Newsletter – 26th February

Despite the lousy weather of late, we hope your training is going well for the season ahead. Myself, I am currently in Mallorca getting some quality miles in with a bunch of young riders and enjoying the sunshine which is currently bathing the island (Deia is pictured below).

So with just over a week to go, the Surrey League racing season will soon begin and let’s hope the weather is kind to us. Saturday 7th March will see riders racing around the fast Dunsfold circuit either during the 3rd cat race held in the morning or the 2/3 cat race in the afternoon. Places are almost full, so if you are intending on riding either of these events, you’d better do it quickly.

Failing this, you can enter either of the 2 races the following week, Sunday 15th March. The members of Brighton Mitre are promoting their events on the Kirdford circuit with a morning 3rd’s race, riders covering approx 50 miles, then an afternoon 2/3 race (1 pm start time) with riders tackling approx. 60 miles.

Racing in April

Then in April, Sunday 19th, Farnborough & Camberley promote their two events on the Seale circuit. Racing begins with a 3rd cat race in the morning with riders covering approx 55 miles. This is followed by a 2/3 race in the afternoon (1 pm start time) and provides riders 60 miles to cover.

• Morning race for 3rds
• Afternoon race for 2nd/3rds

Following the Seale races, VC Meudon then promotes 2 events on the challenging Milland circuit on the 26th. Like the weeks before, the morning event caters to the 3rd cat riders with 50 miles on the cards. The afternoon race, for 2nd/3rd cats, gives the riders 60 miles to tackle and even more ascents up the finishing climb of Milland Hill.

• Morning race for 3rds
• Afternoon race for 2nd/3rds

SERRL Race Calendar

Sunday 1st March kicks off the racing season for the SERRL with 2 events being held on the Biddenden circuit. To view the full racing calendar and to enter their events, please visit our website for further race dates as they won’t be listed on this email.

Rouleur Handicap Series – NEW EVENT ADDED

The popular Handicap series, now sponsored by Rouleur, commences on Thursday 30th April with event 1 being held on the Kitsmead lane circuit.

The series consists of 14 events using various courses within the Surrey area and finishes with the Handicap Championships – held in September. You can enter all the events via RiderHQ or if you prefer, on the day of the race at race HQ.

1. Event 1 – 30th April – Kitsmead Lane – Entry opens 29th February
2. Event 2 – 7th May – Newchapel – Entry opens 7th March
3. Event 3 – 14th May – Charlwood – Entry opens 14th March

More details on the Handicap series can be found on our website.

Racing for Women

The Surrey League provides a varied calendar of events for you to compete in, depending on your ability level and confidence, but of Friday evenings there is a dedicated series available for 3rd or 4th cat (novice) women. This series is called the ‘stolen goat Women series’ and is held at Dunsfold Park with races distances being 27 miles in length. More details on the stolen goat Women’s series can be found on our website.

If a higher category, or 3rd or 4th, then you can ride any of the Handicap events, Vets races (Dunsfold Park) or weekend road event but please remember that is you wish to gain any BC points you’ll need to finish with the men in the top 10. You’ll still get SL points regardless of finishing position though.

The Surrey League 2020 Calendar

All of our planned events for 2020 are listed on our website. Each of the different types of series that are available, Handicap series, Vets series, etc, will now have their own web page and will display dates, courses, and the promoting clubs.

Each web page is accessible from the new ‘Race Calendar’ link located in the main navigation along the top of the page. As always, these dates remain provisional, but BC has now approved these so as far as we are concerned, they are good.

Novice Racers Training Days – NEW DATE ADDED

Two more new dates have been added as regards the Novice Racers Training Days (8th and 23rd of February) and if new to the Surrey League, and a 4th cat male/female rider, novices will need to complete 2 of these sessions before being allowed to race Surrey League/SERRL events. Once passed, riders will be given an accreditation card that must be brought to events as well as a Surrey League and/or BC race licence.

These sessions have been designed to introduce basic and advanced group riding skills to prepare novices for competitive racing. They are run by qualified British Cycling coaches, with the help of a number of experienced riders, on various traffic-free circuits in the Surrey area.

If you know of friends/club or teammates who wish to race any Surrey League or SERRL events next year, please let them know of the dates available.

The next sessions available are;

• South of England Event Centre (19th April 2020)

Free Surrey League Membership

If you have completed both of the Novice Racers Training Days, then you will be eligible for free membership to the Surrey League. Glyn will sort this for you once he receives notification that novices have passed.

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Yours

Richard Pearman