Cycling Ireland 2026 road racing

@dahat this is a national grade race so seperate races for all categories, we are doing it the same as the seamus kennedy race that we ran in March. Entry should be open later on today.

Folks, entries are now open for the sean nolan grand prix on the 21st june

https://eventmaster.ie/event/VqxohERTwv

See you there, burger

Also on the podcast I think concensus on a need for some kind of entry level racing. Maybe not room for 4 senior categories but some kind of system. Doing away with A4 has had huge consequences numbers wise.

Needs more than that.

these ring true, some type of introductory category or a way to return after a prolonged gap needed. with some bit of enforcement that there aren't what you would call established C3 racers dropping down in to massage their ego. can see that happening in local leagues too, so even they are somewhat inaccessible for someone trying to get onboard. Getting dropped is fine if there is a reasonable and achievable margin to go and improve on over a number of races.

We are in the midst of massive social, economic and political change and at times like these, people I think naturally become more cautious and conservative. Volunteerism and positive social contribution is in decline, some might say crisis. I'm part of a research project investigating why this is happening and so far, there are no straightforward solutions. Add in the astronomical hike in the price of so many things, relative to people's earnings, not to mention the latent road rage and constant bickering about cyclists and you have a right maelstrom of reasons why 'traditional' road racing is not what it was a mere 6 or 7 years ago. It is futile to point fingers at CI or those volunteers, often long-time stalwarts, who are keeping things on the road. A time for consolidation, rationalisation, or simply starting over from scratch with kids and teenagers at local level might well be the only solution. That will require an entire new cohort of volunteers and club leaders and until that happens, we might continue to struggle. Myself? I'm in the IVCA and love cyclocross and will continue to help promote and stage various races when I can, but my open road race days are probably at an end. I don't think the sport at open road level should be needing me to race to stay viable, but its going that way.

Can only see it happening at the national series races to be honest as the natural fall off of riders happen from now on.Maybe I'm wrong but let's see.There is a slight difference this year as opposed to last year that it is within the promoters right to combine the categories even at national series races if the entry level is below a certain number (can't remember the figures).Another possibility going forward is if there are enough C1s for a stand alone race there's always the possibility of promoting a combined C2C3 race.