by Anna Magrath | Apr 26, 2013
British Cycling members can look forward to getting off to a great start at the Great Manchester Cycle, with an exclusive start zone ahead of other riders.
Following on from the resounding success of last year’s sell-out event, which saw 7,000 riders take to the city’s closed roads, The Great Manchester Cycle is set to return on Sunday 30th June 2013: bigger and better than before.
The initiative will be in effect across all distances and will mean that members will carry the British Cycling logo on their event number and be guaranteed the best start possible on the day. With Manchester’s
National Cycling Centre being the organisation’s headquarters, the event will truly be taking place on home turf and is the perfect chance for British Cycling to thank their members.
“The Great Manchester Cycle was a brilliant event last year and it was fantastic to see so many cyclists lining up ready to go – and just a stone’s throw from our offices!” said Gavin Finch, Head of Marketing at British Cycling. “We’re incredibly grateful to our members and wanted to give those taking part the best event experience on the day, offering a unique opportunity to lead out the thousands of riders with nothing but clear roads ahead.”
The 13-mile lap starts and finishes at the Etihad Campus (home of
Manchester City FC) and includes a stretch along the iconic Mancunian Way. This part of the route will offer cyclists a once in a lifetime opportunity to ride on the motorway that on any other day is out of bounds.
As in 2012 riders will have the choice of three distances, designed to cater for all abilities from club cyclists through to families wanting to take on the challenge together. There’s ‘A Great Day Out’ over 13 miles, ‘Rule the Roads’ over 26 miles, or, for the more established riders, ‘Break Away from the Pack’ over 52 miles.
Lizzie Amitstead, who brought home Britain’s first medal of the Olympic Games last summer in the cycling road race, took part in the Great Manchester Cycle in 2012 and described the event as “a fantastic day out”.
Entry for each route will cost just £20 for adults and £5 for kids. Children aged 3-7 can take part in the 13-mile route for free, but will need to use either a tag-a-long bike or children’s bike trailer/seat.
For further information on the route, event details and how to enter please visit:
www.greatcycle.org by Anna Magrath | Apr 26, 2013
Ride the London Cycle Sportive for Herne Hill Velodrome
The Herne Hill Velodrome Trust has been given 200 places on the upcoming London Cycle Sportive, organised by Human Race Events, and they’re up for grabs on a first come first serve basis. The event is on Sunday 30 June 2013 and you can save at least £35 by riding as part of Team Velodrome. All you have to do is raise £100 in sponsorship.
Taking in some of the best climbs and routes in the London area, you can chose from three distances; 50km, 100km, and 160km. All of them head out to Biggin Hill, then the longer ones complete a loop of the Surrey hills and infamous Box Hill.
Money raised by Team Velodrome will go towards the next stage of the campaign, to provide a brand new pavilion and secure the site for generations to come. For more information on taking part and to get your free entry code to the London Cycle Sportive, visit http://hhvt.org/support/fundraise/index.html
Nick Rusling of Human Race said; “The event offers the chance to combine a road cycling challenge with an exhilarating velodrome finish at Herne Hill. Team Velodrome is an aspect of the event which will make it really special and we are aiming to make sure it happens every year. Being able to support this is hugely rewarding for us at Human Race.”
Shiny New Website
The Herne Hill Velodrome Trust is also delighted to unveil its new website, at www.hhvt.org, which combines updates on the progress of the campaign, information on how to get involved, join the Friends, and what our next goals are. Lesley Pinder, Trustee behind the new website, said; “We wanted to bring together all the news, project updates and ideas for how people can help the campaign, and the new website does exactly that. We also wanted to reflect all the individuals and companies who have helped us get this far – and appeal to people to help us keep it all going”
by Elena Bremer | Apr 23, 2013
The SWWRS Race 2 went off with a bang, or a metaphorical bang of speed if you like. There was no messing around today!
