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Saturday 23 January 2016

NEWS FOR 2016

The LWCR has had a little sabbatical in the past year, but thankfully it's bouncing back with a new name, website, logo and fresh leadership. These pages will be kept as archives for now, but please make your way over to this site for all the news and information about 2016 and beyond.

Saturday 4 April 2015

Prizewinners for 2014

Prizewinners for the 2014 season:


Rank
Rider
Club
Points
Number of races ridden
1
Maryka Sennema
Kingston Wheelers
228
8
2
Michelle Sellars
London Phoenix CC
186
7
3
Clare Gillott
Les Filles RT
180
6
4
Mhairi Mackenzie
London Phoenix CC
154
5
5
Bella Leach
London Phoenix CC
146
5
6
Nicole Oh
Les Filles RT
136
5
7
Tamala McGee
London Phoenix CC
135
7
8
Aoife Doherty
London Phoenix CC
95
5


Most improved rider: Michelle Sellars.
Best new rider:  Tamala McGee.
Most committed rider:  Maryka Sennema

Best team:  London Phoenix CC



The LWCR is taking a break for 2015 but will hopefully be back in 2016 with a new direction and  format.  An Easter 3-day crit series (similar to the Condor 3-day for men) and Vets' series are ideas we're playing around with -- as always please speak up if you have any ideas for improving the league or shaking it up a bit, not to mention if you can help out with making that happen!

Thursday 4 December 2014

Final rankings for LWCR 2014 and an open letter about LWCR 2015

The results from the last race have been updated and the final individual and team rankings can be seen here

Well done to Maryka Sennema (Kingston Wheelers) for winning the individual award and London Phoenix CC for the winning the team award. 

Prizes will be awarded as soon as possible, hopefully at a meeting to discuss the league's future. Anyone in the top 20 who raced 5 or more races will get a prize but there will also be prizes for best new rider, most improved rider, best 3rd Cat, Lanterne Rouge (for lowest placed rider there on the night). A list of prize winners will be posted soon. 

Regarding the league in 2015, please read below for a personal letter from me, Tabitha Rendall:

Dear League Racers and Supporters,

I have had a key role in the running of the league for the last two years but for various personal reasons feel that it may be best served by my stepping down and handing over the reins to others. I am more than happy to help in any way I can and to work with others in 2015 to help run a successful league.

In 2014 I feel the LWCR league suffered from a variety of different issues including lack of time on my part, a lack of variety in the races that were being run that could be part of the league and changes in the women's racing scene.

The London Women's Cycle Racing league was established in 2010 with the aim of helping to introduce 
London based women to racing and helping them develop their racing skills, while getting involved in healthy local competition. 

The league filled a hole in the racing scene and became so successful that it attracted women from all around London and the surrounding counties. Many riders that saw success in the league have gone on to race for pro and amateur teams and there is now a healthy and vibrant women's racing scene. 

However, this success has brought its own problems. Despite growth in the number of women only races being run, the number of women being called on to ride these races is still small, particularly in comparison to the number of men racing regularly. This results in calendar clashes which mean that some races are not well supported and often also results in relatively inexperienced racers racing against others that may be 1st Cat or Elite riders. 

This issue is being addressed by initiatives such as 3rd/4th Cat only leagues at individual circuits to help inexperienced racers develop their racing skills. However, there is now a widening gap between these 3/4 Cat races and the women's team series, for example, which is leaving a number of 2nd Cat riders with a dwindling choice of races. 

Until now the league's position with regard to categories has been to use races that were open to all categories and not to use a circuit (road or closed) more than twice but in 2014 we struggled to find races that could be used by the league which were open to all without using the same circuits over and over again. 

It is perhaps time for a rethink of the league in terms of what its purpose is in a quite different environment to 2010 and what this then means for how it is run. 

Maybe it should become a closed circuit only league, maybe it should refocus on London, maybe it should become 2/3/4 cat only, maybe it has had its time.

I sincerely hope the last of these is not the case but in order to make the league a success in 2015 I am asking for your help.

I would be happy to be part of a working group to try to find a way forwards for the league and to help anyone else that would like to be involved to understand what they would be undertaking. 

Please feel free to email me on tabnet99@yahoo.co.uk. Once I have details of a few interested parties, I will propose a date for a meeting to discuss the league's future at which we will also do the prize giving. 

Many thanks for your support of the league this year and here's hoping we can work out a way of keeping the league going. 

With best wishes, 
Tabitha 

Tuesday 30 September 2014

Last league race for 2014

The last race for the 2014 league will be this Saturday (4th October) at the Olympic Park track. 

The event can be entered online here. It's £12 to enter online and £15 on the line. 

The women's race starts 40 seconds after the men's at 12.45pm. 

We hope it will be a good turnout. 

Remember that to qualify for top 20 prizes, you need to have done 5 races. 


Wednesday 13 August 2014

Rankings after 8 races and last race

The rankings have been updated to include the latest two rounds at the Guildford Town Crits and Hog Hill. 

Maryka Sennema (Kingston Wheelers) heads the table as we head towards our final round. Clare Gillot (Les Filles RT) is in second place with Michelle Sellars (London Phoenix CC) in third. However, only two points behind is Mhairi Mackenzie, also of London Phoenix CC so the final race could see a battle for third. 

London Phoenix CC heads the team rankings with Les Filles RT in second place and Kingston Wheelers in third place. 

The last race will be at the Lee Valley Velopark on Wednesday 20th August at 7.30pm. Entry on the line is available but the organisers strongly advise entering online prior to the event if you can. You can enter online here.

Remember that to qualify top 20 prizes you need to have to done 5 races.