UCI Highclere Castle Victor Ludorum 2008 open for entries
cycleman48
Posts: 12
Hi
2008 Highclere Castle Victor Ludorum is open for Individual and Team entries. It's going to be a great day of cycling on 8th June 2008;
Improved 200km course with new climbs - Harting Hill and Scorpion Sting!
Inter Services Championship Challenges for Army, Navy, RAF, Police & Fire Services
New 70km short course and Highclere Challenge Cup to go for
Check it out.
2008 Highclere Castle Victor Ludorum is open for Individual and Team entries. It's going to be a great day of cycling on 8th June 2008;
Improved 200km course with new climbs - Harting Hill and Scorpion Sting!
Inter Services Championship Challenges for Army, Navy, RAF, Police & Fire Services
New 70km short course and Highclere Challenge Cup to go for
Check it out.
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me too. Think the provisional Gold standard is a bit tougher than last year 7hr 20mins for 200km, was 7:05 last yr for 187 i think.... 27kph...will give it a go.0
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27kph for us oldies btw
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Taken from HERE
2008 Victor Ludorum Challenge: 200km / 125mile with minimum 2850m ascent
Gold Standard Less than
Gold Average kph
Male
18-29 07hrs:00mins
28.5
30-39 07hrs:10mins
28.0 :shock: My category of pain.
40-49 07hrs:24mins
27.0
50-59 07hrs:40mins
26.0
60+ 08hrs:00mins
25.0
Female
18-39 07hrs:50mins
25.5
40+ 08hrs:10mins
24.50 -
there's a nasty climb near the beginning then it's pretty much downhill along the Test Valley with a few bumps... so think the first 3rd is the stretch to make up some time... gets a bit hilly after that.0
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Just entered the 200km. Never ridden 200km before, so that's the first goal. Second goal is to enjoy it, third to beat 8hrs. I can ride 150km solo in <6hrs, so this should be just about possible.
There's only 400 riders at the moment, so I'd imagine the groups will be small to non-existent later on.0 -
yep - i look on sportives as long solo time trials! everyone will be in the group down the Test Valley until Stockbridge, then it will be every man for himself over the Downs...0
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I've just entered
There doesn't appear to be as much interest in this sportive than some others, is there a reason for this ?0 -
I've entered the 200km event too. I don't know why not many people are doing it, i did it last year and it was really well organised and a good testing route.pm0
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Start and finish in the grounds of a country estate... pretty much perfect. And it raises funds for the Firemans Benevolent Fund...all good (and added virtue you get great support from the services on the route), so do not understand also why it gets less focus than some other events. But that is other people's loss... i will be there next weekend. Although would prefer a few more to give me a tow, as feeling a bit underprepared
So ... sign up... just off the M4... a quick sprint down the M4 for the guys from the smoke.
Notice it has disappeared from the calendar on the cyclosport site...not sure if this is an artefact of the ongoing UCI vs. ASO spat 0 -
Mates that did it last year thought it was a really good one too, with special praise for the start/finish arrangements and the level of organisation. By the sounds of it I've done much worse ones that are oversubscribed.0
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I have ridden both editions and this is a quality event with a nicely planned route0
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In terms of out and out organisation this is probably the best sportive I have ridden. Think some may be tempted by other "tougher" rides.
That said, if doing this years event be warned the first 30k include 3 stiff climbs. Especially lookout that following the first climb there is a descent down a narrow road then a sharp left turn straight into a 12%+ wall. You must engage low gear on the descent otherwise you will come to a grinding halt.
(this plus other hot spots covered in rider notes here (e.g. of good organisation))
http://www.cyclegb.co.uk/index.php?main=sportives&sub=notesMartin S. Newbury RC0 -
I see we're up to 500 riders for the 200km, so that's promising. 0
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I was just mailed this from cyclosport, they don't seem very happy
After receiving several complaints, it has been brought to our attention that the 'UCI Highclere Castle Victor Ludorum' event planned to be run on the 8th June 2008, is being marketed, promoted and organised as a race.
This event has therefore been removed from the Cyclosport Calendar - www.cyclosport.org
By presenting times and winners - quoting a rider as having the greatest time under the gold standard they are quoting race times.
By announcing winners they are awarding riders for performance.
By presenting an inter services championship they are organising a race.
