by Heather Bamforth | Jul 19, 2015
Now that the Women’s National Road Series is over for another year, many people will be thinking about what team they want to be riding for next season, so given that the better teams tend to be sorted by August, I thought it would be helpful to give those of you who might not have gone through the process before some guidance.
Where do I start?
Firstly, a good starting point is to think about what you actually want to achieve next season and whether you have all the “tools” available to you to be able to do so. For example, it might be something relatively simple like a need to improve on your base fitness over winter to help you be more competitive in the higher level races, or it might be something more difficult, like a lack of time and/or money.
Many people (male and female) make the mistake of applying a scatter gun approach to racing at the start of the season (a large factor being a plethora of races, on the most part circuit races, at the beginning of the season, which peter out later in the year), which doesn’t necessarily help with your fitness or your bank balance!
BC National Road Race Championships 2015 – Image ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
So, what do you need to think about?
Time you have available
If you are at school, college, work or have kids, you will have other commitments other than riding your bike. That also means that you are likely to have a finite number of holidays available too – so think about what you intend to do in those holidays, and how many you are prepared to spend at bike races (everybody needs a break from work otherwise you get burn out).
You also need to think about how many hours a week you can dedicate to riding a bike – if you have a training plan that involves 20 hours a week on the bike, is it reasonable to think that you can achieve that? Or is 6 hours a week more likely? You can still achieve results on the latter, you just have to make sure that you are doing quality training.
Matrix Fitness GP 2015 | Motherwell – Round 2 – Image ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
Cost of racing
Every time you race, you pay an entry fee. If you are keen to do more road races than anything else, these tend to be more expensive due to the nature of the infrastructure required for the race to go ahead. If you are likely to be tight on cash (which most people are), and you have to cover the costs of your own entry fee, decide in advance which races you intend to target (the cost of races disappears once the event has happened but if you earmark £30 for each National Series event, and £20 – £25 for every other event, you won’t be far off), how much you will need to spend to get there (including travelling, accommodation and food) and make those events your “target events”, you will go some way to making sure you budget for them accordingly.
Once you’ve earmarked how much it is going to cost you to get to the most important events in your calendar, then work backwards based on how much cash you think you are going to have available and look at local events first, then further afield. Remember, you don’t have to enter all women’s races if there isn’t one available. You can enter men’s events, but you have to be pretty quick because they fill up rather fast.
Women’s Tour De Yorkshire 2015 – ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
Your Location
If you live in a region where there isn’t much racing available for women, you have two choices: you either do something about it (by persuading organisers of men’s events to host a women’s race at the same time) or you have to travel. Most people have to travel at some point because races tend to be in the middle of nowhere. If you don’t have access to a car, the likelihood is that you will struggle to get to races unless you team up with someone else to get there or you get there using public transport, which might involve a stay over. If you’re not overly keen on those two options, you will need to look at the racing on offer in your locality and amend your season’s objectives accordingly.
Cheshire Classic 2015 – BC Women’s Road Series Rnd2 – Image ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
Do you need to be on a team?
The short answer is “no”. However, some riders prefer to be on a team, so it’s each to their own. But, having said that, if you do want to be on a sponsored team, and you are considering applying to teams, make sure that you are honest with yourself about what you can give. Being on a team is a privileged position to be in, especially those where it includes the provision of clothing and equipment. You need to ensure that you can do justice to yourself and your potential sponsors before applying. You also need to think about the commitment level (see above) as if you’re limited on the number of holidays that you have, only you will know whether riding every Tour Series or driving the length of the country for National Series races is the best use of your time.
Notwithstanding the above, Tanya Griffiths wrote an article for us last year about applying for a team place, which you can access here.
Alexandra Women’s Tour Of The Reservoir 2015 – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
Perspective is important
Ultimately, the majority of racing cyclists in this country participate because it’s their hobby. That means it’s supposed to be fun and enjoyable (although it is hard work too). Focus on what you want to achieve, make sure your objectives or goals are SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) and just enjoy riding your bike.
If you do decide to go ahead with applying to sponsored teams next season, we wish you the very best of luck and hope that everything works out for you.
Check out Heathers previous guides:
Race Tactics – It’s More Than Just A Lead Out
Click below to read:
Part One – Where Do I Start?
Part Two – What Do I Enter?
Part Three – What training should I do?
Part Four – Practice! Practice! Practice!
Part Five – Are You Ready To Race?
