There is no pressure on youth riders to take on the challenge of racing. We are, however, lucky to have access to loads of great events should they want to get involved.
Racing News 29.11.22
Well done to everyone who got involved in the regional championships.
Limited Edition Cycling Club - Novice Go Ride Races.
Our friends at Limited Edition have "gone for it" and are running two Go Ride standard winter races to keep everyone riding. One race in December (Cyclocross) and one in January (Closed Road), both at CycloPark. These will be EXCELLENT events and a great way to add a bit more race experience at a novice standard or to make another small step on the racing adventure. There is a u6 category!
Please, please, please enter early! Without clear support, races are at risk of cancellation - especially smaller events with a Go Ride focus - let's do it!
About Racing
The first few races young riders get involved in can be pretty daunting – this is where it’s great to be part of a club. There’s nothing more reassuring than a friendly face taking the plunge with you. As a club, we want to target a handful of events and highlight them as stepping-stone events for confidence building – we’d love to see as many of our riders interested in racing there as possible. More SDW jerseys means more friendly faces and a higher chance of smiles at the end. We’ll also work with other clubs to try to increase the size of the novice participation in the field.
For young people – stepping up to racing can be unsettling; to be quite honest, it can be downright scary but by taking a risk and trying it there is chance they might love it!
“When race day comes…
don’t be afraid of what could go wrong
be excited about what could go right.”
Why Cyclocross?
Why not! Ok, a better answer. As your children have discovered, riding a bike on a wiggly grass course with friends is great fun. The atmosphere at CX races is so supportive, and SDW have a big turnout of adult and children racers, so everyone can enjoy watching each other race. There's a smashing variety of courses and it's super to be able to put to use the skills and fitness we have been building up in our Saturday sessions.
What races are out there?
South London Go Ride Race League – A monthly series of races, throughout the school year. The races include cyclocross and “closed road” racing on tarmac – e.g. in Crystal Palace park. The series is aimed specifically at novice riders, to the extent that riders capable of “top half” of regional races aren’t meant to enter. They are organised a little more informally by a few south London cycling clubs. The young races (e.g. u6, u8, u10) tend to have a lot of entrants but the fields decrease in size above this. Prior entry online is preferred but entry is also possible on the day.
LondonXLeague – Racing September to January, cyclocross across the south east. These are regional standard races, so the leaders are very quick. When the race starts it can be daunting how quickly the riders at the front dash off. The amount of novice riders is generally down a bit since COVID – potentially as entries are online only, a few days before the event. Timing is electronic and very professional.
The u8/u10 and the u12 races are very accessible, our riders could enter with confidence. Above u12, the racing is on the full adult circuit. These can be quite challenging and the race duration (30mins) is a big test. Our older novice racers would very much benefit from entering with others – so they can have their own race within the race!
East Kent CX – A series run alongside the LondonXLeague September to January also at a regional standard. The courses tend to be less physically demanding (less hills) but are very enjoyable CX courses. The field sizes are smaller than the LondonXLeague so are actually better novice events. The downside is that the events are all in East Kent, which is a bit of drive. As with LondonXLeague – entry is online but there is sometimes opportunity to enter on the day.
Spring in the Park – A Friday night series approximate April-June run at Cyclopark, Gravesend on the road circuits. It aims to cater both for regional and novice standard riders in the same races.
SummerCX – A short series of races typically June/July. This year there were 4 Friday night races at Herne Hill velodrome with a full festival atmosphere. Lots of riders, music, food etc. We don’t know the schedule for 2023 but I’m sure at least one of our SDW Youth riders will be back to defend their series crown!
Age Categories
The cycling age groups can be a little confusing. Best bet is to forget other sports and just look at the event rules. For instance, 2022-2023 CX age groups:
