Well done to all PPYCC riders who took part in the Go-Ride Racing finals on Sunday at CycloPark!
All clubs who hosted Go-Ride Racing events (ours was in June) were allowed to enter teams into the regional finals. The idea behind Go-Ride Racing is to give novice riders some entry-level experience of competitive racing. A total of 14 clubs hosted events this season across Kent, Sussex, Surrey and South London, some focused on MTB and Cyclo-Cross racing with others like PPYCC geared more towards track and road racing. All of them turned up to race so it was a busy event!
Following a time trial to sort riders into ability groups for the main races, the first scored race was a skills relay featuring limbo, slalom, bottle pick and some very tight turns. The second event was bunch races on multiple laps of a challenging, mixed-terrain course featuring sections of the CycloPark race track as well as long off-road sections with some difficult, steep banks to navigate. The off-road terrain was unfamiliar to many of our riders and we were proud that the whole team persevered and put in strong efforts. The final race was 200m sprints with many of our riders progressing through the heats into the finals.
Very well done to Rosie, Cooper, Megan, George, Oliver, Luca, Idha, Oscar and Elsie who all represented the club brilliantly! Many of this young team had never raced outside of Preston Park velodrome before so this was a valuable experience for them, racing against teams of riders from all over the South East of England! Thanks also to all parents for your support in bringing your riders along and cheering for them all afternoon!