This is my first season doing cross and I have participated in races from the Chicago Cyclocross Cup. The women's 4 field is combined with junior 10-14 (starting 3 min after the women) and junior 15-18 (starting 1 min after). The thing that irks me the most is that the juniors ride for free, while the women pay. Juniors are given a free option (their parents can sign them up for free) at the expense of women who could be paying. If find that ridiculous, as many do not show up for the race. In most races, the cap on the number of riders in the combined field has been binding. I have not been able to sign up to two races. Ok, signing up early is certainly on the table and I have done so when I know work commitments won't get in the way (there are no refunds). I could go to the wait list, but some races are about 1.5 hours of travel from my home. Either make the juniors pay or bump out juniors for paying customers (juniors could be given the option to pay a full fee to secure their spot).

As for safety, it has generally been ok. Among the juniors 15-18, there are some who race category 3, so they are very skilled and know when to pass safely (and courteously to boot), so I don't mind that. Some others... not so much. Most often a kid will say "on your left" on a sketchy section, but does not have the power or the space to pass, so it becomes more of a nuisance. One thing that annoys me is that you don't want to be seen as aggressive as you lap a 10-14 junior and then it is a hazard on more technical parts of the course.