ERC's Post Worlds Youth Events
29 July 2023
ERC wants to capitalise on the enthusiasm generated by the Cycling World Championships by organising 4 events. The first is being held at the Elite Men's RR start in Holyrood, this will be followed by a series of 3 races for under 12s across different disciplines in August and September.
Photo: © Various
Cycling Skills Challenge
Our first event will take place on Sunday 6th Aug where we will be organising a Cycling Skills Challenge event for kids. This is a fun event for anyone to join in. Please feel free to publicise the event with your friends.
The event aims to test riders' cycling skills and abilities. Riders will progress in small groups through a set of six challenges. Finishers will receive a souvenir certificate to record their performances.
Bikes and helmets will be available courtesy of Soul Cycles, but you are free to bring your own. Helmets must be worn.
Find us in the UCI Expo area near the sign-on podium.
The fun starts after the roll-out.
The event is being organised with support from Scottish Cycling and the City of Edinburgh Council.
Race Series
If you are aged between 12 and 6 years old and want to give cycle racing a go or even be the next Wout Van Aert or Pauline Ferrand-Prevot we have the event for you. Edinburgh RC is holding its first-ever multi-discipline youth race series. This Go-Ride series is a friendly beginners’ event. After seeing the World's best compete here in Scotland in every discipline, why not come along and try it for yourself? If you are aged between 12 and 6 years old and want to be the next Wout Van Aert or Pauline Ferrand-Prevot we have the event for you.
The series will begin with a Dirt Crit (Races held on grass and trails) held at Davidson's Mains Park on Saturday 19th August. Next, there will be a Road crit at West Lothian Cycle Circuit, Linlithgow, on Thursday 31st August. The last round of the series will then take place at the annual ERC Inch Park cyclocross event on Saturday 23rd September. This will be a closed to club series, meaning only ERC members are eligible. If you are not a club member but would like to participate, for just £6 you can sign up for either an annual membership or a second claim membership. Second-claim members continue to compete for their current club but will also be able to participate in ERC activities such as this series.
The series will be scored on a points system. Riders will receive points for participation and for their position in each event. The rider with the most points across all 3 events will be the Go-Ride Race Champion.
Riders will move up age categories as of the 1st September for cyclocross events Following the British Cycling regulations. Therefore, the series will be run with individual age groups from their year of birth. For example, riders who were born in 2012 will compete against others born in that year.
Round 1: The Dirt crit
This is a great opportunity to test out your MTB skills on one of the club's favourite trails and training grounds. This will be open to only 1st or 2nd claim ERC members. On the day there will be 3 events: a time trial, a dirt crit and a team relay. Both the time trial and the dirt crit will count towards the series. With the riders results of both being added together and the lowest result winning. The team relay will run as a stand-alone event and a great opportunity to work together to win. Teams will be made up from the results of the TT for example the fastest time will be teamed up with the slowest etc.
Round 2: The Road crit
This is run under the same rules as big events such as the World's RR or the Tour de France. It will take place at the great new facility in Linlithgow at the West Lothian Cycle Circuit. This is a fantastic new venue which is closed off to cyclists, allowing people to have a safe environment to learn their skills and race at all levels. This event will be run using the same format as the dirt crit. Beginning with a time trial, followed by a road crit and a team relay. Again, the TT and crit will count towards the series and the team relay will be run as a stand-alone event. This event will be raced with two other clubs, the Falkirk Junior Bike Club and Stirling Bike Club. Although these clubs will be racing the event they will not count towards the series. The event will be run instead of our Thursday night cluster sessions and will give everyone a chance to show their road skills in competition.
Round 3: Cyclocross
The final event is the Inch Park Cyclocross. This race has been held annually since 2007 and has been ridden by some of the best in the world such as ERC’s own Sean Flynn and Glasgow’s Anna Shackley. This race will be open to everyone with all youth age groups competing from all corners of Scotland. After 2 rounds you will be ready to compete with members of other clubs. Round 3 will consist of one race and will be the final opportunity to score points for the series.
If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to get in contact. Drop an email to stuartbalfour1@sky.com to find out more info.