The home of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart also sees the arrival of the Chevin Cycles Evening Road Race Series in 2013.
Organised by some of the same team behind the long-running Otley Cycle Races, this Yorkshire series for men, women and juniors will run for six consecutive weeks from 30 April until the series finale on 4 June.
Each race will be run as a race in its own right but the main focus is on the series overall. Points will be allocated for the first 12 positions (1st - 15 points, 2nd - 13 points, 3rd - 10 points, 4th - 9 points... down to 12th - 1 point). Additionally there will be a prime lap on lap three of each race with 3, 2 and 1 points awarded towards the overall score. All the races will be handicapped - 4th cats setting off first then 3rds, then 2nds and lastly 1st cats and elites. Results and cumulative scores will be posted on the Series Facebook page.
Organiser, Sonja Harper, said: “With lots of hard work behind the scenes we’ve been able to bring six new races to the area. We’ll be using some great new and existing courses in West and North Yorkshire. Many of these have been selected because the finish line is outside a pub. Friends, families and fans can come along and enjoy some food, a drink and some great racing.”
Tom Barras (Wheelbase – MGD, pictured right), the 2012 Yorkshire Road Race Series Winner said: “This is fantastic news. These evening races are a cracking way to get a good work out mid-week. The handicap system is a great way for riders of all abilities to compete at the same time and over the weeks everyone gets to know each other, I’m expecting a great atmosphere. I’m really looking forward to them.”
Sanjai Bhatia MD of Chevin Cycles said: “Many of our customers want events to ride in and we like to give our customers what they want! In fact, the more people that use our shop the more events we’ll support. It’s a virtuous circle than can benefit everyone. It’s part of our overall commitment to cycling in Yorkshire. We’ve supported the Otley GP for years and this is an opportunity to support local racers too”.
It is possible to enter any number of races, from one to all six. If all six are entered then only five entry fees are payable.
NB: To enter all six races at the discounted entry fee, riders should select 'Race 1' and at point of payment, they will be offered the option to enter the whole series.
The entry fee is £16 per race if the BC online system is used. Postal entries cost £18 and on the day (subject to numbers) will be £20. Entries will be accepted strictly on a first come first served basis. Each race will have a maximum field of 80 riders. Sonja expects that all the events to be massively oversubscribed. When the idea of this series was mooted on Facebook over 200 riders expressed an interest within a few days.
For full details of the series and to enter online go here.
For more information contact Sonja Harper on 07956 637375 or on sharper50@hotmail.co.uk
