This year we’re going to start up a club road race series with monthly events through the summer on Sunday mornings. We have a variety of road courses that consist of country blocks ranging from 8-9.5km. Races that use these will complete multiple laps. We’ve also scouted three criterium loops that vary in length from 1-2km and will be time based with everyone in a category finishing on the same lap as the leader.
This is a series for everyone, you just have to provide previous race experience or attend a “qualifier” and be given the green light to enter as detailed below in the Rules section. Please, if you’re interested in coming out just respond here and we’ll work with you. Crit Practice is starting up soon and will be a great place to learn or dial in the skills needed when racing with others.
We want to make sure everyone coming out is on the same page and understands how to move around in a group, corner at speed etc. for the safety of everyone involved. Many of our club rides are smooth and predictable, and racing isn’t always that.
To start we’re going to have two categories, an A and a B race.
The B race will run first at 9:30 am. On road courses this category will complete 3-4 laps and for criteriums will race for 40 min. If you ride with group 3 or below this is your category.
The A race will start at 10:30 am or when the B race finishes. On road courses this category will complete 6+ laps and for criteriums will race for 50 min. If you ride strongly with group one or two this is your category.
The above race distances/times are a starting point and might be adjusted based on participant feedback. We have to start somewhere, but we can improve together over time.
Below are the rules for the series. We all have families and work, so we will be strict and encourage everyone to act with respect for one another and ride in a safe manner. Yes it’s a race series, but there’s no need to take unnecessary risks that put yourself or others in danger.
Finally I’d like to give a huge shout out to our president Kerry Barker Gale. She kick started this whole thing at the end of last year.
Shortly I’ll make a separate post for the first event. We’ll use a Google sign-up form to keep track of everyone coming out. Stay tuned for more details. If you have any questions, or I missed something, please respond below.
Race Rules
This race series is to help develop riders’ fitness and racing skills. Races will be carried out in a safe manner with respect for others safety.
Full details about the Waterloo Cycling Clubs general risk management plan can be found on the clubs website here. What follows below is a basic description of the race series and the rules it will follow to help ensure the activity is safe for everyone.
Requirements - Riders entering the series either need race experience, attend a “qualifier ride” and be approved by experienced racers/ride leaders.
Learn to Crit will be starting in June and will act as a qualifier.
The WCC Tuesday Bamberg and the Thursday Threshold rides can also act as qualifiers if you talk to one of the ride leaders, express your interest in attending the club race series and have them watch and give you advice if needed during the ride. We can then talk to those ride leaders and get their approval.
Races - Number of categories will depend on interest, we’ll have to strongly encourage people to sign up in advance. We’ll run two races to start, A and B which will be ability based. The B race will start at 9:30 am, and the A’s at 10:30. The earlier the start the less traffic we’ll encounter.
Finish Line - We’ll have a start/finish volunteer to display a lap counter and take a slow motion video of the finish for each category. We’ll capture the top three of each race to start with the potential to expand results and maybe tracking points in future years.
Corners - Where the riders don’t have the right-of-way we will have a volunteer watching for traffic. If the road is clear the volunteer waves riders through. Course marshals will be using either flags (green and red) or a red flashing light to signal.
If there’s traffic the group or individual riders must neutralize until they are 200m past the corner. The 200m point will be marked on the road with spray paint. This will be strictly enforced, three warnings across the year and you’re no longer allowed to enter the series. The same with the yellow rule line and any dangerous riding. This series is all about getting a workout, learning and being respectful of others. Safety comes first.
Traffic - Any traffic encountered at a corner will be dealt with as explained above. The yellow line rule will be strictly enforced, so traffic passing a racing group and a racing group passing a vehicle are the primary concerns. If a car is approaching from behind the group or individuals will have to neutralize, ride tight to the right and help the vehicle pass. Racing may resume once the vehicle has fully and safely passed all the riders in a group.
If a racing group or individual is passing a vehicle, most likely a horse and buggy, they should neutralize 50 m before the pass, move over as much as possible so as not to risk any collision or startle a horse, and only resume racing a minimum of 50 m later or when the group is back together as it was before.
Rules Enforcement/Penalties - The above rules will be strictly enforced, three warnings across the year and you’re no longer allowed to enter the series. The same with the yellow rule line and any dangerous riding. This series is all about getting a workout, learning and being respectful of others. Safety comes first.
)
