Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/03/2013
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location
Norwich Airport Park & Ride
Category(ies) No Categories
In addition to our first race day, we will also have coaching sessions at:
9.30-10.30: family session
10.45-11.45: Road Riding Introduction
See the 2013 Coaching Pathway download for more on our homepage.
We are passionate about YOU enjoying your cycling. We love riding, getting active and feeling great. Racing is a thrill and a challenge and the skills you learn and the technique you develop will help you become a more confident, aware and skilled rider – whatever your cycling passion. Racing with the NCA builds upon the key coaching points from our Sunday and Friday sessions and gives you the opportunity to put these into practice and challenge yourself.
The NCA races are designed for new and developing riders. Our races are short and are aimed at developing core techniques that are useful for everyday riding and for preparing you for racing and charity rides/sportives etc: cornering; group riding; gear selection; change of pace etc.
Our race meeting will be welcoming, supportive and challenging. We do not offer prize money to tempt top riders to our races, we organise events for your development and excitement!
No. However, we encourage all riders to join the NCA as your membership helps us provide our free loan bike fleet and equipment and pays for venue and event insurance and coaching etc. Your NCA membership gives you a great discount on bikes, accessories and clothing from club sponsor Pedal Revolution and reduced coaching and event fees at our events every week. You can join the NCA as a first-claim member and race/ride for us in all types of cycle events as we are affiliated to all the governing bodies.
You can join the NCA using a membership form and parental consent form downloaded from the homepage of club website: http://blog.pedalrevolution.co.uk/
Yes. Most of our members join the NCA as “second-claim” individual or family members. They ride and race for their “first-claim” local club and belong to the NCA to support us and receive the benefits of NCA membership.
If you are a member of a club (like the NCA, VC Norwich, GYCC etc) and have never been members of BC before then you qualify for FREE membership and provisional racing licence – which is all you need for NCA races. You can complete the forms online using the promotional code “NEWCMRA” here: www.britishcycling.org.uk/membership
All our races are run under British Cycling (BC) rules and regulations. You will need to be BC member and hold a BC licence to race. However, you can buy a day membership and licence on the day (£5.00 for adults, £1.50 for u18s).
Just turn up on the day. We do not have advanced entry. It is that simple!
Our races are split into 8 categories. The youth racing is divided by your age on 1st January this year:
GO-RIDE: Novice riders under 12 and Youth E (Under 8 born in 2005 or 2006)
Youth D Under 10. Born in 2003 or 2004 and u10 on 01.01.2013
Youth C Under 12. Born in 2001 or 2002 and u12 on 01.01.2013
Youth B Under 14. Born in 1999 or 2000 and u14 on 01.01.2013
Youth A Under 16. Born in 1997 or 1998 and u16 on 01.01.2013
Junior Under 18. Born in 1996 or 1995 and u18 on 01.01.2013
Female-only: All ages welcome for females over 16 on 1st January 2013
Adults: All ages welcome over 16 on 1st January 2013.
All u12s who have never raced before should enter the Go-Ride novice category unless they feel experienced enough (they have attended several of our coaching sessions). Speak to coaches Neil (info@activatingcic.co.uk) or Russell if in doubt.
Unless otherwise stated, the timetable for our events is:
|
Race Number |
Guide Times |
Category | |
|
Start |
Finish |
||
|
1 |
9.30 |
9.40 |
Go-ride race 1 |
|
2 |
9.50 |
10.00 |
Youth C&D race 1 |
|
3 |
10.10 |
10.20 |
Go-ride race 2 |
|
4 |
10.30 |
10.40 |
Youth C&D race 2 |
|
5 |
10.50 |
11.05 |
Youth A&B race 1 |
|
6 |
11.15 |
11.30 |
Adults & u18s race 1 |
|
Break |
|||
|
7 |
12.00 |
12.15 |
Youth A&B race 2 |
|
8 |
12.25 |
12.40 |
Female-only race 1 |
|
9 |
12.50 |
13.05 |
Adults & u18s race 2 |
|
10 |
13.15 |
13.30 |
Female-only race 2 |
However, ensure you arrive at least one hour early and be prepared to start your race a few minute early or late. If sufficient riders attend, Youth C&D and Youth A&B will run their own respective races.
