Today at Inner Ring we ran the second of our regular skills racing sessions. These are intended as a friendly introduction to competitive racing within the club, giving riders a taste of what to expect if they start to attend Go-Ride Racing events run by other clubs in the region.
We ran the same three races as last time, each testing different types of skills. The 200m sprint on the track tested fast starts, gear selection and speed. A technical time trial over a grass track with many twists and turns tested cornering, bike handling, gearing and sprinting. Finally we had a timed skills circuit comprising limbo, slalom, tight turns and bottle drops which tested agility, balance and bike handling skills. This time we also managed to squeeze in a 3-lap handicap scratch race at the end too.
All of the times are now available to view in the Skills racing results sheet. If you want to compare your times with the last event, please note that only the 200m sprint offers a direct comparison as the other two grass circuits are impossible to get exactly the same length each time we set them out! Well done to the many riders who made major improvements on their 200m times!
Also now on the website are the Distance challenge results from 20th April. These took a little while to publish as the coaching team reviewed the results and decided the club’s bronze, silver, gold and platinum time standards needed updating, as far too many riders were achieving the top Platinum level! This is likely due to better bikes and improved rider skills in the years since the standards were last updated, so we now have a new set of Distance challenge standards and the April results have been measured against these. Platinum is still completely achievable, but much more of a challenge!
Thanks as always to all club volunteers who helped with registration, course setups and timings for both these events, as they do require more helpers than the usual coached sessions.