by Heather Bamforth | May 14, 2013
Cycling Development North West (“CDNW”) are hosting a round of the National Women’s Road Series on 15 & 16 June 2013. The presence of the event, which starts at Blackpool’s Palatine Circuit on 15 June, is a continuation of the event that ran as a two day for the first time last year, as a development of the Blackpool Grand Prix des Dames which had held a place in the Women’s National Road Series for a number of years.
In addition to the main event, there is a round of the local CDNW Youth Series, held on the Saturday (15 June 2013), with a Regional B supporting men’s event over the two days, making the Saturday a day out for all of the family!
© Ed Rollason Photography
For the women’s event, there will be a one lap time trial at Saturday lunchtime (covering approximately 1 km) followed by a circuit race of 45 minutes later in the afternoon. The supporting men’s event will be held after the women’s circuit race and will start at 5:30pm for one hour.
Sunday sees the event move to the Pilling/Nateby course for the first time, with a departure from the Bashall Eaves circuit used last year. The course has proved popular already this season, with the second round of the CDNW’s inaugural women’s road race league for second, third and fourth category riders being held on the circuit, as well as the men’s North West Regional Road Race Championships due to be held on the circuit on 19 May 2013.
© Ed Rollason Photography
http://www.cdnw.org/surf&turf_stage_races.htmlFor further information on the event itself, head to CDNW’s website at:
Entry for both the men’s Regional B event and the Women’s National Series event is £34.40 plus 60p for online entry – visit British Cycling’s website at:
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/84627/Surf-&-Turf-Weekend#entry
For those of you on Twitter make sure you check out our dedicated Twitter page at https://twitter.com/SurfandTurf2Day
We hope to be tweeting live during the event, using the race’s official Twitter feed @SurfandTurf2Day with the official hash tag #sat2day2013 and we will be tweeting in the lead up to the event too, so make sure all you Twitter folk follow the event to keep up to date with all the announcements!
by Heather Bamforth | May 3, 2013
You may have already seen the press release about the return of the Milk Race after a 20 year absence, and, although it’s format for this year is not the stage race of the past, it is still pulling punches by offering equal prize money for both the men’s and women’s events.
“The Dairy Council is proud to announce that legendary cycling event The Milk Race is to make a return to the British sporting calendar after a 20-year absence. “The event, which initially ran between 1958 and 1993, will be reborn as a major city centre race – to take place this year in Nottingham on Sunday 26 May 2013. In its previous incarnation, The Milk Race was the most prestigious multi-stage event in the UK and the (now disbanded) Milk Marketing Board’s 35-year sponsorship remains the longest association that the sport of cycling has ever had. For 2013, The Milk Race will constitute an elite men’s race and an elite women’s race to happen on the same day alongside a full day’s festival of cycling for all the family in Nottingham. The decision to bring back the event, and to re-ignite the link between the ‘white stuff’ and the sport of cycling, was taken by industry bodies The Dairy Council and the Milk Marketing Forum. Dairy Council chairman Sandy Wilkie said: “The Milk Race is undoubtedly the most well remembered and most well regarded cycling event that there has ever been in this country. So to bring it back, and to re-establish such a strong link between milk and sport, is a very exciting development. Much like British cycling, the ‘white stuff’ has gone through something of a renaissance in recent years through the establishment of the celebrity ‘make mine Milk’ campaign, which has included Olympic champion cyclists Ed Clancy and Laura Trott. It’s therefore a perfect partnership for what promises to be a momentous occasion in Nottingham in May.”
Both races have total prize money of over £4,000, which is pretty unheard of for the majority of women’s races in the UK. Entry is open to elite, first, second and third category riders, and the Race Director, Tony Doyle MBE, is keen to attract a field of 60 riders for the women’s event.
The cost of an entry is only £5 – for an event with such a legacy, on closed roads, with crowds, atmosphere, equal prize money and a chance to race with the likes of Olympian Dani King, what more could you ask for?
If you may be thinking about racing but are worried about your other half or your kids, then do not fear, the Milk Race is taking over Nottingham town centre for the day on 26 May, with rides for all the family, face painting, cyclists doing stunts – check out their website for more information:
www.themilkrace.com by Heather Bamforth | Apr 29, 2013
Andy Wood of Weaver Valley Cycling Club has achieved many things in his first year as organiser of arguably the biggest and most hotly contested women’s race on the domestic calendar – the Cheshire Classic. Not only did he source amazing sponsors in Epic Cycles, Delamere Dairy, De Vere Hotels and Roberts Bakery, as well as support from the Breeze Network and Halfords, but he also managed to persuade British Cycling to get their act together with the Accredited Marshals Scheme that has been promised for so long.
