Hellyer Racer Development Program
We are pleased to finally introduce the Hellyer Racer Development Program! This program has been in the works for a long time and fills a critical gap in our race programs. We created this program to help transition riders in the Saturday morning beginner sessions to become more attuned to racing Wednesday or Friday nights. This program provides potential racers with the opportunity to connect and train with others who may be new to racing and haven’t connected with teams, coaching or mentoring to guide them through the racing season. The program will have both track and road/criterium components so racers build both discipline skill sets.
- The program will kick-off with structured racing and training every Monday Night at Hellyer, 6pm-9pm, March 11th through August 26th. These sessions will help prepare new-to-the-track racers by creating the opportunity to learn more about contesting mass start events at Hellyer in a controlled environment. Each session introduces participants to the format of race night, velodrome rules, safety, etiquette, race tactics and more. We cover scratch, points, miss and out among other types of track races. The Monday night series will host guest coaches and racers that will share valuable racing and training techniques to assist you in being comfortable with contesting races. The session is $5, another $5 to rent a bike (+ $6 for parking).
- To foster the relationship between road and track, we’ve partnered with Red Kite Racing and will be at the events in the Red Kite Criterium Series. You’ll find us at the Hellyer Velodrome tent, this will serve as a location for you to join together with fellow track and criterium racers, learn more about Hellyer and its’ programs, we’ll also have a number of free passes to come and try Hellyer if you haven’t had the opportunity as of yet. The NCNCA will also have mentors at a number of these criteriums, we’ll be sure to have them stop by the tent!
The best part is there’s no charge to be part of the program, it’s team neutral, we’re simply here to provide an entry point to both new track and criterium racers.
For those of you that know me I have a strong love of track racing along with supporting many programs at the Hellyer County Park Velodrome, along with time spent on my road bike. My history in bike racing may not be as long as many in the community, but this provides a unique insight towards track and criterium racing, the view from the bottom up for the new bike racer. I’m personally very excited about offering this program, with support of the Northern California Velodrome Association, Red Kite Racing and collaboration with the NCNCA, and what it means to developing our next generation of racers!
More information is available here, be sure to check back often for updates: http://www.ridethetrack.com/development
See you at the track or at a Red Kite Omnium Criterium!
Steve Jones