SRS EVENTS CYCLOSPORTIVE TRAINING DAY 29/11/09

The SRS Event Cyclosportive training day will consist of
a one hour talk in the morning by recognised experts in the field of cycling with regards to health and fitness of Cyclosportive riders.
Then riders will enjoy a choice of three rides.
The HQ For our Cyclosportive training day is the London Meed Community Primary school where food and refreshments will be available for riders before and during the training talks, and after the training rides.

Talks on training plans, nutrition, and recovery will be covered before riders take part in a choice of two rides.
Speakers include:-

Dan Bennett of Progressive Cycle Coaching,

Dr Helen Carter of PBscience,

Chris Ball of Bio-Bike,

Mark Turner of Science in Sport

plus other speakers details to folllow.
Riders who enter this training ride will also be entitled to enter the 2010 SRS Events Cyclosportive, The Springtime Classic Cyclosportive at a special early bird reduced price before the event is opened to the public.
The longest route of 68 miles can be seen on the map below the two supporting rides of 31 miles and 50 miles can be seen on the SRS EVENTS WEBSITE


68 mile route

TO ENTER CLICK HERE

Round 8 of the Mosquito Bikes London/SE Cyclo Cross League held on November 15 at Stanmer Pak, Brighton and promoted by Brighton Excelsior and VC Jubilee.
Click here for photos.

Congratulations to the winners

Seniors Men
1st Gary Lingard London Phoenix
2nd Matt Zeitz Pearson Cycles
3rd Nigel Ling Citihub

Seniors Women
1st Nicky Hughes Folkactiv
2nd Katherine Mason Sussex Nomads
3rd Delia Geddes Dulwich Paragon

Youth
1st Alex Peters Cycling Hackney
2nd Liam Cowell VC Londres
3rd Noah Phillips Herne Hill YCC

Under 12's
1st Daniel Tullett Herne Hill Youth CC
2nd David Barnes Palmer Park Velo
3rd Callum Mackie Lee Valley YCC

Under 10's
1st Ben Tulett Herne Hill Youth CC
2nd Nathan Martin Team Darenth

The Burgess Rumble Cyclosportive organised by SRS Events had over 500 riders signed up to this years event which was helping raise money fo the Sussex Heart Charity. With for different routes of various difficulty there was a ride to challenge most abilities.
The Results are out on the Burgess Hill Rumble.
For all the results click here

PHOTOS ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE HERE


Below is a video of the event
Video by Sleeping bear productions.

The Sussex Nomads recently took a trip across the channel to ride the Ronde de Picardie cyclosportive.The Picardie which starts in Abbeville is a continental cyclosportive which is easy to get to via ferry from Newhaven.

Above: The Nomads team that rode the Picardie
This French event has been run for many years is held in September and has a good sized field of riders with even a few professional cyclists joining in on the longest ride like Jimmy Casper below on the Left.

Usually Cyclosportive organisers look for the biggest hills with the steepest gradients, we're not saying that the Ronde de Picardie is flat but if you are a gravity challenged rider then this event is for you.
Climbing the Short shallow climbs seem to repay riders with ample long fast down hill sections which in a group required very little strenuous pedalling as riders in the group enjoyed the drafting effect.
The quiet roads and the marshals at every junction, stopping traffic to allow you to speed through is very continental and a refreshing change to most cyclosportives in the UK. After the rapid start where all the cyclist start together groups form into natural abilities and most groups that did form had a motorcyclist marshal travelling in front of them to warn on coming traffic.
When disembarking from the ferry on the way to Abbeville one of the first things that you notice is the many new windmills. These wind farms dotted all around Abbeville should have been a warning for many first timers on the Ronde de Picardie. The fast start of the ride was not just because riding in a massive bunch of cyclist is easy but also because the wind was behind us for most of the start. As we went around the course this developed into a cross wind and then after the feed stop a head wind.
Dealing with this headwind was the hardest part of the ride especially as the wind was at its strongest when the legs of many were starting to strain under the pressure.

Lulled into a false sense of security at the beginning of the ride with the wind behind them, for many the last 24 miles was a really hard slog. Thankfully spirits were lifted as the countdown to the finish started with kilometre countdown signs starting at 30 km to go. Pain was immaterial as British riders who with dehydrated brains tried to calculate km's into miles and at the same time squeezing every last bit of energy out of their bodies to set a good time. The finish was the usual affair of free food, certificates and medals if you wanted a medal that is. Oh and what a medal it was, the real "bling" effect was created wearing this medal and its weight only meant that riders were now adding a weight training session to their ride as they carried the medal around the finish area as they enjoyed the celebrations. The medal was so popular that they ran out of gold medals but many were happy for the 10 euros returned for not having a medal and also not having the extra weight to carry back home. Cups were awarded to the fastest 3 riders in each group and although no Nomad CC riders won a cup the majority of Nomads did get a gold medal award, They have now set their sites on getting the fastest time/s of the day in the 2010 event.

Above:YURIY TYMCHENKO wearing his well earned Gold Medal. Yuriy was the only Nomad member to ride the full distance 117mile event while all the others chose the 85 mile event. Yuriy has supplied his Garmin stats for the ride here

For most though this is not about setting a fast time it's about enjoying the whole event with its mass start and great course, yes there are some cultural differences like seemingly only having one toilet at the start for 2000 odd cyclists, and if this was a British cyclosportive organisers would probably have had an earlier and extra feed station rather than having only one on the 85 mile ride at 60 miles point, but none of this spoilt a really great event. Basically the Ronde de Picardie event is a little bit of cycling heaven which all cyclist should experience at least once or twice or more, oh what the heck do it every year it's only a hop and a skip across the channel!
THERE IS A VIDEO OF THE EVENT IN THE VIDEO SECTION BELOW

RONDE DE PICARDIE - Images by Rupert Rivett Cost of Trip under £200 which paid for food lodging ferry and the actual entry to the event.