The race was the first crit in the series, held in the sunshine at Merryfield Airfield near Ilton; it’s a cracking little 5km circuit and there’s not a hill in sight, but the wind up there does plenty to make for an interesting race. We had a good turn out with 17 riders signing on from far and wide, with a bit of team representation from VC St Raphael and Exeter Wheelers, both with four riders. The race was 40 mins plus lap, which worked out as 6 laps at an average speed of 35 km/h. And have I mentioned- the sun was out (intermittently)!
17 of us rolling out from the start- Katie Curtis (far right) is not hanging around.
So there we were riding like bats out of hell when what should happen- the lead girls took the wrong turn! I hate to say it, but you know…I told you so! Everything calmed down a bit while everyone got back together, but that didn’t last long. Soon enough the attacks started going off the front, with the VC St Raphael riders invariably involved. There was also a strong showing from Vittoria Bossi (Zippi’s Ladies) , Katie Curtis, Adele Martin (Hope Factory) and Louise Benn (Exeter Wheelers).
Jenny Hudson and Katie Curtis on the attack.
However whilst some of these attacks looked like they could be trouble, none of them stuck for more than a lap, with various people doing the work to chase them down. By our 4th or 5th lap Ayse Vahiboglu (Exeter Wheelers) was driving the pace up and stringing out the field. This stopped the attacks going for a short while, which was a nice relief. The field was now getting pretty twitchy and nervous coming into the bell lap.
In the final lap Marianne Britten (VC St Raphael) went on the attack, with Katie Curtis bridging across to her about a third of the way round. These girls looked for all the world like they might stay away- gaining 200m or so on the main field. However there seemed to be enough people in the group who wanted it to come down to a sprint. With about half a lap to go the main field started to put the hammer down, and with about 400m to go and going into the final corner a last ditched push from Claire Elworthy (Exeter Wheelers) all but closed the gap.
By this point the sprinters were all moving up the group, myself included. The sprint started straight out of the final corner, with about 250m to the line. I could pretend I knew what happened, but I wont! All I know is Adele Martin came past at some point, and there a was a bunch of four just behind me so I had to keep the foot down!
The finish- Adele Martin takes the win, myself in 2nd, Laura Clode 3rd and Katie Curtis in 4th.
So there we have it, the 2nd race of the series finished with Adele Martin (Hope Factory) taking the line honours, myself (Elena Bremer – Exeter Wheelers) in 2nd and Laura Clode (VC St Raphael) in 3rd.
Thanks to our sponsors Greens of Devon and the Bike Shed for providing the wonderful prizes of Flowers for the winner, Chef’s Garnish Boxes and Bontranger R4, R3 and R2 tyres for the top three. Thanks also to race organisers Somerset Road Club, and to the series supporters Alpha Vae Solar, Velo Brands and the Handmade Cyclist. Sign up to the series here for your chance to win some great prizes from these guys- it wont cost you a penny!
Also thanks to Ian Derbridge and Ivan Jordan for the photos!
More photos available on Flickr (Click here to view) from Ann and Richard Owens, thank you both!
The next series event is the Div Champs on 19th May, hopefully see you there! See the bottom of the post for full results- if you spot an error please do correct me!
If you want to see the video of the finish it’s available on Facebook by clicking here.
| 1 |
Adele Martin |
Hope Factory |
| 2 |
Elena Bremer |
Exeter Wheelers |
| 3 |
Laura Clode |
VC St Raphael |
| 4 |
Katie Curtis |
|
|
| 5 |
Ellie Gilham |
VC St Raphael |
| 6 |
Alex Sheehan |
One & All |
| 7 |
Jenny Hudson |
VC St Raphael |
| 8 |
Claire Elworthy |
Exeter Wheelers |
| 9 |
Jess Hill |
Cardiff Ajax |
| 10 |
Emma Sainsbury-Munn |
VC Bristol |
| 11 |
Vittoria Bossi |
Zippis Ladies |
| 12 |
Louise Benn |
Exeter Wheelers |
| 13 |
Sally Edney |
North Devon Wheelers |
| 14 |
Marianne Britten |
VC St Raphael |
| 15 |
Mary Mcfadzean |
CS Dynamo |
| 16 |
Sorrelle Johnston |
RU Training Today |
| DNF |
Ayse Vahiboglu |
Exeter Wheelers |
by Elena Bremer | Apr 19, 2013
Newquay Velo Road Race- where to start!