Closed roads for a road race are pretty much unheard of – for a start it costs too much, and when, as an organiser, you are often pushed to the limit financially to put your event on, then road closures are the last thing on your list. It also depends on where your course goes too – and the Cheshire Classic goes up and down a bypass, so the local council are never going to go for that. However, with Accredited Marshals comes a new concept – stopping the traffic with lollipop signs but instead of them saying “Stop! Children!” the say “Stop! Cyclists!”
The first thing that I noticed on the way to the headquarters, was the large number of “Caution! Cycle Event!” signs on your approach to the bypass. This meant that drivers had warning from an early stage that there was an event on – not a small side hiding in a grass verge – but a sign on every lamp post in the couple of hundred metres leading up to the area where the accredited marshals were going to be in place, so drivers had no excuse. The next tell tale sign was “Traffic Control Ahead” which is probably what the drivers didn’t want to see!
How did it affect the race? Well there were two main sticking points on the course – firstly the entry on to the bypass – this is a single carriageway bypass, with no central reservation and cars will speed down that section of road so it is very dangerous. The presence of the accredited marshals meant that the bunch was able to enter the main road from the sweeping left-hand bend without worrying about oncoming traffic. The second tricky place was the main climb, where the finish is, “The Cliff” on Acton Lane, where the gradient gets steeper towards the top. Again, the presence of the accredited marshals meant that cars had to stop at the top of the climb whilst the riders came through, which also meant that all of the road was used (until you came around the bend to find the stopped car!)
© Ed Rollason Photography
It was a classic Cheshire Classic, with Karla Boddy of MG Maxifuel taking the win in a tight sprint finish with Emma Grant of Matrix Fitness. A superb ride by Karla, who was understandably emotional at the finish! But, in my humble opinion, there was another star in the making – it was Andy Wood’s first solo attempt at organising a bike race, which was one of the most well-organised events I have been able to attend. I only hope that the riders appreciate all the hard work and effort he put into the event to make it such a great success.
by Heather Bamforth | Apr 14, 2013
I have noticed recently that there have been many articles flying around about women’s bikes, but so far nobody has given a review of a women’s specific design bike for racing.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you can’t race on one – for the past two years I have been riding a female specific Boardman, which I bought from Halfords for £1,000, but I have always complained about the sub-standard groupset, despite the bike being very light. I also don’t like racing on clinchers, so I upgraded the wheels that came with the bike and changed the saddle to one I am used to using.
Note the wheels – one of the key upgrades to the Boardman
So what are your options?
If you read the vast majority of articles on women’s bikes, you would think that there are loads to choose from. That may be the case, but the majority of brochures for women’s bikes talk about comfort on long rides, and the women’s geometry is supposed to be more relaxed to compensate for this. But if you’re looking for a bike to race on, this might not be what you’re looking for, so do yourself a favour and look at both the men’s and women’s options but bear in mind the main differences between men’s and women’s bikes, namely:
- Women’s bikes tend to have worse groupsets than their “male” alternative (although some manufacturers are starting to buck this trend);
- Men’s bikes tend to have wider handlebars, making control difficult for women who tend to be more petite in width;
- The top end men’s bikes are very light and very stiff – most women don’t benefit from a stiff frame as much as men due to the difference in power output.
It is possible to change components on the bike before you buy, you just have to be prepared to negotiate with the shop before you buy. Some changes are easy to make, for example by asking for narrower handlebars or women’s specific ones, which tend to have a shallower drop. Furthermore, many bikes have compact chainsets, with 50/34 chainrings, but you may prefer to change it for a double, with 53/39 chainrings, depending on who you are going to race with and what events you intend to ride.
My Top Tips
Remember my top tips and get what bike you want:
- Research the bike you want before setting foot in the shop – if you have a top price in mind, try not to go above it;
- Ask fellow cyclists for their opinion, but remember that its your money and ultimately your decision;
- Remember that just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you can’t ride a men’s bike;
- If you’re going for the full bike, ask to take it for a test ride;
- Remember that you can change components at a later date, although some are easier (and cheaper) to change than others;
- Take advantage of a bike fit;
- Don’t pick the bike because of the colour – get one that fits both you and the purpose you want it for (this also means that you have to be honest with yourself in order to get the right bike);
- Be prepared to negotiate with the shop to change the components;
- Buy what you want not what the shop assistant says you should buy.
