On the site this week, there’s all the action from the 4-Cross and Dirt Jumping at Hornton Hill last Sunday, including over 100 photos (linked from photo and results homepages – see links bottom left on homepage) – this coverage is something of a first for the website and we hope to bring members more off-road action during 2004 in response to feedback that BMX and Mountain Biking were not getting their fair share of coverage. There are also picture reports from several road events, including the Cheshire Classic women’s race. Plus there’s all the usual interviews, news, results and information from the domestic racing scene. Don’t forget the free classified as service for members – with over thirty new ads a week, it’s a great place to sell you unwanted bikes and bits, or pick up a bargain. Look out for the classifieds button on the homepage. GO THERE >>>

BRITISH CYCLING’S NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH GLAXOSMITHKLINE

More than 35,000 school children will receive cycling coaching this year and next as a result of a new partnership between British Cycling and GlaxoSmithKline Nutritional Healthcare. The partnership will transform British Cycling’s Go-Ride scheme from a regional resource into a nationwide skills network. The Go-Ride programme uses qualified coaches to give children aged six to 18 essential cycling skills, and encourages all participants to continue cycling, both as a recreational pursuit and as a competitive sport. In all, GSK’s backing will mean that Go-Ride will be rolled out in 200 primary schools over the next two years, effectively taking the programme nationwide. A total of 30,000 secondary school pupils will also get one day visits from British Cycling to take part in Go-Ride. In addition, 100 new Go-Ride community clubs will be created to establish permanent links with secondary and primary schools. GSK Nutritional Healthcare is one of the world’s leading healthcare companies. Its cycling campaign builds on a track record of support for grassroots sport and strong cycling credentials: GO THERE>>>

NATIONAL CRITERIUM CHAMPIONSHIP

The British National Criterium Championship to be held at the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit on Sunday, 23 May, will have a £2,000 prize list with the support of the Premier Purchase Card company. The support of the affiliated purchase card scheme has enabled the organisers to double the prize list over the national series event held at this major cycling venue last year. The National Criterium Championship, which is for short circuit racing, is the first male senior national championship to be held at the circuit although women's and youth championships have been held at Hillingdon in a number of years. A field of over 60 of the top short distance riders in the country is expected to be contesting the 80km event over 54 laps. The championship will be at 2pm as the finale to a full day of competition for other categories. In addition to the prize list, which will feature special 'prime' race leader prizes every four laps, the main aim will be the national championship jersey and gold medal which will be presented by John James, deputy chairman of the British Olympic Association. Spectators are welcome and there is no admission charge. The National Championship meeting is the flagship event of the Hillingdon Circuit which is hosting over 200 events this year in a variety of sporting disciplines. It is situated in Springfield Road, Hayes, Middlesex UB4 0LT. On 25 July younger riders will have their day of glory when six national youth championships will be held in a meeting organised by the popular Slipstreamers Children's Club which meets every Saturday morning. GO THERE >>>

HOLIDAY TIME FOR NATIONAL WINNERS

Club La Santa will be rewarding the top riders in the Under 23 age category (Espoirs) in some of British Cycling's National Points Series races during the 2004 season in Road, Circuit racing and Cyclo-Cross disciplines. The best placed Espoir overall will win a week's holiday at the World's top sporting vacation complex in Lanzarote, Spain. There will also be room for two training partners or family on their week, sharing the apartment and paying for flights, transfers and half board.

The Premier Calendar Road Race series, the Elite Circuit Race Series and the National Trophy Cyclo-Cross series will each carry a prize of a week's vacation, either on Tony Doyle's road week, or the newly announced Cyclo-Cross week. There are also Club La Santa vacation prizes for Cross-Country Mountain Bikers in the Premier MTB series, and the winners in XC Expert and Sport categories, two male and two female prizes will each win a week at the Canary Island resort on the well established MTB week. All these cycling weeks are early in 2005, and can also be booked through the Sports Tours International website - http://www.sportstoursinternational.co.uk/ GO THERE >>>

