Last week
Back to ascending and descending last time, but in a different part of the park, in the South East corner after the single-track. We had 3 different groups covering three different areas.
Rider of the week
Riders of the week were Charlie H, Alex and Henry, Charlie in particular riding incredibly fluid at the moment
Mountain biking
Round 3 of MSG was on Sunday, 19 May at Thetford, delivering podiums yet again in all female age categories; Molly and Charlotte (U16), Holly (U14), Sophie and Lotty (U12) and Harriet (U9). Sam narrowly missed making the U12 category a St Ives 1,2,3, coming in a close 4th. Full results are on http:\\www.timelaps.co.uk
Round 4 at Ickworth House coming up this Sunday. See http://www.mudsweatgears.co.uk for more details. We are fielding fewer riders than usual at Round 4 as I have a few with me at the “Circuit of the Fens” race finish in Whittlesey. More on that later but good luck to all the riders competing!
More recently, I have to mention Molly’s fantastic 3rd place in her first XC race at National level at Hopton Park, finishing less than 40 seconds behind the first place rider. A natural talent, Molly is continuing to develop as a terrific rider with the assistance and support of her parents and a number of people within the club, in addition to attending MSG “Aspire” and British Cycling’s Regional School of Racing (“RSR”) sessions which are aimed at honing the rider’s talents beyond Go Ride. Molly is setting a great example for the younger riders to aspire to, and we are extremely lucky to have her in St Ives colours.
Track racing
Block 1 of the Welwyn superclub sessions has now completed with Holly, Sam and Sophie now being allowed to race in the weekly track league as a result of their efforts. Well done girls!
Registration deadline for Block 2 sessions (starting 23 June) has now closed with Amber, Holly, Emma, CC, Zach, Sophie and Poppy registered. The next block of sessions is a six block series and the dates are as follows:
June 23, 30
July 7, 14, 28
August 11
If you are interested in being nominated for Block 3, let me know and we will see what we can do. You will need to be able to demonstrate that you are able to follow a wheel and be physically fit enough to cycle for 20 minutes at a time to be considered.
Club Time Trials
We now have Alex, CC Holly and Sam H regularly competing. Holly CC and Sam rode a 3-up for the club 15 mile event last week and Holly rode her PB last night, breaking the 36 minute barrier. If you are over 12, you can race time trials on the road. Time trials are on Wednesday evenings, with signing on at 6pm for a 7pm start. It doesn’t matter really how fast or slow you are but is great for testing yourself and trying to set that elusive personal best!
Anyone who is a club member can turn up and have a go for the very reasonable £3. Let me know if you are interested and I will give you more information. This isn’t part of Go Ride as such so parents will need to ensure that the rider is road safe. The club welcomes new young riders and I would recommend a parent ride with them to ensure their safety, either behind as a watching eye or as a two-up (where the two riders take it in turns on the front).
Next session
Session starts at 10am (finishing at 11.30) at Hinchingbrooke Park, please be there a little bit early if possible so we can start on time. Please remember to bring a drink as it is important to stay hydrated. Don’t forget your helmet (although I do have a few club helmets if you do forget). Sessions are £3 per person.
And finally…
Sunday 16 June – Go Ride Racing at Circuit of the Fens
Tom Caldwell is organising a national A series race that is due to finish in Whittlesey on Sunday 16th June. It will be a great opportunity to see some pro riders and I am going to be running some Go Ride racing on the day to showcase what we do. More information on the overall race is on the club website.
We will start a Go Ride race training session at 11am near the Market Square. This will run from 11.00 – approx 12.00 so that the riders can watch the main race go off subsequently from the centre. We will then hold a team Italian pursuit race at around 12.30 – 13.00 between 4 or 6 teams (depending on numbers). This will be held on the finishing straight . Round 1 will be raced against the clock by all the teams. The fastest 2 teams will compete against each other in Round 2 for gold and silver. The next two will race off for the bronze. The teams will be mixed and I hope will contain St Ives and non St Ives riders.
If you are lucky enough to have a choice of bikes, I would recommend using a mountain bike as the race will involve tight turns.
I appreciate that it clashes with MSG and track racing, but please let me know if you are interested in being part of this so I can get an idea of numbers. Please also ensure you have my mobile number on you so you can contact me – 07977 015584.
The centre of Whittlesey will be closed so please allow plenty of time to find parking.
Grass track racing
Malcolm Jacklin at Fenland Clarion has released the dates for the 2013 Friday night grass track racing. Malcolm will be concentrating on junior riders, with some “training races” for any adults who would like to learn what t takes to get involved with doing some track racing. The racing is held at the South Bretton playing fields (Postcode PE3 9SH) on Friday, 14 June (yes, tomorrow!), 12 July and 16 August. For more information, contact Malcolm on helen.malc@ntlworld.com.