Putting my own advice into practice
This year, I decided to buy a new bike. I didn’t want to spend more than £3,000 (which still seems a lot considering). The women’s specific bike that I was going to buy seemed to have weird sizing and I knew before I made the final decision that I wouldn’t want to keep the wheels (the majority of wheels that come with full bikes are not as good as the wheels that you would want to race on), or the compact chainset or the saddle.
My Giant TCR in its first race – note the same wheels as in the picture above
I have ridden Giant bikes for quite a while – men’s and women’s – and I like the compact frame (Giant call it “Compact Road Design”). I had a look at the men’s bikes, as well as the women’s, and for £3,499 RRP I could buy a full bike (the men’s TCR Advanced and the women’s Avail Advanced), both with Ultegra Di2, but the women’s version came under the heading “Endurance” not “Performance”. Indeed, it is described as a bike for “sportives, centuries, fast group rides and epic solo days” – no mention of a race. This did put me off, as I was looking to upgrade my race bike.
The Decision
I decided to go with the men’s frameset option instead – the tag line for this bike is “if road bike racing is in your DNA, this is your machine” – well, it mentioned racing so that was a good start! I was keen to buy a 10 speed double groupset (rather than a compact) before everything changes to 11 speed, and I was lucky enough to buy it for a really good price online. I shopped around and got some slightly narrower handlebars too. My local bike shop did a phenomenal job in building it up for me, even managing to get hold of matching bottle cages!
As for the Boardman, well that has been transformed into my new low profile time trial bike – there will be an article on that in the coming weeks. Until then, enjoy your riding!
by Heather Bamforth | Mar 8, 2013
On Sunday 3 March 2013, at an industrial estate just outside Skelmersdale, Lancashire, 37 ladies lined up for the start of the first round of the inaugural Cycling Development North West’s (“CDNW”) women’s road race league.
Start Line at Pimbo
That figure, to many, may not seem astounding but there are two facts that must be remembered in order to consider this fully. Firstly, when the men’s road race league was set up 10 years ago, the first event had just 10 riders. Secondly, the number of riders who lined up in the event on Sunday included nearly a third who were experiencing a road race for the first time – for some it was their first event on the open road (having just raced on closed circuits previously) and for others it was their first foray into either competitive cycling or bunch racing, with quite a few riders making the switch from time trials and triathlon to road racing.
Competitive racing was had throughout
I can’t lie. I was quite emotional when I arrived at the headquarters. We knew that we had to get at least 15 women to break even, so I have worked hard since October to spread the word through social media. I think it has worked – I have just populated the results for the league and we have 50 riders registered – a far cry from the 10 that we were told to expect.
But it gets even better – there are many sceptics out there of women’s racing – it can be negative and there have been some comments about bad riding – but the event at Pimbo was testament to the quality of racing that professionals would be proud of – there were heroic attacks, team tactics and a bunch sprint, all of which did not fail to impress the officials and spectators.
Jo Blakeley of Champion Systems/Maxgear Racing on the attack
Every single girl who turned up to Pimbo on Sunday should be proud that they were part of hopefully the start of something very special in women’s cycling. This is the only road race league for women in the country where all events are road races (no closed circuit races or time trials) and my only wish is that the girls who competed on Sunday keep it up – the CDNW women’s road race league is just that – a league – with all events counting towards the main league title. Everybody who finishes an event gets counting points towards the league.
It’s an exciting time to get involved with women’s competitive cycling. Can you afford not to get involved?
The next event is on 17 March 2013 at Pilling, Lancashire. There is still plenty of room for any second, third or fourth category ladies to enter. Please visit www.cdnw.org for more information.
Thanks to Ed Rollason for the photographs.
by Heather Bamforth | Feb 23, 2013
In advance of the Salt Ayre Spring Series at Lancaster (9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th March – 4th cat men at 13.30, Women only at 13.30 and E/1/2/3 men at 14.30) Salt Ayre Cycling Association are holding novice training on the circuit on 2nd March at 12.30 to 15.00.
If you want toimprove your confidence or just learn the corners on this circuit please come along, all are welcome.
Please note that this is not a race, it is an opportunity to practise your technique (including cornering) and your bunch skills.
Cost is £1 toward circuit hire.
Any queries contact Nev Pearson on [email protected]
You must be logged in to post a comment.