Being British I might start with the weather; it was foul! Driving down there the wind was buffeting cars around the road so it was a bit concerning the effect it might have on a mere bike racer! It was raining too, just to add to the charm. But on the positive side it was quite warm, reading 12 degrees on my garmin.
The race course was a triangular layout, the start and finish were on the first leg, half way up a significant but not too steep hill. To add to the fun there was the wind, which seemed to have chosen to blow as hard as it could down said hill! The second leg was downhill with a couple of short sharp undulations. And the final leg was a pretty flat run in to the bottom of the hill.
Unsurprisingly at sign on it became clear that we would be racing with a smaller field than anticipated, due no doubt to the horrible conditions, but still 11 women signed on and lined up for the race. Heading out onto the course the rain began and we all settled down for what we hoped would be an uneventful, but challenging race.
The race started on the hill on the A39, the hill combined with the 49 mph gusts in our faces did slow things down a bit! People were unsurprisingly not that keen to ride on the front, but we did eventually get to the left hand turn where things started to pick up. For a start we had a tail wind and it was downhill!
Mathilde Pauls (Exeter Wheelers CC) chose this point to attack and got clear of the bunch by a good few hundred meters by the second left turn. However things went a little amiss here when the Race Car took the wrong turn. Mathilde and the lead car proceeded to take a wiggly route through various country lanes back to the course – Mathilde at this point oblivious to the fact they were lost! Meanwhile the majority of the rest of the women’s field carried on along the wrong road, heading down wind and down hill. Having ridden 3.5km in the wrong direction our commisaire in the following car eventually managed to get our attention to stop us, turn us round and take us back to the course!
By this point Mathilde and her lost lead car were back on the A39. The call was made to stop Mathilde while the rest of us got ourselves going back in the right direction. So Mathilde, still pretty perplexed about what was going on, was ushered into the lead car to keep warm while they waited for us.
Back with the main group we had just reached the corner where we had taken the wrong turn initially, and were about to get racing again. However this wasn’t to be! On the corner a wet drain wiped out one bike, taking down a few others and stopping most of the field. Cath Newton (Newquay Velo CC), Claire Elworthy (Exeter Wheelers CC) and myself (EWCC) were all that remained of the main group. Following some deliberation we decided to carry on racing. Mathilde was restarted as we approached up the hill, and waited to join our group.
This was the final lap, with this in mind me and Mathilde put in a couple of attacks on the second leg, both of which were chased down. It was then Cath’s turn to take a dig, attacking on the second small climb she split the group, only Mathilde could hold her wheel. Claire closed the gap before the second turn, where Cath and Claire took the correct turn, but Mathilde and her friend in the lead car tried to go AWOL again! Mathilde did the quickest U-turn witness by man and was soon back with Cath and Claire.
It all started getting tactical now. With two Exeter Wheelers in the group, and one just off the back, Cath was left to do most of the work along the final leg. On reaching the bottom of the hill to the finish Mathilde launched another attack. This attack split the group again with the biting headwind making the job of getting up the hill even trickier. The three leaders proceeded to “crawl” up the hill in a gripping, but pretty slow moving finale of an eventful race!
So Mathilde Pauls (EWCC) took the win, closely followed by Cath Newton (NVCC) and Claire Elworthy (EWCC). The rest of the splintered field rolled individually, each fighting the cruellest wind possible up the hill to the finish. Louise Benn (EWCC) came back, having hit the deck in the earlier crash to finish in 5th, not far behind myself (EWCC), I never recovered from Cath’s attack. A hard day’s racing for all I think!
After the finish we all headed back race HQ to get dry and warm with a cuppa and some delicious cakes. The prize giving took place before the men’s 2/3/4 race briefing so there was a good crowd to support us; I think the chaps were marvelling at our brilliant prizes!
