The 2016 calendar of club events is now available – follow the Club Competitions link above and then select “Club Races”, or click here.
As always, there is a rich and varied selection of club and open races, including time trials, road races, hill climbs, and leisure events. For the benefit of newer members, it is probably worth explaining the differences between these events, and the type of licence you need to take part in each.
- A leisure event is something like our weekend club runs, or a bigger event like our Tour of Strangford sportive in September. These are not races, and you only need a “Leisure Licence” to take part (also referred to as a “Non Competition Licence”, which costs £33 this year).
- A club race is one that is primarily aimed at our own club members (although members from up to 5 different clubs can take part). They are relatively small, low key races, and are the best way to get started in cycle racing. To take part, you’ll need a “Limited Competition Licence” which costs £58 this year.
- Finally, there are open races like our Tour of the Ards road race, or our Champion of Champions time trial. These are bigger events, with a higher standard of racing, and are open to riders from all clubs. To ride an open road race, you’ll need a “Full Competition Licence” which costs £111 this year. Note – to ride other types of open race (e.g. Track, MTB and time trials), you only need a Limited Competition licence.
For more information on the various types of licence, follow the “Membership” link in the menu bar at the top of this page, or check out Cycling Ireland’s membership page.
Various trophies are awarded annually for competition in Ards CC club races. Click here for more details of these. We’ll try to keep an update list of leaders in the event reports against each race.
We also award medals for riders reaching certain standard times in club time trials. For a list of the standard times for each age group, click here.
So that’s it! As we said at the coaching night back in January, why not set yourself some goals this year by targeting some of these events, trophies or standard times?