Mondays (Summer times April - October) training 17.00 - 18.00 for 8 - 12 year old & 18.00 - 19.30 for 12 - 18 year old specifically for road bikes, at York Sport Cycle Circuit this session is £3.00, please remember to sign on & pay at the cycle circuit cabin.
Saturday (all year) there are two sessions depending on your age, 12 - 18 year olds training 10.30-12.30 and 8 - 12 years old 10.30-11.30. The group you ride in can vary depending on ability but is at the discretion of the coach.
What to bring any type of bike for Saturday and a road bike for Monday it must be roadworthy. An approved helmet, appropriate clothing, a water bottle, cage and snack. You don't need an expensive bike to get started!
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York Sport Cycle Circuit is a dedicated cycle circuit, funded by British Cycling, University of York and City of York council.
Membership You can attend 4 sessions as a non member after this period you will be asked to join the club. Membership for U18 is only £5 http://www.cliftoncc.org/about-us/membership we would also recommend joining British Cycling at the same time this becomes essential if you want to race or take part in the velodrome training sessions.
Manchester Velodrome, as a Go Ride club, we also have access to Yorkshire Cluster track sessions at Manchester Velodrome. These are approximately every 6 weeks, on Sundays 12-3pm and are aimed at riders aged 10-16 years, all abilities groups are welcome as the sessions are split into novice, intermediate & advanced. Bike, shoe and helmet hire are available at the velodrome. If you are interested please contact us the next session date. You will need to arrange your own transport, places are limited so apply early! You need to be a member of the club to go to these sessions.
Regional Schools of racing, are
coaching days led by British Cycling Talent Team coaches, there are road, track
and MTB sessions throughout the year. Club coaches make nominations,
selecting riders who meet the following criteria. Must be a British
Cycling Member, age 14-16, impressive regional race
performance, have an ability to listen and a desire to learn, be hard working
and committed. These sessions are a great opportunity to develop and
improve as a biker rider, places are limited and application must be through
the club.
Here is a short video (see below) of Clifton riders at a Regional School of Racing coaching day, the elements they are working on is group riding.
What is takes
Key Message 1 - Every Cyclist started
somewhere they were NOT born with...they rode a lot gain experience and learnt as anyone can.
- Speed
- Skills
- Tactical awareness
- Fearless/Bravery
- Hard working
Key Message 2 - The best mantra is 'I want to become the best cyclist I can be', by focusing on the key areas above.
Typical Pathway
There is no set way to achieve your potential on the bike. Everyone is different, develops at different rates and have their own strengths and weaknesses. You might have been riding for many years to school you might only just have discovered cycling. For younger riders, riding and having fun is fundamental riding with your mates helps to, you don't need to worry about how far or for how long to start with. In most cases riders usually have adequate endurance they can ride for 30 to 60 minutes at a moderate speed. So what next ?
Olympic Torch Activity
On Tuesday 19th June 2012, Clifton CC ran a watt bike challenge at York Race Course, we had 3 watt bikes setup with a screen for virtual biking racing over 100 and 500 metre distances. The challenge was a fabulous success we had over 200 under 16's and 50 adults having a go at the fun cycle challenge. As part of the clubs development we hope to purchase some watt bikes for training and riding development.
Watt Bike Challenge at your school or workplace
As part of our ongoing programme of activities to increase awareness of cycling in and around York we hope to be able to offer watt bike challenges hopefully by late autumn for more details contact us.
Getting Involved
We are always on the look out for volunteers, we currently have a small team of coaches and volunteer parents who help with transport and at events. Without these volunteers we would not be able to run the club. Currently we are especially keen to hear from people who would like to find out more about delivering sessions and coaching. We are looking for keen cyclist who have experiencing of racing, people who have coached other sports and non cyclists. These roles can take from 1 or 2 hours a week or more if you have more time to spare. For more information contact us for a chat about the roles.
Supporting Us
If you are able to help out in another way, financially or offering your expertise we would like to hear from you as well. We have
ambitious plans for the club we are looking to develop the club over the next few years, the more people who get involved the quicker we can do this.What sort of cycling is it?
The majority of our sessions are based around road cycling, so you will eventually need a road bike.
Who are the sessions aimed at?
Anyone who has an interest in improving as a bike rider, maybe you do a bit of PE at school and do a bit of running or maybe you’re a swimmer. You may not do any sport at school but enjoy riding you bike. Do you fancy yourself as the next Mark Cavandish, Emma Pooley or even Victoria Pendleton.
How fit do I need to be?
As long as you’re used to regular exercise, and can ride your bike for an hour or so you should be fine.
What should I bring with me?
A roadworthy bike, helmet, clothing appropriate to the weather, a 500ml drinks bottle and snacks e.g. Nutrigrain type bars for every hour of riding.
Do I need a fancy bike?
No, as long as it fits you and its road worthy you will be fine.
I don’t have any cycle specific clothing what should I wear?
Appropriate kit, maybe PE kit, nothing baggy that might get caught in a wheel or chain, a basic cycling jersey is a good start. Helmet is a must and waterproof if its likely to rain.
What happens if I get left behind?
You won’t. Sessions are lead by qualified coaches, we have mixed ability riders in all groups one of the main things we work on is group riding, we training on the circuit.
Do I have to race?
No. We encourage everyone to have a go, but if your not sure or keen to start with that's ok.
Do I need to be a member of British Cycling or Clifton Cycling Club?
No. You can find out how to do this later if you decided too.
More about Road Racing...
All racing for under 16's is held on closed road circuits, which are traffic free. These are either purpose built cycling facilities such as Richard Dunn, Bradford or Middlesbrough Cycle Circuit alternatively Go Kart or car racing circuits like Tockwith. Race formats, races are normally run over a set number of laps, current regulations state the following race distances.
More about Mountain Biking...
Nutcracker is the local MTB series, with categories for younger riders.
Between September and January there is the Yorkshire points Cyclo Cross League. All the above have racing for all youth categories under 8's to 16 year olds.
More about Cyclo Cross...
Buying the right bike, size recommendations and things to watch out for. First of all make sure you get the right frames size, see table below. Then that the components match these very much depend on your own size, but small riders require appropriately sized bars and crank lengths.
Frame Size Guide
|
Height of rider |
Suggested frame size |
|
144-152cm (4’9’’=5’0’’) |
48.3cm (19’’) |
|
152-158cm |
49.5cm (19.5’’) |
|
158-163cm |
50.8cm (20’’) |
|
163-168cm |
52.1cm (20.5’’) |
|
168-173cm |
53.3cm (21’’) |
|
173-178cm |
54.6cm (22’’) |
|
178-183cm |
55.9cm (22.5’’) |
|
183-186cm |
57.2cm (23’’) |
|
186-188cm |
58.4cm (23’’) |
|
188+cm |
59.7cm (23.5’’) |
Don't overlook clothing during summer cycling shorts, a short sleeve top and fine but cycling is an all year round activity so building a collection of clothing is really important to help you enjoy your riding, the club has its own kit
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS & GUARDIANS