ENTRY LEVEL CRITS IN EDINBURGH

Edinburgh RC is promoting a series of entry level criterium events on the Ingliston racing circuit just near edinburgh airport. The introductory event is highly popular and attracts around 40-50riders to each event. Arrangements are very simple with no pre-entry required. Just pay £7 on the night with an additional £1.50 if you are not a member of British Cycling or Scottish Cycling. No day licence is required. This is an ideal introduction to road racing on a closed circuit with no kerbs and an excellent road surface. The next dates are: Thursday 29 April starting at 6.30pm; Thursday 6 May starting at 7.00pm; Thursday 20 May starting at 7.00pm. The race duration is approx 40 minutes. Even if you are dropped and lapped you can continue in the race and try and hang onto the bunch next time! Toilets and changing accommodation are provided. To find the circuit take the airport approach road and at the r'bout just before the airport terminal, (Hilton Hotel), take the first exit towards the Royal Highland Showground. At the end of that road (approx 1/4mile) turn left and after approx 100yds turn right into the Showground and go straight ahead. Please do not park on or within the race circuit or on the grassed areas - for further information see www.edinburghroadclub.co.uk
GO THERE >>>

MILDENHALL 2004 LOOKING GOOD

Mildenhall Cycling Club have confirmed their Cycling Rally will once again take place at the town’s Riverside Middle School from Saturday 28th – Monday 30th August 2004. Headlining the programme of events is the British Cycling Women’s National 800m Grass-Track Championship, as well as the final round of the National 8km Series. Mark Burchett, one of the organisers, said “The Rally will feature all the regular favourites. These include Cyclo-Cross, Mountain Bike Races, Children’s Sports, Children’s Duathlon, BSCA Children’s Skill Tests, Audax Rides, Touring Routes, Cycle Jumble, family Evening Entertainment, or the alternative Quiz Night. New for this year is a joint collaboration with the Newmarket Cycling & Triathlon Club, who will be staging a Duathlon for adults”, he added. On the Sunday and Monday the Rally boasts one of the largest Trade Shows for the public in the UK, as well as extra attractions laid on for the children. The Rally offers campsite facilities for tents and caravans, which must be booked in advance as every year the site reaches capacity nearly two months before the event. All of the details of this year’s Mildenhall Rally can be found on www.mildenhallrally.org.uk - Email enquiries can be sent to mailto:info@mildenhallrally.org.uk . For an Information Brochure, send either a first or second class stamp to Vera Staines. 7 Jellicoe Place, Thetford, Norfolk. IP24 2JU. GO THERE >>>

NEWS FROM READING VELODROME

A spectacular new type of cycle race for this country will be introduced next Monday, Bank Holiday May 3rd at Palmer Park Stadium when Reading Velodrome Racing stages what it terms a two stage Bordeaux- Paris style of race. It will be a miniature copy of the classic road race of this name in France between those two cities.The race at Reading will close a special track League programme, which starts at 1 p.m. that day, and will be over a total distance of 50 kms. The first stage will be a massed bunch race with approximately 40 riders on the track to contest a 20 kms event. The first eight riders over the finish line will temporarily leave the race while the remaining riders will continue for another six laps to contest another set of points awards. Meanwhile the eight will prepare for the second stage, a 30kms battle behind Derny pacing motors. There is a full supporting programme of Hare & Hounds, 500m scratch for A and B riders and Veterans, a points score and a series of Youth League races. Racing starts at 1 p.m. Registration opens at 12 noon to 12.45 p.m and non track League riders will be welcomed to compete as guest riders for a supplementary payment of £2. Contact Gordon Sherratt, Tel: 01628 415648 GO THERE >>>

FORMULA ONE MEETS GO-RIDE

As part of a staff development programme, the BAR Formula 1 Team recently brought all 400 employees together for a series of tasks and activities which included the Go-ride skills test. During the course of the day teams of ten people tackled the skills test to earn "constructor" points towards a final task. The team was made up of people from every aspect of the company, from the drivers to engineers, mechanics and drawing office. Driver Takuma Sato, an acomplised cyclist, who rode the Etape d' Tour last year, excelled at the skills test. Jenson Button didn't ride but cheered his team mates on. It was an action packed day made even more interesting by the fact that at the end of the day two Team trucks rolled out for the Imola GP this weekend!! GO THERE >>>

CRAWLEY TOWN CENTRE CYCLE RACE – GEARED UP FOR A GREAT NIGHT!

