2024 Race Series – Florida Interscholastic Cycling League

Race #1 – ~~February 10th & 11th @ Caloosahatchee Regional Park~~

~~Race #2~~ ~~– March 2nd & 3rd @ San Felasco State Park~~

~~Race #3~~ ~~– March 23rd & 24th @ Loyce E. Harpe Park~~

~~Race #4~~ ~~– April 13th & 14th @ JR Alford Greenway~~

Race #5 – May 4th & 5th @ Markham Bike Park

Adventure Day! – May 11th @ Santos (Vortex)

Race #1 – Racing the Ridge

February 10th & 11th, 2024
Caloosahatchee Regional Park [MAP]
N Park Entrance Rd, Alva, FL 33920 (N Park Entrance)

Season five’s first race will take place in Southwest FL at Caloosahatchee Regional Park in Alva, FL near Ft. Myers.

Trails at CRP are composed of fast, flat open areas that are intermixed with areas that cut through the natural canopy providing a very scenic ride. There are plenty of small but steep drops and climbs to keep things interesting and we know this will be a season favorite!

Student-athletes will start off in an open field and work their way towards single-track that is full of ups and downs in an open area that is perfect for all of our spectators. The trail then continues into the canopy and twists and turns along a ridge until eventually returning into an open field towards the finish line.

This first race is a time trial which, in addition to kicking off our season, will establish staging for our first mass start race. This will be a 1 lap race with individual awards for every category. Riders will stage with their assigned categories (8th boys, 7th boys, etc.) starting 10 minutes before their wave start time. Riders will begin at 15 second intervals and go out on this fun, fast course!

Race #2 – Hammer the Hammock

March 2nd & 3rd, 2024
San Felasco State Park
13201 Progress Blvd., Alachua, FL 32615

Our first mass start race of the season will be in Alachua, FL at San Felasco State Park.

With nearly 40 miles of flowing single-track mountain bike trails that wind through numerous ecosystems in the Hammock Preserve, there is a little bit of something for everyone. This is one of Florida’s truest traditional cross-country trails with double track roads, grass fields and plenty of single-track climbing with a handful of roots to keep you on your toes.

Student-athletes will experience a fun but challenging course that starts off on a wide dirt road that transitions into a short section of single track that leads to an open field with grass. From here riders eventually get back on the single-track trail which is filled with twisting turns and roots and eventually drops you back out into a grassy climb to the finish.

Plan to spend the rest of your weekend riding the trails at this incredible destination mountain bike haven and we’re sure you will see your fair share of wildlife!

Race #3 – Gator Grind

March 23rd & 24th, 2024
Loyce E. Harpe Park [MAP]
300 West Carter Road – Mulberry, FL 33860

Our third race of the season will be in the central part of the state on the wonderful trails at Loyce E. Harpe Park, otherwise known as Carter Road.

The single track at Carter Road is built on the rugged terrain of what was once a phosphate mining site offering a little something for everyone from beginners to advanced riders. Student-athletes will experience a fun but challenging course that starts off on a wide dirt road that transitions into a grass run (don’t burn yourself out yet!). Then the trail flows into single track that meanders around scenic lakes, traverses up and down ridges and ends with a section of tight, twisty, single track that takes them to the finish. Plan to spend the rest of your weekend riding the trails at this incredible destination mountain bike haven!

Race #4 – Rally in Tally

April 13th & 14th, 2024
JR Alford Greenway Park
2500 Pedrick Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32317

Race number four finds us visiting the state capital of Tallahassee and spending the weekend at J.R. Alford Greenway.

With more than 17 miles of multi-use trails, this park offers a wide variety of activities for many different users such as cyclists, runners, hikers, horseback riders, nature lovers and dog walkers! This is a true gem of a location for a FL NICA event. Wide open spaces with beautiful views and trails leading to naturally wooded forests and lakes all teeming with a diversity of wildlife. But the real reason we are all here is the trails!

Race number four will truly test all of our student-athletes in a good way offering a course with a diversity of fun terrain and plenty of climbing to write home about. Riders will start on an open grass field and climb towards their first section of singletrack trail. They will turn into a fun, twisty, flowy, fast singletrack section that will leave all riders with a large smile on their face. From here riders will test their climbing legs on some doubletrack that leads to the Longleaf Trail which is a hard-packed red clay trail that is flowy and filled with plenty of ups and downs. This is a true cross country riding experience with 326’ of elevation gain per lap!

Race #5 – Rise Above Sunrise

May 4th & 5th, 2024
Markham Park
16001 W. State Rd. 84 – Sunrise, FL 33326

Our final race of the season has us returning to the southern part of the state and Markham Park in Broward County, FL.

This park, which is located in Sunrise, FL, has just over 10 miles of trails of varying degrees of difficulty. There isn’t a lot of change in elevation, but the terrain changes frequently from classic singletrack, to rock gardens, fast flowy berms, or steep technical climbs and descents. In addition to these traditional biking trails, a number of wider and more gradual adaptive trails have been introduced that are designed specifically for off road hand-cranked bikes.

2024 End of Season Event – Adventure Day!

May 11th, 2024
Santos Vortex Trailhead
9150 SE 25th Avenue – Ocala, Florida 34480
Map – Website

Join us at Santos for the FICL’s second annual Adventure Day! This is our season ending event that will include challenges, group rides and our end of season award ceremony. This day is all about riders, coaches, and teams grouping together in different ways to take on the challenge, and focus on the fun of coming together at the end of a great season. Groups will choose their challenge from one of 5 Categories (Cat 1-5), and go out on the amazing trails of Santos for an adventure. We will begin in the morning around 8AM with the course opening at 9:30 AM. The course will close at 2:30 PM and we will begin our end of season awards, Trek sweepstakes announcements and more at 3:30 PM.