As some of you may have read, the CI Off-road committee are proposing to make the following changes to the format of the series for 2016.
This is a proposal and will be voted on at the AGM:
Going into 2016 we will be shortening the lap length (in terms of time) to around 14 minutes which will provide more flexibility on the number of laps across categories and make the race more interesting for the spectators.
By "Fergal Kilkenny" Just to update people, I've contacted the Cycling Ireland Offroad Commmission (Martin Grimley) who confirmed that this is just a proposal, which will be submitted as a motion for CI members to vote on at the upcoming Offroad AGM (which will be held in January 2016). It'd be a good idea for clubs to start to discuss this on their various forums so that they can get feedback and opinions from their XC racers, and bring their findings to the AGM.
14 minutes for what catogorie? S1 or S3? I would like to see a long lap in a xc race. Traveling across the country to do 4 or 5 "short" laps is not appealing it cost enough to do these races so better get a good long race. There will also be a lot of riders in the different categories on the short loop. I know it might be good for the spectators but they are not racing. If the spectators want to see the racing they can walk around the track. Just my view of the new proposal.
14 minutes for what catogorie? S1 or S3? I would like to see a long lap in a xc race. Traveling across the country to do 4 or 5 "short" laps is not appealing
for S1 it will be 2 extra laps of a shorter circuit, the top guys will lap it in 14mins as opposed to 20 mins as it stands, so winning race time is just under 1hr40
S2 will be the same, 2 extra laps and winning time of 1hr30mins
In theory the proposal sounds fine and it would give the spectators something to look at. It sounds very much like a CX race format. This has a number of benefits for the racer not least of which is getting to know the course in detail. However, following on from Rudolf's point, it would be a relatively short course (think along the lines of an extended club course or up metro, down chisel and throw in the trail that splits off from the top of Dream Track). When you think about it like that it sounds ok but... there will be a need for a well set out inlap to string out the riders before they hit the single track otherwise you get a large number riders (particularly S3) bunched up 'waiting' to get onto the single track; the riders in front will be long gone. As a consequence, the leading riders will be lapping people within their own race pretty quickly. When you throw in S1, 2 and 3 (men and women) starting within, say, 5 or 10 minutes of each other then it will get pretty congested. Being new to XC racing I don't understand how this could be considered good experience for, particularly, the elite riders, i.e. are they likely to encounter courses clogged with S2 and S3 riders internationally? Am I missing an obvious point?
Race lengths are not changing in most categories.
Women's categories are slightly shortened compared to men's races which would benefit mostly the newbies.
It's not such as dramatic change as it sounds really but I will write up a longer explanation later.
I would like to keep improving the series and the quality of racing and it's definitely not my goal to make it less pleasant or harder for anyone to race. Even if the new system is accepted at the AGM we will still make adjustments to it depending on the venue to achieve the best racing experience possible.
If its not broken then don't fix it. You are really only doing to for the benefit of people racing in the British NPS series which is a very small margin of people involved in xc racing.
We already have an issue with too many people on the course at the same time. Men hurling abuse at the women to get out of the way when they want to pass. This issue (which has the effect of making females not want to race) will become much worse. For people new to the sport the mental concept of them doing 2 laps is much easier for them to process than do to 3, even though the race time might be the same. So does this really benefit anyone??
The benefits of the shorter lap would be closer racing, like in CX, where you could have the top 20 all within a minute or two at the finish line.
For spectators, they get to see racers more often, closer racing, and easier to move around the track, so good for the race atmosphere when you have more people cheering you on etc..
For race organisers, less taping/course marking, not as many marshals needed, can run events in different/new locations due to the smaller course...
Not really anything like CX Graham. The close gaps in CX are because of the flat nature of most courses where riders are not separated by the climbs.
The most important change would be for U14 riders, we wouldn't have to have short cuts for them which are always a weak link in all events (remember the drama in Gride?) U16 would also get proper race time as the current 2 laps on par with S4 is too short for them and 3 laps like S3 is too long.
The new system would also mean riders finishing their races closer to the intended time (winners time).
At the moment, especially in women's categories, when back markers narrowly escape being lapped they have to go again for what is sometimes a 45min lap for them. Makes their race too long and delays the start of the next race.
Plus you go through the pits more often which is great if you have a serious mechanical issue.
The track congestion and the lack of manners are separate issues which will be addressed also.
If this benefits the U/A and Ladies the most then it's definitely a good idea if it encourages both groups to race XC more.
Pitching it as benefiting the 1% of riders who would go to a UK or WC event, rather than the majority who will just race locally doesn't seem like a good idea.
