There’s plenty of action, indoors and out on the website this week, including a full round-up of the racing from last weekend’s final round of the National Trophy Cyclo-Cross Series. There are also interviews with three of GB’s leading women riders, who are all making intent on making an impact abroad in 2005. Go There >>>

RACHEL HEAL – FACING UP TO BEING A TEAM LEADER IN 2005 Go There >>>

CHARLOTTE GOLDSMITH – FIT AGAIN AFTER SURGERY IN 2004 Go There >>>

HELEN WYMAN – SOARING UP THE WORLD RANKINGS IN CYCLO-CROSS Go There >>>

Also on the site the classified ads – click the link from the homepage to access this free and effective member service, which we have updated with some new guidelines to protect advertisers and buyers.

ALTON TOWERS HOSTS NATIONAL WINNERS’ EVENING

The British Cycling Awards Evening will be held on Saturday 5th February 2005 at Alton Towers in Alton, Staffordshire. The evening will be dedicated to British Cycling's National Champions and Series Winners, plus the achievements of the organisation's members, clubs, events and the many volunteers that make the sport happen. National champions, Series winners and other award winners will be receiving their invitations in the very near future.

The British Cycling Awards, which have traditionally happened in November, will in future be held in this early February slot, which the organisation is looking to develop into a weekend of cycling related activities in future years.

With a room capacity of 400, tickets are also available for sale to members and other interested in attending this important evening. The cost of a ticket for the British Cycling Awards is £28 per person. To book a ticket, or for further information on the British Cycling Awards, please contact Melanie Knowles by phone on 0161 274 2037 or by email at mailto:melanieknowles@britishcycling.org.uk

The Alton Towers theme park has two hotels on site and accommodation can be booked through our booking agent WGT Sport. To make a reservation please contact Nicola Boyle or Anna Cox by telephone on 0121 7451001 or by email at wgtsport@btconnect.com

A total of 34 countries and 225 riders are expected to contest the crucial third round of the World Cup in Manchester this January. The event comes hot on the heels of a strong GB team performance in the second event of the series in Los Angeles, last weekend. Victoria Pendleton’s gold medal in the Keirin in LA gave her first place in the World Cup classification. She will no doubt be determined to defend this lead at Manchester. Endurance rider Emma Davies also had a good weekend as she grabbed both a silver and a bronze and she too will be looking to shine on her home track. Jason Queally’s LA performance in the Kilo set things up well for Manchester. Although LA Kilo winner Theo Bos will be concentrating on the Invitation Keirin in Manchester, Chris Hoy makes his World level competition return in the event at which he is Olympic champion and should provide Jason with something to focus his thoughts on.

Adults: £18, £14, £10. Under 16: £9, £7, £5.
Family Ticket (2 adults, 2 children): £45.
3-day Adult Season: £48

VC Jubilee, based in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, have become the first cycling club in England to achieve Go-Ride Clubmark accreditation. The club is thrilled to be the first to achieve the standard and were awarded their accreditation by former GB Cycling Team star, Bryan Steel, on Wednesday 15th December as part of their annual club awards night.

Roy Page, British Cycling’s Regional Coaching and Club Development Officer for the South East said, “This is a great achievement for this club, which has been established since 1998 and promotes youth development to the highest degree, resulting in talented and skilled cyclists as well as sociable young people.”

VC Jubilee are based in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex and hold their regular coaching activities at the Adur Outdoor Activities Centre. For more information about VC Jubilee and their activities, please contact Sally Page on 01273 843859. Go There >>>

Accreditation incorporates Sport England’s Clubmark standard, the national cross-sport kitemark for quality sports clubs. Nearly half of all children and young people are members of sports clubs outside school (Young People and Sport National Survey 1999) and it is important that these clubs serve young people well. The reasons for this include:

• Ensuring the well-being of young people whilst in the care of adults, other than their legal parent(s)/carer(s).

• Enthusing young people to enjoy sport and active recreation to build a healthy lifestyle.

• Identifying and developing the most talented young people for representative sport.

Until recently there were few guidelines and little support available to most clubs to develop and assess themselves. Initiatives that were developed by Sport England, some NGBs of sport and local authorities were not coordinated and could lead to duplication of effort. Sports clubs that work with children and young people need and deserve support to improve the quality of work they do. Clubmark sets core and common criteria for sports clubs to meet in the following categories:

The 2005 Mountain Bike Calendar has now been posted on the site. As always the calendar is a pretty fluid document, with changes and additions happening on a regular basis, so please check back regularly. Included are details of the three main National Series, with an exciting five round Cross-Country series, and six-event series for both Downhill and 4-Cross.

The 2005 season also sees the first national Marathon Championships, to be held at Margam Park in July. For the lovers of longer events, there's also a four event Trek 6-4-2 enduro series, which once again happens on the Sundays following Cross-Country series events. The international calendar looks healthier than for some time with the UCI World Cup running to eight events for all disciplines, including Marathon. There are also details of many of the Regional series and one-off events, which form the backbone of the season.