On Sunday the 16th of May the BAA Gatwick Crawley Criterium (town centre cycle race) takes place in the heart of Crawley, the first ever closed circuit cycle race to be held in the town. The race is being organised by local cycle clubs The Crawley Wheelers and Crawley Cycling Club. BAA Gatwick are headline sponsors of the event and are supported by Evans Cycles and the Crawley Leisure Park. The Crawley Borough Council and West Sussex County Council are also key supporters of the event The evening’s racing starts at 5:30 PM and will conclude at around 9:30 PM. First on the agenda is the Youth race with cups and prizes up for grabs. A 3rd & 4th Category race then takes place with prize money to take home for the top riders with the climax of the evening being the Elite race where riders will be competing for a top prize of £500. There will be some top notch racing throughout the evening, but the Elite race will certainly be the one to watch. The race forms part of British Cycling’s National Criterium series with Crawley being the second event on the calendar. Race entries have already come in from the Team Persil Great Britain squad and Tour De France veteran Sean Yates. Trade stands will be operating from 3:00 PM onwards. Kona, GT, Mongoose, Muddy Fox and Brompton have confirmed their presence. Local cycling clubs and bike shops will also be on site with displays and information on hand. GO THERE >>>

CHANGES TO SQT AT MANCHESTER VELODROME

As from May 1st, the Tuesday SQT (Structured Quality Training) will revert to 6-8pm while the Saturday SQT will be 12-2pm. For more information, see the Velodrome's website. GO THERE >>>

OFF-ROAD NEWS ROUND-UP

NPS CROSS COUNTRY & TREK 6,4,2 ENDURO
Round one in Plymouth went down very well. It was described variously as the best XC race for many years and the most fun you can have on a bike. With traditional NPS racing on the Saturday, Short Track on the Saturday evening and 2,4 and 6 hour enduro options on the Sunday, it’s an action-packed weekend. Round 2 visits the breathtaking surroundings of Drumlanrig castle, near Dumfries. This venue was an unknown quantity in 2003, but is remembered as one of the better courses with something for everyone. For course directions, got to: www.buccleuch.com or www.inevent.co.uk

DRAGON CROSS COUNTRY SERIES
To avoid clashing with another Welsh XC event, the final round of the Dragon XC series has moved dates and will now run on the 5th of September at Beulah, nr Builth Wells. Go to www.mtb-wales.com for more related information. To encourage pre entries for the next round at Abergavenny on 23rd May. Location information and entry forms can be downloaded from the clubs web site www.abergavennyrc.org . In addition, I would like to draw attention to the correct contact tel number of 01873 850254.

ENDURANCE RACE
May 1-2 Karrimor/Specialized Enduro 6 at Trentham Gardens. Saturday will have a Nocturne time trial starting at 8.30pm and a 1, 2 and 3 lap race starting at 2.30pm. Sunday will see a huge field of riders take to the course at 10.00am for the Karrimor/Specialized Enduro 6.

ENDURANCE RIDES
This weekend on May 2nd is the Buckinghamshire Classic, an established off- road 100 km event which attracted nearly 200 riders in 2003 .The rides starts at Denham Country Park in Buckinghamshire which is located 1/4 mile from and signposted from junction 1 of the M40 and is only 2 miles from Uxbridge. Uniquely for an endurance off road event the start is within the M25 but don't let that fool you with over 4000 feet of climbing and riding times likely to be in excess of 6 hours this is a tough event and is considered harder than the recent Hell of the North enduro .There is plenty of car parking at the start and free refreshments are provided halfway round including high energy Torq bars. For those who can not read a map you will have no worries as the whole course will be well signposted and a detailed easy to follow direction sheet will be provided as insurance .There is also a fun riders 30 km route for those not quite up to the full distance. Although a number of those riding the event use it for some hard training there are plenty of country pubs and village shops scattered along the route refreshment stops for those who want to have a leisurely day out

Full details and a down loadable entry form can be found on the www.westdraytonmbc.co.uk website. Pre entries close on the 30th but entry will be available on the day.

