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Club Information
Market Harborough
is at the hub of the Welland Valley Cycling
Club. Members travel in from all over the
surrounding towns and villages like the
spokes of a wheel, with a core of riders
based in Harborough itself. In recognition
of this and the fact that the town is part
of the clubs identity, we have included the
towns logo, based upon the old grammar
school, on the design of our new club strip,
along with the club's logo. Nestled between
the shires of Leicestershire and
Northamptonshire, the club benefits from
many routes in and around the gentle
picturesque valley formed by the River
Welland and from which it gets its name. in
2006 we achieved Sport England Clubmark
status for our Go-Ride activities.
Chairman's Welcome
As Chairman of the Welland Valley CC. I
would like to offer you my personal welcome
to our web site. I hope you find it
enlightening, interesting and encouraging to
the extent that you may consider cycling as
a means to increase your health and fitness
and in so doing enhance your life. I have
the honour to chair a committee of dedicated
people who, through regular meetings,
represent each and every club member, new or
established. We endeavour to ensure all get
the most out of being part of what is in
effect, 'their' club.
George Barnett
Welland Valley CC would like to think
that it catered for all types of cyclist and
all manner of cycling disciplines. Members
range from the very serious to the very
casual. The majority of members compete in
club Time Trials; events whereby the slower
rider starts, followed 1 minute later by the
next fastest, finishing with the superhuman!
All riders set themselves personal goals, be
it to beat their previous weeks time or
personal best, or to not be beaten by their
nearest rival or, to get home without being
overtaken at all. A variety of courses and
events encourage interest and increase
participation throughout the season, as well
as testing the skill of the rider. The club
Time Trial season starts with a couple of
hilly rides of around 14 miles that warrant
the title 'Hard Rides'. These are followed
by the 8.5 mile series before progressing
onto the 10 mile courses with the last month
of events being held on the Bruntingthorpe
Proving Ground which is a closed circuit
aerodrome. In amongst these separate
competitions there is the Club Championship;
a series of 9 rides.
Club Championship events range from the
2mile to 25 miles and are spread throughout
the year with 6 out of the 10 events
counting towards a riders final points
tally. There is also an active programme of
Road Racing that is supported by the club.
Within a road race, riders set off at the
same time and compete around a course to be
the first past the post. Road Racing is a
style of riding that needs quite a bit of
planning and skill on the bike. We regularly
assist in the organisation and running of
such events and often have riders represent
the club within the field. Similar races
take place off-road that complement the
active mountain bike scene run by the local
club 'Cats MBC. Within the Welland Valley CC
there is also an active Cyclo-Cross
contingent. Cyclo-Cross being cross-country
on a bike. We are privileged to have within
the club, Vic Barnett, a former over 50's
World Champion at Cyclo-Cross.
Outside of the competitions there is also
an active riding for fun scene. All season,
club runs venture into the Welland Valley
and surrounding area for a Sunday morning
ride that sets off at about 9:30am from the
Square within the town. There is an
increasing band of members who ferry or fly
across to France to see a stage or two of
the Tour de France and then attempt some of
the mountain stages used by the
professionals. All events are open to any
rider; male/female, young/old, fit/unfit and
on any type of machine you care to ride,
with the exception of Road Racing whereby a
licence has to be applied for and
restrictions on cycles apply. |