If you hold a BC category 4 licence you are welcome to race. Category 3,2,1 and Elite riders need to contact the event organiser (Neil Turner 07850 999 594 or info@activatingcic.co.uk before the event). Why not come and race to support your club’s new and developing riders?
At each race day, you will have 2 races separated by less than 1 hour to ensure you are not hanging around all day! If you are not a BC member (see above) you will need to buy day membership also.
Go-Ride: £3.50 for 2 races
U10/12/14/16: £7.50 for 2 races
Juniors/Adults/Females: £10 for 2 races
BC day membership (£5.00 for adults, £1.50 for u16’s)
All our youth races are BC points scoring and be added to your licence. Points are scored towards your regional and national ranking if you finish in the top 3 positions.
Our adult races are termed “Go-Race” and do not score points on your licence – but provide you with excellent development, training and learning!
Under British Cycling rules, all youth riders u16 MUST use restricted – small – gears. This ensures under-developed bone and body forms do not suffer from the burden of large gears and puts the emphasis on riders using race craft and technique to succeed – not just who can push the biggest gear the fastest!
Gears are measured by the distance travelled by one complete pedal stroke. It is tested by putting the bike in the biggest gear, aligning the pedal crank vertically downwards and pushing the bike STRAIGHT backwards for one complete pedal turn. This distance is the gear size and is measured in metres.
Youth E (u8): 5.1m
Youth D (u10): 5.4m
Youth C (u12): 6.05m
Youth B (u14): 6.45m
Youth A (u16): 6.93m
Junior (u18): 7.93m
If your bike travels further than the above distance you need to “block off” either the front and/or rear gears. Click here for a guide: www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/volunteer/Commissaire_Quick_Guide_COMMISSAIRE.pdf
You need to arrive at least 1 hour before your race starts. If you are a youth rider (u18) you must first have your gears checked and receive a ticket from the official. Then proceed to sign-on with your BC membership card.
If you are u18 and not a member of the NCA and have not been to any of our coaching sessions you will need a signed parental consent form. These can be downloaded from the club website: http://blog.pedalrevolution.co.uk/
At sign-on, choose the appropriate race (see above), sign-on and pay your entry fee and you will be given a race number for the day. You need to pin this to your racing top so that it is clearly visible. Try to pin it through a seam so it does not damage your clothing.
If you are the championship leader in your class, you will be presented a yellow jersey for the day to mark this achievement. Please pass it back to the officials at the end of the day so we can launder it ready for the next race meeting.
Get yourself warmed up by gently riding on our warm-up circuit – DO NOT stretch or do anything else, just ride gently. When warmed up, if the conditions and circuit permit, try to raise your speed until you are breathing deeply. Time this to finish approx 10-15 mins before the start of your race.
You MUST wear a helmet. If you do not have one, we have some for loan on the day or pop into Pedal Revolution with your NCA membership card and treat yourself to a good quality, well fitting helmet. The team will be pleased to advise and fit you to the right helmet.
If you have a club jersey, please wear it. If not, wear a tight fitting top that is not going to catch the wind. If it is cold, please wear long sleeves. If you have cycling shorts wear these and again, if it is cold wear leg warmers, cycling bottoms or tracksuit bottoms. Cycling bottoms and shorts have a padded insert and are much more comfortable! Again the team at Pedal Revolution can advise and fit you to the right garments. You cannot ride a British Cycling event in a top advertising anything other than your club sponsor – sorry, no Team Sky jerseys are allowed unless you are Wiggo or Laura Trott!