Part Six – Race Day
Part Seven – Circuit Racing
by Tanya Griffiths | Aug 29, 2014
Tanya Griffiths
For anybody who is coming to the end of their racing season, one of the things you will no doubt be thinking about is who you are going to be riding for next season. Given the costs of racing nowadays, it often seems to be a good idea to ride for a team. This can be a minefield, so we’ve enlisted a new writer – Starley Primal’s Tanya Griffiths (who won the elite women’s Tickhill GP this year) she’s here to give you some valuable tips:
Starting the Process
So, how do you get on a team? There are two ways; either you will be approached by a team manager or director sportif (generally riders who have had many notable results and are highly sought-after), or you apply to a team. Probably 90% of team riders are there through application rather than head-hunting, so if you haven’t been approached by a team, that is no reflection on whether or not a team would want you to ride for them.
Make sure you know why you are applying
When selecting the teams you want to go for, you need to decide why you want to join a team, because every team is different. Maybe you want a group of riders to get together with so that you are not so alone when you go to races? Or are you attracted to the professionalism of a team, where you get the support of mechanics and soigneurs and get the fancy kit and the bikes and make a real show in front of the crowds? Or are you after results, do you want to be a part of a team that gets good results and always has their riders at the front of the peloton? Do you want to be amongst riders that you can learn from – where you are the support rider for the team, or one that you can lead, where you will be the supported rider? Is a team that rides with tactics and a clear game-plan important to you? If you’ve paid enough attention at races, 
you should be able to pick out the teams that are geared towards your goal. But be realistic. Don’t waste your time on a team that you are not suited to. One year’s racing isn’t enough to apply to a UCI team. That being said, there is nothing wrong with being ambitious.
Do your homework
Firstly, make a note of all of the teams that you have seen out on the circuit this year. If you are not sure, take a look at race results. The British Cycling website has a team rankings list, which is useful for this sort of thing (although you will have to click on each team to see if they are a women’s team or not). Follow teams on Twitter and Facebook and check their website if they have one. These places are where they are likely to advertise for riders and should provide contact details (usually an e-mail address).
Facebook groups are also a good way of finding out about new teams that might be starting up. If there is a local cycle racing group page, make sure that you are a member. The London Women’s Cycle Racing group is also a good one to be a member of, even if you are not based in London, because they have a large following and it is therefore a good place for new teams to advertise.
How do you apply?
So you’ve got your potential target teams, then what? Sending an e-mail to a team manager saying that you want to ride for them is not likely to get you anywhere. If you do get a response, it’s likely to be a polite request for your CV. You must look at it in the same way you do when applying for a job, which in some ways you are, although it’s more than likely not a paid position.
A team manager will want to know how you will fit in the team. Whether that’s the level of rider you are, the type of rider you are, or your character. They will also want to know what you can add to the team.
Preparing your Palmares
Your palmares (a list of your achievements) will play an important part in your CV, although maybe not as much as
you might think. Put together a list of your achievements this year and anything of note in previous years. They will be looking for something meaningful, so a mid-week win in a race with 3 riders will not say as much about a rider as a 25th place in a national series race, so make sure you think that way about what results you include. You want them to
Tickhill GP 2014 Harry Tanfield & Tanya Griffiths
sum up your level as a rider, so if you have taken part in a stage race, include this result even if it is not as good as you would have liked, that you have experienced a stage race is of benefit to the team. Also, if you came 2nd or 3rd in a race behind a notable rider, include who the winner was. This helps the team manager understand the level of competition that you had in that race.
When selecting which results to include, also think about what sort of races the team is likely to be doing and the type of races you would want to do. You may have decided that you are better at stage races, or longer distance road races, so balance your results to show these types of races. Alternatively, you might want to focus on criterieum races or racing on the track, so show these. Most teams will want versatile riders, as they are not able to support enough riders to have those that specialise, for example, in crits and those that specialise in road races, so ensure that you do show results from your less favoured disciplines too.
You’ve got your palmares sorted, now what? This is your chance to talk a bit about the side of you that your results don’t convey. Very few riders believe that their results show their strengths as a rider, so this is your chance.
You need to think about why you want to join that particular team. Make sure that you tailor what you write to suit that particular team, as you would with a job. Don’t write one generic CV and blast it off to any and every team that you can get contact details for.
Why are you applying to that team specifically?