Thanks to the Bike Shed for providing Bontranger R2, R3 and R4 tyres for 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Also to Greens of Devon who made up a beautiful bunch of flowers for the winner and gave out 3 Chef’s Garnish boxes. And last but not least thanks to Alpha Vae Solar who gave us some SIS Sports products for the prize stash!
Thanks also to the event organisers Newquay Velo, and all who help out in proper nasty conditions! Also thanks to Primal for providing the QOM prize – won by Mathilde after her jolly through the lanes!
I lost track of who got what on the prizes front in the end but everyone looked very happy despite the drama of our race and that is the importat thing. At least things can only get better for the Series!
The next event is Ilton Crit on Sunday 21st April at Ilton’s Merryfield airbase, It is a great course for novices but has plenty of opportunity for more experienced racer to make it interesting too! Open to Men E1/2/3, Women and Juniors For more information click here to be taken to the British Cycling entry page. https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/91956/South-West-Regional-Road-Race-Championships#entry
For more information on South West Women’s Race Series visit: http://swwomensraceseries.wordpress.com/
See you there for more prizes, points and fun and games!
Newquay Velo Road Race Results
1st Mathilde Pauls – Exeter Wheelers
2nd Cath Newton – Newquay Velo
3rd Claire Elworthy – Exeter Wheelers
4th Ellie Bremer – Exeter Wheelers
5th Louise Benn – Exeter Wheelers
6th Gail Aspden – Squadra Donne-Shutt VR
7th Alex Sheehan – One & All
8th Sorrelle Johnston – Rutrainingtoday
DNF Kirsty Harries
DNF Mel King – Newquay Velo
DNF Dee Richards – Tavistock Wheelers
by Cycling Shorts. | Apr 16, 2013
Last month, London Mayor Boris Johnson announced what could be very ambitious changes to London’s cycle infrastructure, pledging nearly £1 billion worth of funding to the scheme.
His plans which includes a Crossrail style cycle route that would run at least 15 miles from West London to East London; a ‘tube network’ for the bike in which cycle lanes would run parallel to tube lines, quiet back streets and dangerous junctions would be improved.
Ambitious as they are, the new plans have been criticized on various points. One issue that has been highlighted in the press is the controversy surrounding painting a proposed cycle lane blue on the Victoria Embankment, which some feel will upset the areas ‘heritage’ feel. Another is that, as Transport for London (TFL) only owns 5% of the London roads, the viability of most of the plans will come down to whether the relevant Boroughs approve them or not.
As a cyclist myself, I congratulate Boris on scaling up his transport ambitions and recognising the benefits of making London a cycle friendly city; if just some of his plans go through, they will be a great victory for cycling in London. The plans however face many obstacles…
Poor infrastructure
I feel that the main stumbling block that is holding people back from hopping on their bikes in the same numbers as our European peers, is the issue of safety on our streets. The threat you face when jumping on your bike for a London commute is immense; it is a chaotic city to fare in whether you’re a cyclist or a motorist, with dangerous conditions caused by poorly constructed, out of date infrastructure and numerous dangerous junctions. Both motorists and cyclists take daily risks, frustrated by each others behaviour. ‘Backwards’ town planning bears the main responsibility for this; it will be really positive to see some forward thinking road planning take place.
Pressure on our roads
Another major issue is the lack of respect that all commuters show for the rules of vehicle ‘cohabitation’ on our busy streets. I agree that it is a major problem that cyclists are forever jumping red lights, but cars, vans and busses do the same thing. Badly sequenced traffic lights, a shortage of road space and the sheer pressure of the number of different vehicles on our roads creates a very tense commuting environment. Creating more and wider segregated cycling paths, separated out from the rest of the traffic by paving or other divisions, is key to tackling this issue. I am absolutely convinced that cycling in the capital would noticeably increase in line with more segregated cycling paths; people would feel safer.
