The Subway Classic League has been gone many years. But the man organising its successor has thrown the gauntlet down to today's generation.
By Brian Canty
The man charged with overseeing the new National Road Series has given a detailed breakdown of how points can be scored and how a rider need only race five of the 16 events to win overall.
Director of the Cycling Ireland board, Anthony Mitchell says the new series aims are twofold.
It seeks to encourage riders to race outside their ‘home’ province, to keep riders racing throughout the season and to make domestic racing more competitive.
Its Classic League predecessor only had five events and attracted small fields - one event in Donegal had a sign-on of less than 20. But the new format looks to be a much bigger operation.
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“Very simply, you’ve to ride five events in three provinces and the guy with the most points at the end will win,” explained Mitchell.
Adam Armstrong and Thomas Martin take a 1-2 for Eurocycles in the National Classic League at the Tour of the Lakes in late August 2010 (Photo: Marian Lamb - Cycling Ulster)
“Only the best five results will be taken into account, but they must be got in three provinces.
“So in short, you could ride three events in Ulster and one each in Munster and Leinster.”
Points will be given for the top 20 placings but anyone outside that will get 10 points, even if they do not finish.
“If you go to one event and you’re outside the top 20 it means you don’t have to go back and do another event in that province; you’ll get points for turning up,” said Mitchell.
Riders can race all 16 events as there are no fixture clashes, but only the best five results will carry towards the final total.
Some 63 points will be awarded for a win, 57 for second, 52 for third, right down to 15 points for 20th position.
Tim Barry animated many a classic league race as a rider and now with a new-look Aquablue team after strong riders departed and arrived in the off season; he will look to make his make on the new series as a manager.
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It’s a strange, and may even seem random, allocation of points. But it has its roots in the British Mountain Bike National Points League.
The purpose of this is it makes it easier at the end to avoid tie-breaks.
Mitchell is optimistic the event will be a success, and he called on the riders to make it so.
“They’re not re-inventing the wheel with this,” he said of Cycling Ireland’s pushing the new series forward for this year.
“It’s up to the riders to have ambition to ride outside their own province. The events are on anyway so let’s see if they travel.
“There were 5 or 6 events in the old Classic League. And I think one of the events had only 16 riders or something ridiculous.
Paidi O'Brien is no stranger to the winners' enclosure and the new format will be right up his alley. He is a man who can win most domestic races on his day.
“Back then, if there was an event in Munster an Ulster man had to travel down.
“Now an Ulster man doesn’t, and a Munster man doesn’t have to go to Ulster.
“It’s just to try and get that domestic ambition back; to try and get people competing together outside their own patch.
“The events are already good and that should be enough of an incentive,” he said referring to the races that make up the series, all of which are on the domestic calendar many years and are well established.
“But now they all have a decent prize-fund. I know everyone is keen on it but it’s down to the riders now.
“The races are there, the money is there. Let’s see if the riders have the appetite for it.”
National Road Series 2015
- March 8th Ras Luimni (Munster)
- March 21st Wallace Caldwell (Ulster)
- March 22nd Des Hanlon (Leinster)
- March 29th Davis Cup (Connacht)
- April 5th Ras Connemara (Connacht)
- April 12th Stamullen GP (Leinster)
- April 19th Visit Nenagh Classic (Munster)
- April 26th Tom Bourke Spring Classic (Connacht)
- May 10th Shay Elliott Memorial (Leinster)
- May 24th North Down GP (Ulster)
- June 13th Bobby Crilly Classic (Ulster)
- June 14th Donamon GP (Connacht)
- July 5th Eddie Tobin (Leinster)
- July 12th Tralee Manor West GP (Munster)
- August 9th Dan O`Donovan Memorial (Munster)
- August 15th John Beggs Memorial (Ulster)
General Classification Prizes
1st €670, 2nd €470, 3rd €300, 4th €250, 5th €210, 6th €180, 7th €160, 8th €140, 9th €120, 10th €100, Unplaced Provincial Rider 4 x €100, Total €3,000
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