Feilding Festival of Cycling Update

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.

Feilding Festival of Cycling Update

When the Fitzherbert Lions made the tough decision to put the Tour de Manawatu in to recess, there was a lot a disappointment voiced among local cyclists, not only had we lost another local cycling event, and one that had been running for some time, but we had lost our best warm up for the Lake Taupo Cycling Challenge – always taking place 3-4 weeks out from Taupo, every year it was a great opportunity to get some race km’s in your legs before starting to taper.
The Bike Manawatu Board were just as disappointed, and while we’d love to be able to run a similar event, we just don’t have the resources – our 3 big events are the Novice Tour, the Manfeild 6 hour and the Joe Allen Classic/Feilding Festival of Cycling – so we put our thinking caps on, and have come up with what we think is the best solution for local riders – we have shifted the Joe Allen Classic/Feilding Festival of Cycling Sunday November 10 – this is 3 weeks out from Taupo, so an ideal time to do one last final effort to consolidate all your training. We’re lucky to have secured the support of Rosebowl Bakery & Cafe as our registration and prize giving venue, which was a huge success last year. But we do ask that all entrants make themselves familiar with their request to park at the rear of their premises rather than in the front car park. We’ve also made another big change, the course for the recreational ride is now the same as the Joe Allen Classic and runs from Feilding to Apiti and back to Feilding. We’re excited to announce that entries are now open, so please – get in behind our event to ensure that we can keep a local race and recreational ride going in the Manawatu.