They will want to know why you want to ride for that team. “I just want to ride for a team” is unlikely to get you anywhere. They also want to know what you will bring to the team. You will need to tell them about your strengths, 
what type of rider are you? Are you a strong climber, sprinter, support rider, good all-rounder? You may not yet know. You also need to be honest and tell them what your weaknesses are. If you climb like a sack of potatoes, tell them. You won’t feel comfortable turning up at your first race for the team on a course that doesn’t suit you because you twisted the truth a little bit on your CV. The team may ask you to still ride races that don’t suit you, but it will feel much better if you’ve told them. You might also include areas that you are currently struggling with, for example, technical cornering, but also include how you are addressing this weakness.
Get the introduction right
So, you’ve now got your palmares and you’ve told them what your strengths and weaknesses are, what you will bring to the team and why you have chosen to apply for that team. You will also need to include a short introduction to yourself. Tell them something interesting that will give you personality. If you work, what is your job, are you still at school/university? What are you studying? When did you start cycling, is there a nice story of how you got into the sport. What inspires you as a cyclist?
Sponsors expect professionalism
Once you’ve got this together, it is really important to remember that a team is looking for someone who is going to represent their sponsors. Professionalism is very important both on and off the bike, your attitude and actions will reflect back onto the sponsors. Try to include something that will indicate that you will act responsibly and professionally. Sponsors are after promotion, so if you have been in the local paper, write a blog or do any other promotional work, include this. A sponsor may see you as someone who will provide them with added opportunities to advertise them, so it could bring an added dimension to your application and will give you something to bring to the team that other riders may not have.
Bringing everything together
Now you need to put this together into a complete CV. I would suggest no more than 2 pages, keep your paragraphs clear, concise and to the point. Punchy, not wordy, some teams will receive hundreds of applications; they simply won’t read it if there is too much information. Think about the layout, make it look attractive. Include photos, but think about why you are including them. Each photo should be there for a reason; does it show you in a break-away? Riding amongst top riders? You on the attack? It’s a good way of showing the type of rider you are and will provide an attractive element to your CV. Take a look at CVs on the internet for inspiration. It’s not a work CV, so don’t be afraid to add some colour, but don’t go over-the-top. Never lose sight of what your CV is for, keep it legible and clear, but make it stand out!
Don’t forget to add your contact details. Your e-mail address and telephone number are vital. You don’t want to be in a position where a team wants you but can’t contact you!
Once it is complete, you are happy with it and you have asked other people to read through and check it for you, put it into an appropriate format. A pdf is the most common format, but you may be an IT whizz and create a website for your CV (just make sure that the link works, it’s easy to use and not open to Joe Public if you don’t want it to be). If you do create a website for your CV, it is a good idea to have a pdf version of your CV too, as some team managers will want to print all of the CVs out to go through them, rather than look at them on the computer.
Job done? Not quite – you will need to write an opening e-mail which will quickly introduce yourself, explain the reason for your e-mail and highlight that you have attached your CV. This e-mail is important, as it’s the first impression that they will have of you, so think about what you write. You don’t want them to dismiss you without reading your CV. And MAKE SURE YOU ATTACH YOUR CV! It’s always a good idea to include any attachments before you write the e-mail. Sending another e-mail saying “oops I forgot to attach it!” doesn’t give a good impression, although don’t panic if this does happen to you, we’ve all been there!
Clean up your “online presence”
So, CV sent. Time to bite those fingernails and wait for a response! There’s nothing you can do about it now? WRONG! Remember what you told them about being a professional and understanding the importance of promoting a sponsor in the right way? Well that starts now. Potential teams and sponsors might be reading what you put in your blog, twitter, facebook, instagram etc… go through your old posts and delete anything that doesn’t represent who you want them to see. Once you have sponsors, you are in the public domain. If you are one of those people who thinks “it’s my account, I’ll write what I like”, you are unlikely to be the type of rider that a sponsor is looking for. So keep it positive, don’t “slag” people off, keep swearing to a minimum and avoid writing anything that is overly offensive, rude, prejudice or political . You never know who might be watching!
When waiting for a response, remember, teams don’t make up their minds straight away, they want to see who applies and build a team around who they want. It may take months, so be patient. All teams generally respond in one form or another, so be patient. You may get lots of rejections before you get a call from an interested team.
Tanya Griffiths rides for Starley Primal Pro Cycling and is the organiser of the Women’s Eastern Racing League. You can follow her on Twitter @TanyGriff . The Women’s Eastern Racing League is also on Twitter: @WERLeague
The sleeves, although slightly long on little me, feature elasticated Jacquard bands as does the waist. These were great at reducing movement and keeping the cool air where it belongs; although I personally could do with losing my winter weight for this to fit perfectly, as noted that the kit does come up small, so consider one size up for a comfy fit if you’re looking to buy.
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