If you are starting out and do not have cycling shoes, wear a narrow pair of trainers with a good solid sole – so your foot does not bend too much when pedalling. Always wear socks.
Lastly, wear a pair of cycling mitts or gloves whatever the weather. If you did happen to tumble your palm is protected. Have a look at professional riders and count how many do not wear cycling mitts even in the extreme heat of the Tour de France!
Yes, we will have our great range of road bikes available in a wide range of sizes. Amazingly, we lend these out FREE to help you get started.
At the NCA we are passionate about racing and offer you 2 races every day. Wow! To achieve this, we need to keep the timetable tight and you need to be aware that your race may be running a little early or late. With 10-15 mins to go before your race we will announce your race whilst the current race is still in progress. You must assemble in the “collection area” and report to the official who will check your number and conduct the race briefing. From here you will be directed onto the grid. The first of your races each day will be given a “sighting” lap so you get chance to ride the circuit and observe any hazards that the official will have raised with you during the briefing. Once on the grid a final briefing may be given by the official and then the race starts with the Union flag.
Our races are short – to develop your technique, improve your skill and build your race craft. Longer races for new and developing riders usually develop into solo riders pounding around a circuit or very small groups. Not much fun and not helpful to develop your technique and race craft.
Go-Ride: 2 X 10 mins
U10/U12: 2 X 10 mins
U14/U16: 2 X 15 mins
Female-only: 2 X 15 mins
Adults & Juniors: 2 X 15 mins
Always complete the slowing down lap. You will be directed into the “finishing area” after this lap by the official. If possible, ask your family/helpers to meet you there and have a warm top/bottoms for you. We will have a podium presentation for the top 3 riders. Please come and support this and give them a cheer! After this, try and have 10-15 mins on the warm-up circuit cooling down. Have a drink but not too quickly.
We have a Spring League (4 day and 8 races) from March to June and a Summer League (4 days and 8 races) from June to October. It is basically a race Sunday every month – usually the first Sunday of the month.
Our league is split into 7 championships: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, Female only, Adults.
Each race (2 per day) carries points for 1st-6th place (20-16-12-8-4-2) and every rider starting is awarded a point. The last race of each league carries double points. The rider with the most points is the winner of their respective championship!
We will calculate the points for each championship after each race day and publish the race results and league tables on www.pedalrevolution.co.uk
Each day at sign-on, we will present a yellow leaders jersey to the League leader for each championship to wear for that day to honour their position in their respective championship.
Our races are about developing your technique, improving your race craft and the thrill of racing! However, the winner of each championship (that is 14 across the Spring and Summer leagues) will receive a fabulous engraved NCA trophy to keep until February 2014 courtesy of race sponsors Aquaterra Energy. It will be yours to polish and cherish!! We will have prizes for 2nd and 3rd in each championship courtesy of sponsors Parson Woodforde Pub and Restaurant just around the corner at Weston Longville.
After each race, please stay for your podium presentation. The winner of each race will receive a coveted NCA winner’s tee-shirt
We do not offer cash prizes.
Yes, we will be running our popular sessions as usual. See the calendar for details.
Great, that is our plan! Come back and finish the league and challenge yourself to finish higher or closer to your chosen rivals. Come to the Sunday coaching sessions and Friday night indoor training sessions to improve technique and gain a hard workout (full calendar on blog.pedalrevolution.co.uk).
After each race, look around you at the riders finishing close to you. Think about what you could do to go faster, use your energy more efficiently during the whole race, how could you apply the coaching techniques from Sunday coaching sessions more effectively and how you could have used different tactics to finish higher? Racing is not just about the finishing RESULT, it is about your PERFORMANCE and you are the best judge of that after asking yourself those questions!
The Lotus Racing league (http://www.lotuscycleracing.org/) and the new Elvedon series (http://elvedencycleraces.com/) are both excellent “next steps” for adult and youth racers once you have mastered the basic technique of racing and feel confident. Speak to Neil and Russell for advice.
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