Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club

Cyclo-cross comes to Hemel

Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club will once again host a round of the Central League Cyclo-cross. Hemel’s event, round 3 of a series of 9, will take place at Longdean School, Hemel Hempstead, on Sunday 17 October 2010.

This is the third time Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club has hosted a round of the Central League Cyclo-cross series and, once again, Keith Fletcher is organising the event after the success of the previous two years’ events. The junior, youth and novice racing starts at 11.00, with the seniors, women and veterans starting at 13.00. Course designer for the event will be Simon Hemington, and anyone willing to help set up the course should contact the race organiser Keith Fletcher ( keith@cadence.uk.com ).

This coming season will be the 3rd year for the Central League Cyclo-cross and it runs events between October and December. It also puts forward a team for the Inter-area Team Championships, which this year takes place on 7 November at Leicester Leys Leisure Centre. The dates for the Central League Cyclo-cross races are:

• Round 1: 3 October 2010 – Blenheim Cross, held at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
• Round 2: 9 October 2010 – Kettering CC Cross, held at Weekley Glebe Sports Ground, Weekley Glebe Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire
• Round 3: 17 October 2010 – Hemel Hempstead CC Cross, held at Longdean School, Rumballs Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
• Round 4: 24 October 2010 – Icknield Cross, held at Icknield High School, Riddy Lane, Luton, Beds
• Round 5: 31 October 2010 - (Combined with round 7 of the London League) – Archer RC Cross, held at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, Minet Park, Springfield Road (off A4020), Hayes, Middlesex
• Round 6: 6 November 2010 – Team Milton Keynes Cross, held at the Milton Keynes Bowl, Watling Street, Milton Keynes, Bucks
• Inter –Area Team Championships - 7 November 2010, at Leicester Leys Leisure Centre
• Round 7: 21 November 2010 – VC10 Cross, held at Green Park, Stablebridge Road, Aston Clinton, Bucks, HP22 5NE
• Round 8: 27 November 2010 - Progression Fitness Cross, held at Mary Hare School, Arlington Manor, Snelsmore Common, Newbury, Berkshire
• Round 9: 12 December 2010 – Twickenham CC Cross, held at Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, Minet Park, Springfield Road (off A4020), Hayes, Middlesex

For further information about each event, including organisers’ details, visit British Cycling’s event calendar: http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/events/list

Important Information:

Race Organiser:
Keith Fletcher
Greenacre,
Troutstream,
Loudwater,
Hertfordshire,
WD3 4JN
Tel : 07770 484900
Email: keith@cadence.uk.com

For those not familiar with Cyclo-cross, it's a form of cycle racing similar to mountain biking, but predates mountain bike racing by many years. It came about as a result of road racers looking for a way to maintain winter fitness and competitiveness. It takes place mainly off road and riders overcome obstacles such as wooden hurdles and short steep climbs or decents. Often, riders will dismount and carry their bikes whilst tackling these obstacles.

Cyclocross is extremely popular on the continent, particularly in Belgium. It's also very popular in America.

The Cyclo-cross season runs during the autumn and winter months and courses can get extremely muddy. Top riders often have two bikes at races and switch bikes if one gets too clogged up with mud. Assistants in the pits clean the muddy one ready to switch bikes again on a later lap.

Races last about an hour around laps of a marked circuit of about a mile or so in length. This makes Cyclo-cross racing a particularly spectator-friendly form of cycle racing.

Cyclo-cross bikes are similar to road racing bikes, but the frames have larger clearances allowing bigger, knobbly tyres to be used which are better for off-road use. Mountain bikes can be used in local Cyclo-cross races, and as of this year (2010), disc brakes are legal.

Other regional leagues run races during the autumn and winter months with races happening as late as February. There is also a new summer league with riders enjoying less muddy conditions, though battling through mud and rain is part of the appeal of cyclo-cross!