Unequal playing field
A third essential consideration, which which Boris Johnson has not even mentioned, is that in the battle of vehicle hierarchy on London’s roads, cyclists are invariably the lowest common denominator; the opposite to the situation in Amsterdam and Copenhagen where cyclists rights are actually considered higher than those of motorists. In London, if a motorist drives in, parks in or in any other way obstructs a cycle lane causing cyclists to have to take evasive action, the car driver would hardly ever be penalised for their behaviour; the majority of London cycle lanes are near on invisible to most other traffic, they might as well not be there. If a car goes anywhere near a bus lane however, heavy fines generally ensue. Surely the same rules should apply everywhere?
Enforcing penalties
Ultimately, if you park in a dangerous place, obstructing the safe passage of other vehicles, you should be penalised; if you jump a red light, you should be penalised regardless of your chosen mode of transport; if you senselessly run onto roads as a pedestrian, you must be penalised. Over time, heavy and consistent fines for rule breaking would without a doubt improve road safety and ease congestion, for everyone.
More accessible high streets
My final plea to the Mayor, is to pedestrianise more high streets in the city and increase 20mph driving zones. Pedestrianised urban shopping areas are common place on the Continent, however have yet to become prevalent in the UK, possibly due to our challenging urban infrastructures. But in this age of debate about the need to re-invent our high streets, perhaps creating a network of car free pedestrianised and cycle zones could be part of the solution to creating more dynamic and accessible shopping areas. There are already several examples of successful semi-pedestrianised areas in the city, one example is Exmouth Market in Farringdon; this vibrant pedestrianised street boasts cafes, restaurants and small independent shops, which during lunch times turns into a mini food market, enjoyed by people of all ages. There is plenty of scope for more such areas in this large city.
My final point is that motorists are not the enemy in this debate, I simply wish to stress the point that could see considerable economic benefits to making our streets more cycle friendly if we do things properly.
How far will Mr Johnson go
Boris Johnson says that we need to reduce congestion in London by getting more people out of their cars and onto their bikes. For this to happen, there needs to be a reason for people to do take that step; a mass investment in the cycling infrastructure would certainly help, but we also need to develop a system whereby it becomes uneconomical, impractical and inefficient to actually use a car. A very radical thought for many. It remains to be seen exactly how far Mr Johnson is willing to take his vision for Londoners.
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Alorenzen
by Leigh Marshall | Apr 10, 2013
The Breast Cancer Care Cycling Team to ride Breast Cancer Care’s Ribbonride
On Sunday May 12th, a team of elite cyclists who make up the Breast Cancer Care Cycling Team will take on Breast Cancer Care’s Ribbonride! Leading hundreds of other cyclists, the team will cycle from the grounds of Blenheim Palace out through the stunning Oxfordshire countryside to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.
The Breast Cancer Care Cycling Team has a mix of familiar faces and new riders, including cycling pros Elinor Thorogood, 2012 U23 National TT Champion and Kayleigh Brogan, 2012 Scottish National Road Race Champion. The team are very excited to be taking on the 26 mile and 60 mile routes at the Ribbonride.
Sarah Curgenven, who runs the Ribbonride at Breast Cancer Care, said:
“55,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK, Breast Cancer Care wants to be there to support each and every one of them but we can’t do that without the hard work and dedication of our participants. So thank you to the Breast Cancer Care Cycling Team for getting involved and supporting our Ribbonride!”
Rene Groot, the Breast Cancer Care Cycling Team Manager, added:
“It’s a great opportunity for the team and riders to help a fantastic charity like Breast Cancer Care, raising awareness around an issue that affects so many people and their families across the UK. We’re delighted to be able to meet the supporters of the charity on event day and be able to motivate others to get involved in this special ride.”
With 26 and 60 mile courses, this cycling event is aiming to raise over £50,000 for the charity. This event is open to men and women and achievable by new and experienced cyclists.
To take part, register at www.breastcancercare.org.uk/ribbonride.
Registration fee is £30 for the 26-mile course and £35 for the 60-mile course. The fundraising target is £100. If you raise £150 you will receive a free Breast Cancer Care cycling jersey.
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