The National Criterium Championships will be held in Cork City centre; with last year's winner Felix English (above) in flying form on the UK pro crit scene this season.
By Gerard Cromwell
Entries are now open for the National Criterium Championships, due to be held in the centre of Cork City on Saturday, July 27th.
Promoted by Cork County Cycling Club, the championships will be the new club’s first ever open event and with the fully closed circuit located in a busy shopping area, the race is sure to attract a large crowd of spectators.
“Due to very strict rules applied in shutting down such a busy a location we were only able to shut the streets for 90 minutes,” said the promoting club’s Will Curtin today.
“Because of this, we will not have a ladies or underage race as previously stated, but we will hold these later in the season.”
Advertisement
These time restrictions related to the road closures mean riders should arrive early if they want to avail of a few warm up laps on the circuit before the event proper.
“The circuit itself will be shut from 5pm for warm up, with racing starting at 5.30pm sharp,” says Curtin.
Related News
“We will have prizes for the top 10 over the line with a number of unplaced rider prizes as well.”
Also on offer during the championships will be an array of lap prizes, including a special prime which will come from the sale of raffle tickets around the circuit.
With a bike on offer as top prize in the raffle, the club expect this prime alone to be worth over €200.
The progressive Cork County club have also recently opened a new indoor arena, catering for kids from eight years of age upwards with various bike safety and skills sessions.
“This is all done in a fun and safe environment,” says Curtin.
“We will also be holding a Cycling Summer Camp in Cork in August. Our club is focused on increasing numbers in both underage and U23 racing in our area and as such the national championships should be a great way to promote this and cycling in general.”
“From the feedback we are getting, the majority of the professional riders cannot make the championships so this should leave the race wide open for the national riders. But due to Cycling Ireland rules the number of entries is restricted so riders need get in as early as possible.”
Entries close on Wednesday 24th July. For more info please contact Will Curtin on 087 1492941.
Topics
