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Lincoln Festival of Cycling latest news

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Parent Category: Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Category: News Cycling Pro Road & Mtb 2011

Published on Monday, 21 March 2011 17:34

Written by Luca Salvatelli

The dates for the 2011 Lincoln Festival of Cycling get closer and planning for the events are now coming towards their final outcome.

The Festival kicks off on Saturday May 7th with The Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive, a mass participation event for allcomers with a choice of two routes from Lincoln and back. The longer version covers 92 miles and takes in some of Lincolnshire's very pleasant areas of the Wolds with some pretty difficult climbing roads that will test the riders' abilities. The alternate 55 miles route misses out some of the big climbs and is suitable for all claases of riders with a basic fitness and experience level.

Both events start from Lincoln's Bishops Grosseteste Training College and complete their journey with a climb of the famous Michaelgate 1 in 6 cobbled climb up to the Cathedral and Castle to cross the Grand Prix finish line in Castle Square. Entries for these are coming along nicely with a total of 250 to date, 160 for long version and 90 for its shorter brother.

Sunday's Lincoln Grand Prix, now in its 56th consecutive edition, continues to expand with many of the featues started alongside the race proving a real success and are all back again to add to the atmosphere of the day.

More of that later but firstly to the Grand Prix which will again take place over 11 laps of the 8 mile circuit starting from the Sports Hub at the Yarborough Leisure Centre at 10 am and expected to complete its 86 miles at around 1.30 pm in Castle Square.

The home teams will be bringing their best riders to Lincoln and all these will be fighting hard for the Premier Calendar points and a share of the £4,230 prize list. Last year's winner Chris Newton has now retired from elite racing and there could well be a new name on the trophy on May 8th but it is good to see Malcolm Elliott again on the Motorpoint entry list to stake his claim as the country's favourite rider and just short of his 50th birthday a few weeks after race day. Malcolm won the Grand Prix way back in 1983 but it would be a brave man to discount him 28 years later.

The race will again feature the Brian Cossavella Michaelgate Trophy. This has been won in 2009 and 2010 by the race winner but has provided an added dimension to the race and is a tribute to a well know and hard working cycling official and organiser. Michaelgate is by no means an easy climb in the later stages of the race as the lactate starts to build up in the leg muscles but the large crowd expected at the race can be assured of a strong tussle for the points on each lap.

The race feed area proved to be a bit of an attraction last year as it was moved out on to the Long Leys Road climb back towards the City with all the teams setting up camps at the roadside with their colourful vehicles and vertical marker flags to ensure the riders are able to grab that much needed water bottle or nourishment bar. A good place to watch from but not to get in the way of the teams as they look for their riders.

The rapid descent and the right angle bends in the picturesque village of Burton are always a popular vantage point for viewing the race. This year the race coincides with the West Lindsey Open Churches Festival and the Church of St Vincents on the hillside is arranging a flower festival and offering tea,coffee and soft drinks from 10.30 am on race day.  All are welcome to call in to view this beautiful church with its lovely stained glass windows and the coronation chairs from the last 3 coronations which are located in the Monson Gallery or to walk round the churchyard with its many plants and flowers.

The tight route through the City of Lincoln and the finish areas has proven to be a problem with the long race convoy for the last few years and the 2011 race will incorporate a by-pass for the team vehicles vehicles to prevent them being delayed by Michaelgate and the built up areas and speed limits. The riders will continue to get help where needed from the three neutral service vehicles but the team cars will divert left at the top of Long Leys Road and rejoin the riders at the Burton Road roundabout. This will allow the team cars to get back in to the convoy much sooner and make things a lot safer. There will also be a last lap diversion to bring the team cars in to Bailgate to meet the riders after the finish line.

The major viewing areas certainly are around the Michaelgate climb and through Castle Square in to Bailgate where the race heads out of the City via the Roman Newport Arch. The Castle Square area will again have a number of extra events to entertain the large crowd with British Cycling's WATT bikes again providing a means to test physical outputs and compare these to those of British Cycling's national squad members. These were a big hit in 2010 with lots of members of the public and club cyclists having a go.

A;longside this there will be a Lincolnshire Sports Partnership attraction, the usual Bits for Bikes area, a clothing stall by Impsport and the popular Smoothies bar. Across the other side of the Square and on the road approaching Lincoln Castle the Lincolnshire Farmers' Market will be there again. These stands were busy all day last year and also served up some interesting snacks with Ostrich and Venison Burgers proving very popular.

Audi Lincolnshire, one of our race vehicle suppliers, will also have a new car display in this

area with staff on hand to talk to those who need four wheels as well as a bike.

In 2010 we introduced events for younger riders with a Michaelgate Hill Climb Challenge. British Cycling have now taken over this idea and will be organising Go-ride events with an inter-schools competition on a small circuit based on the race finish area. Riders will start at the finish line, turn left in to Bailgate and right at The White Hart in to Eastgate and right in to Minster Yard, alongside the Lincoln Cathedral to pass through the Exchequergate Arch back to Castle Square and right again back in to Bailgate. After the required number of laps they will carry straight on out of Exchequergate to the Grand Prix finish line. These will all be short events taking place in between the early laps of the Grand Prix and should provide some exciting racing for young riders and great photos with the Lincoln Cathedral as a magnificient backdrop. The route through Exchequergate will be barriered for these races which will be removed prior to the Grand Prix reaching its later stages.

Sponsorship and support for the Lincoln Grand Prix comes from County Conferences and Events, The University of Lincoln, City of Lincoln Council, Lincolnshire County Council, British Cycling, Jackson Building Centres, NatWest Bank, Lindum Group, Lincolnshire Co-operative, Impsport, Marshall Land Rover, Audi Lincolnshire, Lincoln Business Improvement Group, Lincolnshire Sports Partnership, Universal Cycle Centre, The White Hart Hotel, Active Nation, High5 and Danwoods Lincoln looks forward to a magnicient weekend of cycling and to playing host to the many thousands who enjoy this annual and very popular event.