As some of you may have read, the CI Off-road committee are proposing to make the following changes to the format of the series for 2016.
This is a proposal and will be voted on at the AGM:
Going into 2016 we will be shortening the lap length (in terms of time) to around 14 minutes which will provide more flexibility on the number of laps across categories and make the race more interesting for the spectators.
By "Fergal Kilkenny" Just to update people, I've contacted the Cycling Ireland Offroad Commmission (Martin Grimley) who confirmed that this is just a proposal, which will be submitted as a motion for CI members to vote on at the upcoming Offroad AGM (which will be held in January 2016). It'd be a good idea for clubs to start to discuss this on their various forums so that they can get feedback and opinions from their XC racers, and bring their findings to the AGM.
14 minutes for what catogorie? S1 or S3? I would like to see a long lap in a xc race. Traveling across the country to do 4 or 5 "short" laps is not appealing it cost enough to do these races so better get a good long race. There will also be a lot of riders in the different categories on the short loop. I know it might be good for the spectators but they are not racing. If the spectators want to see the racing they can walk around the track. Just my view of the new proposal.
14 minutes for what catogorie? S1 or S3? I would like to see a long lap in a xc race. Traveling across the country to do 4 or 5 "short" laps is not appealing
for S1 it will be 2 extra laps of a shorter circuit, the top guys will lap it in 14mins as opposed to 20 mins as it stands, so winning race time is just under 1hr40
S2 will be the same, 2 extra laps and winning time of 1hr30mins
In theory the proposal sounds fine and it would give the spectators something to look at. It sounds very much like a CX race format. This has a number of benefits for the racer not least of which is getting to know the course in detail. However, following on from Rudolf's point, it would be a relatively short course (think along the lines of an extended club course or up metro, down chisel and throw in the trail that splits off from the top of Dream Track). When you think about it like that it sounds ok but... there will be a need for a well set out inlap to string out the riders before they hit the single track otherwise you get a large number riders (particularly S3) bunched up 'waiting' to get onto the single track; the riders in front will be long gone. As a consequence, the leading riders will be lapping people within their own race pretty quickly. When you throw in S1, 2 and 3 (men and women) starting within, say, 5 or 10 minutes of each other then it will get pretty congested. Being new to XC racing I don't understand how this could be considered good experience for, particularly, the elite riders, i.e. are they likely to encounter courses clogged with S2 and S3 riders internationally? Am I missing an obvious point?
Race lengths are not changing in most categories.
Women's categories are slightly shortened compared to men's races which would benefit mostly the newbies.
It's not such as dramatic change as it sounds really but I will write up a longer explanation later.
I would like to keep improving the series and the quality of racing and it's definitely not my goal to make it less pleasant or harder for anyone to race. Even if the new system is accepted at the AGM we will still make adjustments to it depending on the venue to achieve the best racing experience possible.
If its not broken then don't fix it. You are really only doing to for the benefit of people racing in the British NPS series which is a very small margin of people involved in xc racing.
We already have an issue with too many people on the course at the same time. Men hurling abuse at the women to get out of the way when they want to pass. This issue (which has the effect of making females not want to race) will become much worse. For people new to the sport the mental concept of them doing 2 laps is much easier for them to process than do to 3, even though the race time might be the same. So does this really benefit anyone??
The benefits of the shorter lap would be closer racing, like in CX, where you could have the top 20 all within a minute or two at the finish line.
For spectators, they get to see racers more often, closer racing, and easier to move around the track, so good for the race atmosphere when you have more people cheering you on etc..
For race organisers, less taping/course marking, not as many marshals needed, can run events in different/new locations due to the smaller course...
Not really anything like CX Graham. The close gaps in CX are because of the flat nature of most courses where riders are not separated by the climbs.
The most important change would be for U14 riders, we wouldn't have to have short cuts for them which are always a weak link in all events (remember the drama in Gride?) U16 would also get proper race time as the current 2 laps on par with S4 is too short for them and 3 laps like S3 is too long.
The new system would also mean riders finishing their races closer to the intended time (winners time).
At the moment, especially in women's categories, when back markers narrowly escape being lapped they have to go again for what is sometimes a 45min lap for them. Makes their race too long and delays the start of the next race.
Plus you go through the pits more often which is great if you have a serious mechanical issue.
The track congestion and the lack of manners are separate issues which will be addressed also.
If this benefits the U/A and Ladies the most then it's definitely a good idea if it encourages both groups to race XC more.
Pitching it as benefiting the 1% of riders who would go to a UK or WC event, rather than the majority who will just race locally doesn't seem like a good idea.