Club road racing starts this weekend
Despite the current ‘cost of living challenges’ facing all community events, Bike Manawatu is 100% committed to ensuring the 51st year of the Novice Tour – once again provides a safe, fun, competitive cycle racing event.
We will adopt a high-quality assured approach in implementing the Local Roading Authority’s/Cycling New Zealand’s ‘Safe Traffic Management System’ (STMS) standards which ensure best practices and rider and spectator safety.
If the level of community funding secured is not sufficient to contract in external road management service providers with the ability to stop/go traffic, the Novice Tour will proceed on a ‘local club racing’ model, whereby our team of trained/experienced road marshals will, where necessary, pause racing in order to give way to traffic and ensure rider safety.
Although funding external road management services with the ability to stop/go traffic is ideal, if this is not feasible – we are confident that the event’s ‘Safe Traffic Management System’ (STMS) will provide a competitive, fair, enjoyable and importantly safe racing environment.
Irrespective of which model of traffic management/racing is finalised, as with all CNZ/Bike Manawatu events, normal road rules will apply and a full rider briefing confirming the event rules will be provided to all riders prior to the start of each race.
The 2016 club road racing series kicks off on Saturday (27Feb) with a two-up time trial on the Pyke’s Rd course.
Meet at the corner of Pyke’s Rd and Hwy 56 (road to Himitangi). The course goes out along Pyke Rd, left into Bainesse Rd, turning a few hundred meters before the Bainesse Rd intersection with Hwy 56, then back to the starting point. Total distance is 18 km.
There is good money up for grabs in the five race series and the intention is to enable all riders to have a good shot at winning some cash.
That being the case, most races will be handicapped in some ways, including the two-up TT on Sat.
Handicap times will be based mainly on the Wed night ITT time of the fastest rider of the pair, or otherwise estimated.
For this time trial, we need to standardise bikes the best way possible, so I’d encourage everyone to turn up with their road bikes and normal (not deep dish) wheels. If they do, we will handicap for aero-bars, deep dish wheels, and TT bike. I have a pretty good grasp of the time cost of these on the 12 km Wed night TT course, so will apply these to this 18 km course (pro-rata) if necessary. Again, this is all simply to be fair to all who ride.
