🚴‍♀️ Bury Clarion’s Pimbo Road Race – A Huge Success! 🚴‍♂️

Last Saturday the 28th March, Bury Clarion did something none of us had ever done before — we organised two road races at Pimbo:

• Women’s Regional A (Cat 2/3/4)
• Open Regional B (Cat 3/4)

We welcomed 24 women riders and a full field of 80 in the open race, which is a fantastic success.

The preparations began back in October, when we expressed interest in organising a road race. We are all aware of the shortage of lower-level racing opportunities in the region, and these local races are absolutely vital for the grassroots of our sport. Without them, there would be no future stars and no great Tours to watch on TV. Riders need somewhere to learn their racecraft — and not everyone can afford a season in Belgium!

We received a huge amount of support from British Cycling, especially Heather Bamforth, who was incredibly generous with her time in talking us through everything that needed doing. To be fair, there was quite a bit of administration and paperwork upfront — far more than we had anticipated — and we spent several evenings working through it.

Mark Jones took on most of the admin, while I (Joanna) focused on the social media campaign and a bit of “prize begging”, which resulted in some beautiful cycling kit being donated by Jake Wright at Lusso.

Ken Woodward was an incredible help. We spoke almost weekly to check progress and make sure nothing was being missed. On the day he did so much that he nearly missed lunch and cakes at HQ — signage, radio setup, and chief judging support alongside Mark.

The judging was probably the most stressful part of the day. There was no timing chip system in place, so we had to rely on cameras and phones to record the finish. Thankfully Heather and her husband Fred stepped in to help Mark and Ken. They had done it before and were much more confident. We spent Sunday evening checking and rechecking the footage, but we’re confident the results were as accurate as possible.

What was most encouraging, however, was that we didn’t have to beg for help from the club. We instantly had 13 marshals plus HQ staff ready to give up their day to support the club and the sport we all love.

These members all have families and busy lives, yet they exceeded every expectation and delivered on the day with smiles on their faces.

👏 Huge thanks to everyone who stood out on the course for hours in very cold conditions to keep the race safe:

• Katherine and Neil Swithenbank
• Louise and Neil Gorton
• Huw Evans
• Declan Brady and Laura Tring (who also represented us in the women’s race)
• James Duffy (who also assisted the chief commissaire in the open race)
• Kim Shaw
• Jackie Whelan
• Carl Boslem (marshalling women’s race and also racing in the open event)
• Chris Shepherd (giving moral support to the racers on the start line as well)

🏁 HQ Team
Angela Donohoe, Caroline Macfarlane and Jackie Whelan efficiently registered 100+ riders, handled parental consent forms, race licences, cash, change, and organised prize envelopes. Registration HQ is always chaos, and I was so impressed by how well they delivered in roles they had never done before.

🎂 Special mention to Kim and Jackie for baking an amazing amount of master-chef-level cakes to keep officials, helpers and riders well fed.

It was also lovely to see Allison Isobar popping in and offering help on the day.

🥪 Mark and I made a huge pile of sandwiches the night before for all BC officials and volunteers — much cheaper than buying meal deals! We made too many, but unsurprisingly there was no waste with dozens of hungry cyclists around HQ.

🚗 Race convoy
Kamil Waligora and I were the lead car drivers for both races, a role that requires two vehicles under British Cycling rules. We drove at the front of the convoy, ensuring the one major junction into Pimbo was closed on every lap, and that the other junctions were safely managed so the race could run smoothly. We had both completed lead-car training during the Clayton Classic in February. Kamil also lent us a brilliant action camera which proved invaluable for judging.

💪 Our riders made us proud
Our first-claim members Laura Tring, Carl Boslem and Stephen Fletcher all rode strongly.

We also had second-claim members racing in 360 Cycling kit:

• Andy Patterson (fastest V40)
• Chris Maffei
• Adam Hindley
• Tom Hassell

⭐ A special shoutout goes to our Davey Allanson, who lit up the bunch by winning two prime laps and taking fastest U18. He improves every year and clearly has a very bright future ahead. We’re proud that our bursary fund has helped support him.

💷 Speaking of the bursary fund…
All profits from the race will go directly towards supporting our young riders. Final accounts are still to come, but it currently looks like we’ve raised around £500, which is a fantastic result.

This event was a huge success and brilliant promotion for Bury Clarion on a national scale, with riders travelling from as far as London and Newcastle.

The club has proven that it can work together brilliantly and deliver an event to the highest possible standard.

Whether you’re a racer or a social rider, there is always a way to get involved and play an important role in supporting the club and the grassroots of the sport.

Personally, I am incredibly impressed by every single person involved and deeply grateful for all the help we received.

Thank you all — you were amazing! 🙌