Riders also start in groups of 50, further confirming the race element.
All these factors place the event very firmly in the bracket of a "race".
Sportive events are organised and insured under non competitive rules, any rider deemed to be racing will be outside of that insurance and possibly subject to legal action.
The event, endorsed by 'British Cycling' is not endorsed by the 'IACO' (Independent Association of Cyclosportive Organisers). www.iaco.org.uk
Cyclosport and the IACO only accept and endorse events which follow their standards for Cyclosportives in the UK.
NOTES FOR RIDERS
Cyclosport.org is the only website which is dedicated to Cyclosportives. At Cyclosport, organisers and riders can rest assured that events listed will comply with the standards established by the IACO. Advice and guidance for organisers is freely available.
Tues 3rd June 20080 -
The attitude ofr Cyclosport dissing the event may have more to do with it being organised by British Cycling.
The way the Highclere is organised has not changed from the previous 2 years.
Do not understand why 'groups of 50' riders signifies why it is more likely to be a race, than groups with say 20 or 100 riders.
The Gold, Silver and Bronze times seems to be fairly stndard on sportives. If you 'award' someone with a Gold time , then surely all sportives are awarding or at least recongnising performance. Otherwise, what is the point of timing a rider as this implicitly implies measurment of performance.0 -
Here we go again - the factions within the cycling community in the UK getting all het up when something they don't like dares to spoil their view of the world. :roll:
Am I alone in thinking of that scene in 'The Life of Brian'?0 -
Get used to it...
Cyclosoprt.org will continue to diss any event/organiser that doesn't conform to their own commercially motivated 'standards'.
When sportives started gaining traction several years back, one of the delights of entering new events was celebrating the differences that each event offered. All events were different in their character.
Cyclosport.org was(and still is) an excellent source of information on the sportive scene. It is now, I fear just far less impartial. Anybody looking at their web site will now see that it has become a commercial organisation.
If they are dissing the Highclere for marketing their event as a race and sending riders off in bunches of 50 riders....are they going to diss the dragon for sending their riders off in bunches of 100+ riders? Or are they going to diss the FWC or EDD for posting their results in chronological order?
Many sportive riders do like to know where they finish in the rankings, and yes if you are capable of riding the course in the quickest time of course you'll want to know. And good luck to an organiser that is happy to recognise that achievment. Likewise, good luck to all sportive riders who just want to ride the course at their own pace.
I am sure that cyclosport.org still has the best interests of sportive riders at heart, but it appears that their own commercial ambitions are becoming increasingly important.
cyclosport.org should tell riders about ALL events, and provide us with information on how to enter, travel to etc etc. It should then leave sportive riders to decide if the event is of interest. Cyclosport should not be censoring events.
History tells us, time and time again, what happens when one commercial organisation becomes too powerful.
Good luck Highclere and to all those who dare to be different!!0 -
IACO stands for Independent Association of Cyclosportive Organisers - http://www.ukcyclosportives.org.uk/
They are independent of Cyclosport, British Cycling and EveryDayCycling therefore there is no commercial motivated "standards".
Your statement I don't believe holds true in this case.0 -
Ex racer was one of the people pointing traffic to Cyclosport last week“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best..." Ernest Hemingway0
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Is Highclere being "marketed as a race"?
OK, it has the usual standards, and now "Performance Awards", but in the Rider Brief it specifically says that:Remember this is not a race, be a good advert for cycling and show consideration to other road users, even if they don’t respect your space.0 -
I am viewing this simply as an interested onlooker. I take part in events organised by BC and independents, but I can't help but sense a disparity between this from the front page of the IACO site:The IACO and Cyclosport are now working together to promote and develop the standards for Cyclosportives.
The Cyclosport 'rankings' reflect the quality of events organised by the members of the IACO
With an increase in the number of leisure and charity rides of all shapes and sizes, Sportive Organisers and Riders need to know that Cyclosport.org is the only website which is dedicated to Cyclosportives.
and this assertion by ExRacerThey are independent of Cyclosport, British Cycling and EveryDayCycling therefore there is no commercial motivated "standards".
the claim from an 'independent' body that cyclosport.org is the only website dedicated to sportives is not only patently untrue but also says alot about their 'indendence'. If I recall correctly, the IACO's web address used to be the home of cyclosport before it rebranded.
I also received the e-mail from cyclosport.org which struck me as highly unprofessional, not for the content but for the way it was worded. It was rather juvenille and needlessly confrontational for what should have been a simple informative communication.0 -
ExRacer wrote:IACO stands for Independent Association of Cyclosportive Organisers - http://www.ukcyclosportives.org.uk/
They are independent of Cyclosport, British Cycling and EveryDayCycling therefore there is no commercial motivated "standards".
Your statement I don't believe holds true in this case.
Grammar sounds like Mark Harding's
Cyclosport has had differences with EveryDay Cycling, the organisers of WRC last year, British Cycling, not all of which have been handled well
On the Cyclosport forum, on occasions where difficult questions have been asked of it's position, posts have been deleted.
Several posters on Bike Radar were pointing traffic towards Cyclosport last week, and when it was pointed out, these might have been made by people acting for Cyclosport and that they should declare themselves as such, those posters attacked those doing the pointing out.
I suggested that if they were not Mark Harding/Cyclosport, that he at least should be told-and received a vituperative post in consequence
This happened on my thread "Making Sportives harder is counterproductive". I asked the mods to check on those posters pointing traffic to cyclosport. It was confirmed they were all the same person
I therefore asked the mods to remove my thread
My posts (using a similar username) were all removed from the Cyclosport forums subsequently
It seems to me, that the Highclere email is a response to BC taking a stand independent of Cyclosport, and as several forummites have pointed out, Cyclosport's position is inconsistent.
Another indication of Cyclosport's intolerance of competition or opposition, perhaps?
We don't know the full story, and probably never will
I have found Cyclosport to be an invaluable source of information, but it would appear that Mark can't handle opposition, confrontation, or competition. His way of dealing with threats appears to be peremptory, high handed and on occasion, downright petty
I think it would be a good thing if we had the differences between BC and Cyclosport out in the open
come on guys“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best..." Ernest Hemingway0 -
First thought upon reading that email 'Mark Harding has another axe to grind' not professional at all, the guy needs to grow up.0
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This is bizarre 0
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There is an easy way to stop this argument, and that is for sportives to stop offering timed rides. No chips, transponders, just use your own stopwatch if you want to know how fast you went. I agree that until you take the competitive element of official timing, some, if not most people will view it as a race of sorts, only its not remember! Ironically, for me the advantage of it not being a race, means that I am happy not to take it seriously, and even to ride a shorter course on the day having had a few more social beers than otherwise be appopriate the night before.
Yet, oddly I'll happily pay £20 to £25 for this privelege, yet I begrudge a DNS on an open TT (£7) and wouldnt dream of drinking alcohol within 48 hours of one!0 -
Oh Dear.
Presumably many of the continental sportives and Grand Fondos need removing from cyclosport too, eg etape, marmotte etc. Are these not races in the cyclosport definition ?0 -
SteveR_100Milers wrote:There is an easy way to stop this argument, and that is for sportives to stop offering timed rides. No chips, transponders, just use your own stopwatch if you want to know how fast you went. I agree that until you take the competitive element of official timing, some, if not most people will view it as a race of sorts, only its not remember! Ironically, for me the advantage of it not being a race, means that I am happy not to take it seriously, and even to ride a shorter course on the day having had a few more social beers than otherwise be appopriate the night before.
Yet, oddly I'll happily pay £20 to £25 for this privelege, yet I begrudge a DNS on an open TT (£7) and wouldnt dream of drinking alcohol within 48 hours of one!
The problem is that numbers would plummet as people voted with their feet. Without the timing, you would end up with something like a signed Audax event. Sportives inhabit a grey area between leisure rides and races. The current debate could open up a can of worms which might be best left well alone. At the moment these events tend towards being all things to all men. Remove the timed element and you end up with a large scale club run. If all events which publish finishers in time order were to be wiped off the calendar, there would be very few left. Removing some, and not others, leads to a closer examination of all events, and could lead to insurance and legal problems for many more.
I think that we should all get on with enjoying the plethora of sportives in all their variety. I think it should be up to the individual riders to choose whether the structure and rules of an event meet with their approval.0 -
This matters... why?
The guy who runs cyclosport.org appears to be a tosser who really just has a quite useful website, nothing more.
I presume he'll be taking the Marrmotte off his list too. And the Fred?0
