Women's Racing
South East Cycling is committed to improving the quality
of women's bike racing in the South East Region with
the help of the Surrey League and other race organisers.
Our first aim is to increase the number of women competing
in all aspects of bike racing.
Also, please take the time to read our Cycle
Racing on Public Roads notice. This will open a
new browser window. |
Women's South East Regional Road
Race Championships 2009 |
The South East Women's Road Race Championships
was won by Natalie Creswick riding for Twickenham CC
and covered the 36 miles in 1:38:48 at Ellens Green.
2008 Winners (pictured right):
1st Natalie Creswick
2nd Charlotte Blackman
3rd Gabriella Coates
Full results on the Regional News page |
Charlotte Blackman, Natalie Creswick and Gabriella Coates
|
Women's Road Racing
In the past, and due to a lack of women's participation,
race organisers have been grouping all women together
in one big field regardless of experience.
This has led to less experienced riders getting dropped
from the pack early on in a race and therefore ending
up riding on their own for the remainder of the event. |
| This problem robbed beginner level participants
of a true racing experience, of learning how to ride
and corner in a pack, reacting to the pack's ebbs and
flows, and concluding in a sprint finish.
This provided a major disincentive to racing, and women's
participation suffered accordingly. In an effort to
solve this problem and attract more women to the sport,
the Surrey League put together a series of Women's races
using the safe circuit at Goodwood Motor Circuit. |
|
These events are held throughout the
year and allow women riders of 4th or 3rd cat level
to participate under the watchful eyes of more experienced
2nd, 1st or Elite cat riders.
The aim of these races is to help develop beginners
by teaching them what to do and what not to do in a
race. These events also help with positioning, bike
handling and helps strengthen's riders confidence in
a bunch.
Apart from the South East Region, the Central Division
also promote a series of Women's Handicap events which
are held in March at the Milton Keynes Bowl. The South
Division also promote women's races at all of their
circuit events, ie Thruxton, Mountbatten Centre and
Castle Coombe. |
National Women's Team Series - Website
Women's racing reached an all time low in 1999 when
the BCF decided to handicap the Bruton Series, an action
that saw a general decline in the number of riders,
followed by a decline in the number of races (3 Bruton
Series events scheduled for 2000); indeed in August
2000 the general feeling was that the Bruton Series
should be allowed 'die'.
Following a meeting with the BCF in Leicester in 1999,
Jenny Gretton and I met in the car park and spoke about
the poor state of women's racing; and after about 30
minutes an outline of the Women's Team Race Series was
formed. |
|
This discussion was followed in the weeks
afterwards, by Jenny and I by thrashing out a few rules,
contacting potential organisers and the first ever Women's
Team Race Series was held on 30 April 2000 in Bedford
- there were 2 other races in the Series that year with
the much missed Maurice Broadbent organising in Bangor
and David Gretton in Nottingham. |
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