Track League starts this week!

The SCRL track league – one of the highlights of the summer cycling season – starts this Wednesday (16th April). The league runs every week until early August and we always see a strong PPYCC turnout across the age groups. It is a fun evening (starting at 6pm) and a great chance for young riders to gain valuable racing experience in a safe and supportive environment. Young riders will usually have three races on the program across a variety of formats.

The league takes place at Preston Park velodrome and is on track bikes (fixed wheel with no gears) and riders are required to have passed accreditation to race. This generally takes two sessions with one of our track coaches at PPYCC Saturday sessions. Most riders who have been with PPYCC for more than a year will be accredited, but if you are unsure please check with a coach.

Well done to Max Cooper and Jack Patten who have passed accreditation this year and are now ready to race.

There will be a further accreditation session on Saturday 26th, weather permitting, for those at Inner and Outer Ring who have completed the first of their two accreditation sessions and still need to complete a further session in order to pass.

Don’t worry about missing the first few weeks of the league if you still need to complete accreditation, you can start at any point between April and August!

You will need to register for the season at My Race Result – https://my.raceresult.com/324547/. Only do this once you have passed accreditation. The SCRL team have access to the PPYCC Accreditation list so when you register for SCRL, they will check for your name on our list.

Once registered you can sign up for that week’s racing up to 12noon on the day of the race.

Riders will be split into two categories Youth Minor (usually up to first year under 12s, but there is flexibility depending on experience) and Youth Major (second year under 12s upwards). Some of the more advanced youth riders will ‘ride up’ in the adult categories (although this requires the agreement of the race organiser and commissaire).

Borrowing track bikes

PPYCC has track bikes in three wheel sizes: 24 inch, 650C (26 inches) and 700C (27 inches). We have plenty of 650C and 700C bikes so once you have completed accreditation, if you are planning to race SCRL regularly then you can take a bike home for the season which will both save time with bike fits each week. We only have a few 24 inch bikes though, so these need to be kept at the track.

As usual, no charge applies for bike loans but you are responsible for general maintenance of the bike and keeping it in good working order, replacing consumables like bar tape and tyres when needed.

Volunteering while cheering

SCRL relies on volunteers to keep running and you do not need any cycling knowledge at all for key roles such as marshalling. Please keep the league alive by helping out where you can, as if not enough people volunteer then racing will get cancelled that week.  

As always if you have any questions please get in touch by emailing chair@ppycc.org.uk, or by contacting a coach via the WhatsApp group. Happy racing!