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Road Cycling

Road Race

Welland Valley Cycling club is very active in promoting and participating in road racing with multiple ways to get involved, build fitness and comradery

#1 Reliability Ride

Welland Valley run a traditional reliability ride the last weekend in January. A great no frills event with fantastic routes along the Leicestershire / Northamptonshire border. Don’t expect a Sportive, this is an “Old School” Reliability Trial in every sense of the word. Route markers and support are not supplied, riders are expected to be self-reliant.

#2 Pre-Season Training

With Christmas over and the new racing season not much more than a couple of months away the time seems right to focus our training!

Opportunity for members with quite a number of members interested in bunch racing, some for the first time, the club runs training sessions on Saturday mornings through January and February.    The sessions will be aimed at members who might want to take part in road racing, but will be appropriate for anyone wanting to take part in structured road based training with a degree of intensity.

Sessions will be designed by Phil Rayner and led by Phil Rayner and Nick Clarke, check-out posts of WVCC Website, Facebook & Instagram in the new year

#3 Spring NCRA Handicap Races

If you fancy starting off your season at the beginning of March Spring NCRA Handicap Races is a  series of Regional B, Cat 3/4 road races that will provide the perfect opportunity in the local area to kick off your road season in a handicap format.

WVCC are very proud to be hosting the first round each year of the prestigious series that has the privilege of seeing, past and current continental level riders passing through its ranks on their way to the top of the domestic scene. Notably since 2012 as produced over 10 local east midlands and central region riders to go on from the series to be 1st and Elite Category Riders whilst still proving a great place for those riders who are also just looking for a good hard ride out and that feel and buzz of bunch racing.

Check-out posts of WVCC Website, Facebook & Instagram in the new year and NCRA Facebook for further information

#4 Mallory Park Summer Series

We  stage Club Circuit Races throughout July and August at Mallory Park racing circuit each summer. It’s a sweeping 1.35mile track which incorporates hairpin bends and chicanes and boasts a superb surface for bike racing.

Races are for club members of all shapes, sizes, speeds and experience; with the added bonus of taking place on glorious traffic-free circuits.  Race Nights feature Fast, Brisk, Steady and Novice races. Depending on your ability and experience, you’ll be put in the appropriate race with four or five team-mates to battle it out with other closely-matched teams; which guarantees a highly competitive evening’s racing.

More information and sign-up details on Mallory Park Summer Series

#5 Summer Chain Gangs

Thursday 18:30 at Church Langton chain gangs are proving a great success.  We have had upwards of 30 people attending, each week and joining in the very specific training sessions.  The evening involves laps of a short circuit around Welham/Ashley/Medbourne and Cranoe and consists of riders progressing, at pace, in close formation.

It is a fairly intense effort compared, for example with a club run, but members should not think that it is only for the fastest people.  We have been running with three groups, with different average speeds, and could add more if there was sufficient interest.  Members will be matched with the group that best matches their own pace, and will then work together to complete circuits at a high intensity.  In doing so we hope to get stronger and develop our skills riding with others.   The sessions are around an hour long

It is true that each week a few people won’t quite manage to finish with the group they started with, but that can lead people to push themselves next time and doesn’t stop them continuing the session with the knowledge that there are other groups behind and that it is a short distance back to the start.

It is really pleasing to see members keep coming back and looking forward to the sessions.  We will keep running them through the summer and if you would like a work out on a Thursday evening and either didn’t know about the chaingang or felt it might not be for you, why not give it a try?

To be included in the WhatsApp group please contact Nick Clarke.

#6 Road Races

We typically promote three annual open road races on the open road, and help to promote local closed circuit races.

  • AA Brown
  • La Fleche Waltonne British Masters Road Race
  • Duncan Murray Road Race inc. British Women’s Cup Race

We also cater for the master cyclists over the age of 40, through our involvement with British Masters Cycle Racing (BCMR), who hold races most weekends throughout the country, levelling the playing field by separating the races into age categories (5 year age bands).

 

 

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