Where are the MABRA Juniors??

[Alex Pline]

CCTT #2 is the MABRA Junior Time Trial Championships, but there are ZERO juniors registered. What's the deal?

https://www.bikereg.com/church-creek-time-trial-no-2

[Drew Wilson]

CCC also only currently has 2 registered juniors across our 4 juniors fields

__
Drew Wilson
Co-founder // Equip Racing
Race Director // Chocolate City Criterium
www.equip.racing

On Mon, Jul 27, 2026, 9:13 AM Alex Pline <alex....@gmail.com> wrote:

CCTT #2 is the MABRA Junior Time Trial Championships, but there are ZERO juniors registered. What's the deal?

https://www.bikereg.com/church-creek-time-trial-no-2

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[Alex Pline]

FWIW since we announced the end of CCTT I’ve had my ear bent a number of times about the fact that time trials are not part of the road cup. There is a faction that believes this is one of the reasons for a decline in TT participation. Personally, while I think this is perhaps a minor contributor, I am not convinced that is a major factor. I think there are other more dominant factors contributing to the decline that are more related to the decline in interest in riding on the road in general such as safety, ability, time and the amped up situation in youth sports (all too detailed to discuss here).

[Nate Altom]

At a certain point, it becomes more of a "death by a thousand cuts", though. TTs not being in the road cup isn't a major factor, but it is a factor. Same with inconsistent Merckx TT rules, lack of stage races to apply TT skills, niche equipment, etc. None of them are major factors in and of themselves, but they all add up. I know I'm in the minority of people that actually enjoy TTs, but for those that aren't in that boat, the current environment doesn't give much incentive to jump into the discipline.

[Alex Pline]

These are my top reasons road riding is decreasing:

1. Many people fear riding on the roads, much of it perception IMO due to social media, a whole layer of further discussion. 
2. Trainer technology is really really good. You can now ride zwift or rouvy, get in a great workout with a minimal amount of time in controlled environmental conditions and it is a pretty darn lifelike feeling.
3. Competitive road riding (and racing) is hard. The people who have money, time, mental bandwith (and good genetics) have made disproportionately large gains in performance compared to the "weekend warrior" types who don't do structured training, have coaches or do anything more than just do group rides. They just can't keep up. Why would you drive to a race, pay $50, get shelled and pulled or ride alone? You can do this out your front door with less competitive people. 
4. Youth activities are a much broader portfolio of sports than say 30 years ago and some of them are easier to learn that others. I can teach a kid to play basketball in 5 minutes with little gear, but learning how to race a bike or sail a boat is really time consuming and difficult to master so kids gravitate to some other sport that gives them (or their parents) more satisfaction or to a sport all their friends are doing.
5. Youth sports IMO have run amok. It is so hyper competitive kids as young as 10 are on travel teams etc. That has several consequences: kids tend to focus very early and only stick with sports they are good at (or the parents like) and the competitive nature is all encompassing timewise for both kids and parents. The parents spend all their time driving their kids around to practice and tournaments that they don't do the activities they used to. It's a double whammy.
   
6. Road races are increasing hard to hold due to requirements, permits, pushback from locals etc. 

Some of these affect not only road riding but also the CX scene that has had some pressure on it in the last few years, at least in our experience with venues.

I hate to outline problems without being able to also propose solutions, but know the problem(s) is half of the solution...