We'll be updating the calendar as and when new events come in - to find the calendar, either hit the "Race Calendar" button on the home-page or go there direct Go There >>>

Sheffield's new BMX and BSX venue "Wheelbase" opened last Sunday and this weekend sees the first of a regular race series through the Winter and Spring. Registration for the event is on Saturday afternoon only. There will be Open categories for BSX and BMX classes on Saturday evening followed by a structured age category system on Sunday. The track address is: Yarra Park Industrial Est. Station Road, Ecclesfield, Sheffield. For further information, GoThere >>> or try the following contacts: Tania Taylor on 07976 571555 or Email mailto:taniabmx@aol.com or mailto:hudu@blueyonder.co.uk or mailto:paddysheffdirt@aol.com

Fancy working off some of that Christmas stodge? Heywood BMX Club, located in Queens Park, Heywood, Lancashire is hosting a Christmas Classic race on Tuesday the 28th of December. For event information, call Simon Barber on: 07776 297487.

Any riders requiring information on the annual BMX race in Tours, France on January 29-30, can go to the website Go There >>> - Rider entries will be limited, so anyone wishing to compete should register with British Cycling prior to January 11th. The event grows bigger every year and this is the first year that numbers will be limited, so please register early. Riders are reminded that French BMX events are flat pedal only.

Braintree Bullets BMX Club is one of the most active BMX clubs in England and one of the largest in terms of members as well. Braintree run a regular race series through the winter and the next one is on Sunday the 2nd of January. For further information on Braintree events, Go There >>> or contact club secretary Julie Watts on 01376 346523 or by Email: mailto:Julieannwatts@aol.com

One of the big success stories of the winter has been the Soggy Bottom Series at Newnham Park near Plymouth. The first 2 events averaged around 200 riders, which is fantastic for winter Cross-Country. There's 3 rounds remaining and the next one is on Monday the 3rd of January. Yes, you did read that correctly: promoter Martyn Salt is taking advantage of the extra day off this New Year and will be running this race on the 3rd. For information on the series, Go There >>> or call 01752 257484 or email: mailto:martynsalt@aol.com Event info: Race 1 commences at 10.00am for Juvenile, Youth and Fun 12+. Race 2 commences at Midday for remaining categories. Cost to race is between £10 and £14. Add £2 for on day entries. Best 3 races plus final to count for series points.

TRACK COMMISSAIRE TRAINING COURSE

British Cycling’s North West Division and Manchester Regional Track League will be running a training course for new track commissaires during the spring session of the Tuesday night Track League at Manchester Velodrome. Open to any member of the BC North West Division, the course is particularly suited to those looking to take their first steps as a race official, or to current Road Commissaires who also wish to work on the track. Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work on major National and International events including World Championships, National Championships and the Revolution Series.

Hosted by a UCI International Commissaire, the course will combine practical and theoretical elements and will conclude with a short examination. Successful candidates will be added to the North West Division list of Track Commissaires. The course will be held on a Tuesday evening over a five-week period when the Track League resumes on January 18^th 2005. For further details please contact Carole Leigh (MRTL Organiser) on 0161 747 0828, email: mailto:eddiemcgrathcycles@gconnect.com , or Phil Bibby (BC North West Division Administrator) on 01772 791280, email: <mailto:philipbibby@blueyonder.co.uk>

CYCLO-CROSS UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS

Cat A Cyclo-cross Race 14th January 2005 – Derby County Cricket Ground. The “Extra Exposure” nighttime cyclo-cross race, is a new event on the racing calendar. The event is unusual in that it will take place in the dark, with only the start/finish area and the pits being flood lit. All riders will need decent lights on the bikes, to ensure they can negotiate the course at race speeds. The course will be fast flowing, with short run-ups and the race is already attracting well know elite riders from around the country. Categories: Seniors, Junior, Vets, Women (MTB welcome). The cross riders to shine through – open event. Event restricted to 50 riders, pre-enter to avoid disappointment. Race times: The race will start at 7:30pm. Exposure Lights will be on hand with the latest innovation in bike lights. Exposure Lights are lightweight, cable free and powerful enough to navigate the trickiest of courses. Lights will be available to hire but pre-book to avoid disappointment, riders without sufficient lights will be unable to start.

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

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In this Issue:

· ALTON TOWERS HOSTS NATIONAL WINNERS’ EVENING

· WORLD CUP UPDATE: STRONG LINE UP PROMISES TOP NEW YEAR ACTION

· VC JUBILEE FIRST GO-RIDE CLUB TO ACHIEVE CLUBMARK STATUS

· WHY CLUBMARK?

· 2005 MOUNTAIN BIKE CALENDAR NOW ON-LINE

· WHEELBASE FIRST EVER BMX & BSX EVENT

· HEYWOOD CHRISTMAS CLASSIC

· TOURS INDOOR EVENT

· BRAINTREE OPEN RACE

· SOGGY BOTTOM XC RACE SERIES

· TRACK COMMISSAIRE TRAINING COURSE

· CYCLO-CROSS UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS

WWW.BRITISHCYCLING.ORG.UK

ALTON TOWERS HOSTS NATIONAL WINNERS’ EVENING

TRACK COMMISSAIRE TRAINING COURSE

CYCLO-CROSS UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS