Cycling Leauges, Races & Competitions:

Karl2010

Can someone explain the structure of bike racing leauges & competitions in the UK to me please?

I understand that Cat 4,3,2,1,Elite, are the ability level of the rider.

What im asking is are there any specific competitions/leauges in cycling for amatures?
If so what and when are they?
Which are the best?
What do you need/have to do to take part?

Also is there a Leauge/Competition for Time Trials?
If so what and when are they?
Which are the best?
What do you need/have to do to take part?


Other Questions:

Who are the TLI (the leauge international) ??
(ive been to their web site but its not giving me the info i need.)

What do you have to do to enter the British Cycling:
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
NATIONAL & REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
NATIONAL SERIES

Are these pro/semi pro races? Team races?

i appologise if im not being very clear.
Im just totaly baffled by the structure of Bike Racing.

SteveR_100Milers

I can only comment on TTs

If you ride an open event (that is promoted by a club affiliated to and on behalf of the CTT organisation), then your times will be recorded and eligibel for the BAR (best all rounder) trophies. These times are an aggregate of your fastest times at set distances.

Some districts run their own competitions, for example in S Wales there are 8 Magic Dragon events, from which your fastest 5 (IIRC) times score points towards the seasons awards.

There are also several track leagues running in the winter (Newport and Calshot are two examples) but these I believe are not national, again they are local leagues. I could be wrong on this, for the same reasons you mention.

Pokerface

Karl2010 wrote:

Can someone explain the structure of bike racing leauges & competitions in the UK to me please?

I understand that Cat 4,3,2,1,Elite, are the ability level of the rider.

What im asking is are there any specific competitions/leauges in cycling for amatures?
If so what and when are they?
Which are the best?
What do you need/have to do to take part?

Also is there a Leauge/Competition for Time Trials?
If so what and when are they?
Which are the best?
What do you need/have to do to take part?


Other Questions:

Who are the TLI (the leauge international) ??
(ive been to their web site but its not giving me the info i need.)

What do you have to do to enter the British Cycling:
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
NATIONAL & REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
NATIONAL SERIES

Are these pro/semi pro races? Team races?

i appologise if im not being very clear.
Im just totaly baffled by the structure of Bike Racing.

TLI, BC, LVRC and CTT all run amateur races.

TLI is an excellent way to get into racing as the races are usually a little easier than BC ones They are based on age and not ability.

TTs are sort of run by the CTT If you go to their website you will find a list of TTs you can enter. Just send in your entrty (usually a minimum of 2 weeks before the event) and the race organizer will get in touch to tell you if you are in and when you start.

To race internationally you would probably need to be a Pro, semi-pro or be on the British team.

But you can enter regional championships, or join any national series. Not sure on National Championships though.


It's a start..

Monty Dog

What races are available will depend on where you live as there different competitions in each region. e.g. BC is divided into regions and generally most areas run all-year regional championships based on an accrual of points over the season. You'll also find a 1-day regional championships in each region.

Some regions also send selected individuals to international events e.g. the RAS in Ireland, or regional races abroad. Again this is down to contacts in each region and getting yourself known.

You can enter races abroad with a BC licence e.g many UK riders ride Kermis is Belgium - as long as you have a valid license, paid the entry fees and have legs of steel. Certain races will only be open to certain categories i.e. elites or by invitation.

CTT generally run time trials quite distinctly from road racing. As well as the national BBAR, there are regional often club competitions too.

LVRC are also age related, but limited to over-40s.

There are also World and Age Group championships accessible via TLI and LVRC.

mclarent

Most road and circuit racing is organised by clubs affiliated to a regional body, which come under BC. Points awarded for finishing places are accrued by both the individual and (if applicable) their team or club. Points accrued by individuals get counted towards both Regional and National individual rankings.

Most (all?) regional organising bodies (South Eastern, Eastern etc) have their own leagues. Points accrued in qualifying riders that are registered in that region go towards regional level rankings in both individual and (if applicable) team/club competitions.

BC also operates National level rankings for both individuals and teams, based on point scoring results achieved.

Have a look at http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roadst_National_Regional_Rankings_Explained for an explanation of how points and rankings work.

Karl2010

Ok so..

CTT (Cycling Time Trials):
You can ride any event classed as "open".
If the club running that event are affiliated with the CTT you can score points which count towards something.
There are also other competions run by the CTT.
(mental note: contact CTT and find out about differant Compations & Trophies and entry requirements, also ask if any points scored in CTT count towards the BC points system)

LVRC (leauge Of Veteran Racing Cyclists)
Over 40's only. Assuming any points scored here wont count towards the BC Points Scheme.

Ill get in touch with BC tommorow and ask about Competitions, Regional & National Championships, Leauges & Trophies.

Slightly more informed now, chaps.
Thanks. (i did say slightly)

SteveR_100Milers

Karl2010 wrote:

Ok so..

CTT (Cycling Time Trials):
You can ride any event classed as "open".
If the club running that event are affiliated with the CTT you can score points which count towards something.
There are also other competions run by the CTT.
(mental note: contact CTT and find out about differant Compations & Trophies and entry requirements, also ask if any points scored in CTT count towards the BC points system)

LVRC (leauge Of Veteran Racing Cyclists)
Over 40's only. Assuming any points scored here wont count towards the BC Points Scheme.

Ill get in touch with BC tommorow and ask about Competitions, Regional & National Championships, Leauges & Trophies.

Slightly more informed now, chaps.
Thanks. (i did say slightly)

No. CTT and BC are not the same organisation. TT results do not give you any k ind of league points that are transferable to road racing or anything else. Most people do TTs because they want to simply go faster than last week, and their mates, it's a very different type of racing compared to bunch racing.

amaferanga

TLI is a great way into road racing IMO and most regions I believe run leagues. The league for my area (North Midlands) is VERY popular and the races are on Thursdays meaning they don't clash with BC races. You can either race them and go for points and the series, or use them as training and race experience. A TLI licence is cheap (compared to BC Silver membership + race licence). The races here are ability based (not age-based as someone else said) and usually split into 3 groups meaning you should always be able to hang on to your group at least for most of the race.

SBezza

Karl2010 wrote:

Ok so..

CTT (Cycling Time Trials):
You can ride any event classed as "open".
Only if you are a member of an affiliated club

If the club running that event are affiliated with the CTT you can score points which count towards something.
Some districts will run regional competitions, some do not. You can find this information on each Districts websites normally.

There are also other competitions run by the CTT.
The CTT runs the Rudy Project series, also times count towards the BBAR. CTT also run the Nationals are different distances.

Alot of TT competitions are based on times over set distances, my local cycling association has a BAR over 25 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles and a 12 hour TT, this will be the best average speed of all the times/distances achieved on certain events.

National BBAR is over 50 miles, 100 miles and 12 Hour TT's, not all open events will count towards these though, counting events are listed within the CTT Handbook.

Pross

CTT - you have to be a member of an affiliated club (or directly affiliated to the HQ) to be able to ride their open events.

BC - they organise the majority of road racing and track in the UK and also some time trials (as well as most MTB, cross and BMX). To race in most BC events you need to be a member, this can either be as a private member or through an affiliated club. You will also need a licence although in some lower category races you can use a provisional licence that comes with your membership. With a full icence you can pick up points and with enough points you move through the categories from 4th to Elite. The levels of racing have become more complicated over recent years and I still have to look up what is what myself. It used to be a simple case that a race would be classed usually as 3rds / Juniors / women / vets or 1 / 2 / 3 (prior to the introduction of 4th cats) although some would be open to only 1 / 2 or just 1st. Now there are races classed as national and regional with a letter after them which determines maximum and minimum lengths, whether they are to be held on closed circuits and what categories can take part see http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/road/article/roadst_Road-Categories_Classifications. Licence points awarded vary depending on the class of race. BC also do Go Race events which are aimed at beginners and can be entered with a small extra payment to be a day member so no BC membership is required.

LVRC - again mainly road racing but I think they also do some track and TT events. You can take part once you are in the year of your 40th birthday or older and they usually split races into age bands. No racing licence is needed but I believe membership is (could be wrong, I've still got a year to go before I can join them!)

TLI - don't know much about them other than they tend to organise races on more of an ability / handicapping system so good for beginners. They have regions but seem to be at their strongest in the north (never seen any races in South Wales or the South West). Again I don't think they have a licence system but I assume membership is required.

The days of amateur or pro races have effectively gone since the Olympics went open. Even the top series such as Premier Calendar and National Circuit Series have many amateurs as well as pro riders in them, you may also find some pros racing in relatively low level events as they may be pros in non-road disciplines but only 2nd or 3rd cat road riders.