 12th.
    • Amateur groups racing Sunday (Cat 1&2) – registration closes at 5:00 PM (CST) on Saturday, April 13th. 

  6. Reserve your team tent space: We strive to make mountain biking accessible to all and understand the financial undertaking of hauling the team & equipment during the season. This is why our team tent area will be $1 as the BikeReg System requires to include a monetary value to merchandise, otherwise, it would have been free… You will be able to use those saved funds for travel and/or lodging. 

    Our race site is huge, covered by beautiful pine trees with plenty of shade, and next to a lake/”beach” with a bike washing station. Our Race Director will reach out on race week with the map and the specific spot for your team as all spots will be numbered. Register your team and reserve your spot at https://www.bikereg.com/pineyhillsclassic. 

  7. Categories: 
    • CAT 1*-Expert level of fitness/skill with several seasons of racing experience, race target time of 1hr 15 min-1hr 30 min for the winners.
    • CAT 2-Intermediate/Novice level of fitness/skill, a race season or two of experience, race target time 1hr-1hr 15 min for the winners.
    • CAT 3-Beginner level of fitness/skill, first time or a handful of race experience, race target time 30 min-45 min for the winners.  If you are looking for more time or more laps, race CAT
    • We want CAT 3 to be a true first-timer or beginner race experience.  There is nothing we are giving away worth sandbagging this class for.
  8. Category 1 Race Purse: C1 Classes (age groups) include C1 Women 15-49, C1 Men 15-59, Masters Men Open, Master Women Open and Single Speed Open. 50% of the entry fee (based on pre-registration price) X number of racers from the C1 classes divided by the total number of C1 classes with athletes competing and finishing that race. That dollar amount is paid out 5 places deep for each Class. Each Class will have an equal payout.  (see payout depth chart below for percentage per place)  Purse Bolster Fund: 25% of the entry fee (based on pre-registration price) X number of racers in C1 Classes.
  9. Pro/C1 Women and Pro/C1 Men Groups 
    75% of the entry fee (based on pre-registration price) X number of racers from the Pro/C1 Women and Pro/C1 Men PLUS Purse Bolster Fund. This is paid out to the top 4 Women and top 6 Men. There will be an equal payout for the top 4 Women and Men. (see payout depth chart below for percentage per place). CLICK HERE for the Payout Depth Chart.
  10. Awards: UCI C2 Races: This will be based on the UCI C2 payout structure. Amateur categories: We will be awarding custom medals to the top 5 athletes within all amateur categories.
  11. Online event waiver signature: USA Cycling moved to an electronic waiver signature format in BikeReg. There is no longer a need for the participant to touch a pen & paper. This new process speeds up the racer check-in process.
  12. Kids/Junior Races: All U10 & U12 Category race entries are FREE* and U14 & U18 Category entries are $15! *All racers must have a valid USA Cycling Annual License or One Day license to participate. 
  13. Number plate/race number pickup: All racers must pick up a Piney Hills Classic Race Plate. Number plate/race number pickup is scheduled on:
    • Thursday, April 11th – 4-6 PM
    • Friday, April 12th from 5-6 Pm 
    • Saturday, April 13th from 7-10 AM and again from 4-6 PM.
    • Sunday, April 14th from 7-8:30 AM. 
    • Race plate pickup will take place at the finish line.
  14. UCI Group Starts & Mandatory UCI Groups Meeting: All details and start times are available in our UCI Technical Guide at http://pineyhillsclassic.com/uci-event-technical-guide.
  15. Saturday and Sunday, Amateur Race Event Start: In the past, we have had a wave start where all participants in each category start at once under the grid start line (8 riders per line). We moved to a motocross-style start a few years ago in which all riders in the same age/category will start in a 100+ foot-long line, they will ride along a straight open field and will have ~800 meters before the first turn. Reference your start time block on our registration page. The exact start time list will be available at race plate pickup.
  16. Neutral Feed Zones: For the Cat 1 race, we will have tables for racers to place their water bottles and we will provide disposable, unopened water bottles and a water cooler that has been retrofitted with a touch-less spout and pedal so racers can refill their water.
  17. Live Music & Food Truck: On Saturday, April 13th starting at 6 pm will will have live music, and a food truck during our awards for all category races including the juniors. 
  18. Bike Games for all! We are super excited to announce as part of our weekend mountain bike festival we will host a longest wheelie and foot down competition. This event will take place on Saturday, April 29th after our award ceremony, ~5:00 pm. Join us and show off your skills. The winner for Each event where we see some cool prizes. No registration is required for any of these three events.
  19. Where to Stay (Camp or Hotel) & What to do: http://pineyhillsclassic.com/what-to-do-where-to-stay/
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Come by, check it out, and Experience Ruston.

See you at the Lincoln Parish Park to celebrate our 32nd Piney Hills Classic Festival!

Healthy Regards,
The Piney Hills Classic Team

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