SON OF TOMAC ENDURO
Radnor Forest, Builth Wells, Wales May 2. Contact Ryan Bevis on 01982 552762. You can sign on for this event on the morning of the event or the Saturday afternoon. There's plenty of information for this event on: www.enduroevents.com so if you fancy a pleasant but demanding ride through amazing scenery, then this is the event for you. GO THERE >>>

FORT WILLIAM WORLD CUP DOWNHILL
Due to recent cancellations of the Following UCI point scoring events English Point Series Round 4, Hamsterley on April 25th and the Irish NPS Downhill Round 2, Dundalk, Co. Louth, Leinster on 16th May, we can now confirm that any riders who gained UCI Downhill points in 2003, but whose points have expired prior to Fort William World Cup, will still be able to compete at Fort William this year. For a full list of UCI point scoring riders, go to http://www.vitesseonline.it/uci/online/ for confirmation. As the standard of racing at NPS Downhill round 1 was so high, the criteria for qualification to compete at Fort William has been extended to the top 30 timed finishes. This is only relevant for Fort William, as only the top 20 times at NPS Rounds 2 through to 5 will count towards remaining World Cup rounds. GO THERE >>>

MIDLAND DOWNHILL SUPER SERIES
www.superseries.net It's rounds 2 and 3 of the Midland Super Series this weekend. Pre entries are closed, but riders can still enter on the morning of each race day before 10.00am. Practice 08.30 until 11.30 with Racing Midday until finish. May 1 & 2 AT Caersws Forest, Newtown. Summer Round 2 & 3

June 19/20 UEC European Round 7 & 8 at Sandnes Norway. The 7th and 8th rounds of the European BMX series is open to riders 13 and over. Registration for this event closes on the 30th of May and it is recommended that competitors book flights in advance. Go to http://www.norwegian.no/sw7127 .asp for flight info . GO THERE >>>

BC BMX NATIONAL ROUNDS 1 AND 2
May 1-3. Round 1 and 2 at Burnham On Sea, Somerset. All National events are open to riders with a British Cycling Racing Licence. National registration takes place on the Saturday afternoon of the event weekend. Further information on national events is available through BC on 0161 274 2022. Racing will take place on the Sunday and Monday of this weekend. Event camping is located at the Speedway Arena just off Junction 22 of the M5. Web www.burnhambmx.co.uk or Tel Ian Curry 01278 427386 GO THERE >>>

BMX WORLD CHAMPS
Any rider wishing to visit the World Championship facility for training, can do so on Saturday the 29th of May. This is the only date available before the Pre-Worlds AND Worlds in July. Go to www.bmxworlds2004.com for further information. GO THERE >>>

YOUTH AND JUVENILE EURO MTB CHAMPS CANCELLED
This just in from Roland Hofer at the European Cycling Union: “We have to inform you that the European trophy for young mountainbikers this event will not be organized in 2004. Unfortunately it was not possible to receive on time all the necessaries guarantees to organize this event. We hope that it will be possible to organize this competition in August 2005 in Métabief. We will inform you as soon as possible.”

GILES REE MEMORIAL ROAD RACE

The deadline for entries for the Giles Ree Memorial Road Race (S. East, Sunday June 20th) in the latest edition of the Racing Calendar is June 20th - the day of the race itself - it should have read June 10th. After that, entries will be on the line, subject to places being available.

OTLEY TOWN CENTRE CYCLE RACES

Chevin Cycles Otley CC Town Centre Cycle Races Wednesday 16 June 2004;
Youth Races now open to U12, U14 & U16.

SID AND GORDS CIRCUIT RACE

The organiser of the Sid and Gords Circuit race has sent us details of a date change. The new date is the 31st May Bank hoilday Monday 2004.

Closing date: 3/5/04 Cheques to: D Standhaft Don Standhaft, 12 Dales Drive, Colehill, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 2JS; 01202 884318

THE DORSET TOUR 3-DAY

There is also a date change for The Dorset Tour 3-Day. The new date is the 21st,22nd and 23rd August 2004.

The Headquarters for the Colin Carfield Road Race, June 6, has changed. Its now Burrington Village Hall not Priddy village hall.

Please email all news and press releases to the newsletter editor Phil Ingham pressoffice@britishcycling.org.uk.

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