Poolesville Road Race

Saturday, April 26, 2025

National Capital Velo Club is pleased to present the 29th Edition of the Poolesville Road Race! One of MABRA's premier local road racing events, the Poolesville Road Race consists of a 10 mile loop on rolling country roads featuring a 1.4 mile section of gravel each lap. What tires will YOU run?

MABRA Championships:  Poolesville Road Race is pleased to announce that we will be hosting the Master Women MABRA Road Championships and the Master Men MABRA Road Championships for 2025.

Championship medals will be awarded in the following categories:

Master Women 35+Master Women 45+Master Women 55+Master Men 35+Master Men 45+Master Men 55+

Master Women will race together but will have separate podiums as will the Master Men. 

NOTE:  that in order to be eligible for a MABRA championship medal, you must live in the MABRA region and/or be affiliated with a MABRA affiliated club.  Please update your USA Cycling account to reflect your current club. 

Combined Fields:  the Master Women 35+/45+/55+ races, the Masters Men 35+/45+/55+ races, the Women's and Non-Binary Pro 1/2/3 and Women's and Non-Binary 4/Novice races feature combined fields which will be scored separately and awarded separate prizes. Results for combined fields will be uploaded to USAC as a single finish order.

Pre-Registration:

Pre-registration opens March 3, 2025 at 9:00 am and closes Thursday, April 24th at 8:30 am.Entry fee:  $65Transfer Policies:  Riders may change the category they are registered for, or transfer their registration to someone else, until the closing of pre-registration on Thursday, April 24.  The registration change/transfer fee is $1.

Race Day Registration:  

Check-in and day-of registration will be at the Poolesville Baptist Church, 17550 West Willard Rd., Poolesville.  Registration opens at 6:30 AM and closes 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start of each race.  Priority will be given to riders remaining on the waitlist as of race day.All race day registration and payment will be handled through BikeReg.  To register on race day, you may register online at home or on your phone at the event, but you MUST bring your phone to the event and be prepared to show your confirmation email and your racing license.Entry fee:  $75 (includes $10 day-of surcharge).  No cash, checks or credit cards accepted.

Race goes rain or shine unless officials call off the race.  Please be considerate of our hosts, the residents of Poolesville--littering, obstruction of traffic or other other disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated.  For everyone's safety, there there is no warming up/cooling down on the race course.

Licensing:  The Poolesville Road Race is a USA Cycling sanctioned event and all competitors must have a racing license.  Please provide your USAC license # when registering online, and be prepared to show your license at check-in.  Unlicensed riders may only race in categories that are open to Novice men or women, and will be charged an additional $15 in their BikeReg shopping cart for a 1-Day license. 

Parking:  Due to construction, there will be no parking available at Poolesville High School this year.  Primary parking will be at the Sarah E. Auer Western County Outdoor Pool (20151 Fisher Ave., Poolesville, Maryland).  Overflow parking is located at Poolesville Elementary School (19565 Fisher Ave, Poolesville, MD 20837).  There will be limited options for equipment drop offs and team tents in the northern part of the Poolesville Baptist Church lot, but please don’t plan to park there.

Course Description and Layout: The Poolesville Road Race course consists of rolling, country roads with a 1.4 mi hard packed dirt section per lap. The race will stage in the Poolesville Baptist Church parking lot and start with a neutral roll-out until West Willard crosses Westerly Road. From Poolesville High School, go South on West Willard.  Right on Offut.  Left on Edwards Ferry. Right on River (dirt). Right on Elmer School. Right on Club Hollow. Right on Edwards Ferry. Left on Westerly 10 miles per lap.  Feed zone on Westerly (see map below).

Staging Area: Staging is on West Willard Rd. at the Poolesville Baptist Church. 

Feed Zone: The feed zone is located on Westerly Rd. about 1/2 mile prior to the finish line, and about 3/4 mile from West Willard Rd.  Feeding is not permitted on the last lap.  

The finish line location is on Westerly Road about 1/4 mile from West Willard.  On the final lap after the sprint, competitors are to slow down before taking the left hand turn onto West Willard on their return to the race headquarters at the church community building across from the high school.

Centerline rule will be in effect except for the final 200-meter finish

Anyone behind the caravan is considered to have withdrawn from the race, and must (1) obey all the rules of the road, including stop signs, (2) Move completely off the pavement or road surface when a field overtakes them, (3) Obey a request by officials to abandon the race.

Cover Photo: Copyright Claudia GM. Poolesville 2018.