At the end of last year, the Slipstreamers Committee discussed how we could improve the Youth Racing Calendar for 2015. In 2014, we had a few challenges. Primarily, the youth races were always a “sideshow” to the BC West Thames Summer Series. As such, as the senior riders wanted longer races in daylight, the schedule for youth races was pushed back to mean early starts and short races. A further impact was that the programme for C/D/E racers was limited to just a few races in mid Summer. Luckily, we have been able to secure most Monday nights at the circuit for a full programme of events this year.
Getting You Ready…
We start off with a block of 4 workshop sessions starting on Monday 2nd March. The workshops are aimed at riders aged 10 or over, who are not currently attending RSR’s, and who would like to improve their knowledge of racing and training. The first workshop will look at creating a training session to meet various training demands. Working in small teams, the riders will create a turbo (or roller) session aimed for a specific training aspect. During the 4 weeks, all riders will get to “try out” the sessions that the teams developed, and discuss the effectiveness of them. Riders may bring their own turbos or rollers, and we do have spare turbos if you would like to borrow one. Places will be limited to just 20 riders – and the expectation is to attend all 4 – so book your place with the sign-on team!
Race Training…
After the workshops, we will start with some race specific training on 30th March. Open to everyone who would like to race in the Summer, this will be a series of 3 x 90 minute sessions that will look at racing safety, etiquette and tactics. We are hoping that riders from other clubs will attend, and you will all get to ride safely and get to know riders you will be racing against later.
And Off You Go…
The full dates for the Summer Series are yet to be announced, but we will be starting on April 27th. There will be separate races for C/D/E and A/B. The C/D/E riders will have their own race first, and will be racing for at least 25 minutes. The A/B races will then follow, and will be racing for between 30 and 45 minutes.
In addition, when daylight is at its maximum, we will be hosting a series of 6 Go-Ride Races. These will be targeting riders who are not currently racing in youth races, but would like to experience some cycling competition whilst still concentrating on the fun side. We do have these agreed with British Cycling, and the schedule is now available. Please see the following flyer.
Next Steps…
With all this planned, we will need volunteers to help make it work. If you feel you have what it takes to get involved with any aspect of the organisation please do let us know. We will be very keen to hear from anyone who can assist in judging, marshalling, sign-on or any of the other important tasks involved.
Please note that we will be sending out reminders closer to each workshop/ training event/ race, as well as further details as normal. In the interim, the sign-on team are happy to field any questions you may, and indeed accept any offers of help, so do email as normal.