CycleClips 18 January 2013

CTC redresses the balance; Lancing the boil of corruption? The roads more travelled; Getting Britain cycling; Around the world with Josie Dew; Orbital Cycling Festival; Volunteer of the Year; Snow mobile

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CAMPAIGNING

MTB

CTC is at The London Bike Show until Sunday 20 January. CTC members can get an adult ticket for just £12 plus a booking fee using the code CTC. If you turn up on our stand tomorrow at 1.30pm, you may also get a glass of bubbly!

CTC redresses the balance

Tomorrow sees the unveiling at the London Bike Show of Team CTC, our new elite amateur women’s road racing team, co-sponsored by green energy uk, Butterworth Spengler, Merlin Cycles and Madison. The team will be taking part in races both in the UK and abroad. Team members will also act as ambassadors for women’s cycling. CTC Chief Executive Gordon Seabright said: “There’s clearly an imbalance in the sport, especially when it comes to funding the women’s side. We want to show by actions and not just by words that we support women’s cycling.”

By a strange coincidence, the news of CTC’s first venture into road cycling sponsorship came on the day that Olympic gold medallist Nicole Cooke announced her retirement from competing. In her no-holds-barred retirement speech, she discussed the corruption, drug taking – and gender inequality - in the sport.

Lancing the boil of corruption?

In contrast to Nicole’s free and frank interview with The Guardian, Lance Armstrong’s heavily anticipated ‘confessional’ with Oprah Winfrey appears to have done little to silence his critics. Despite finally admitting to lying, doping and bullying, he stopped short of accepting he cheated, saying that, aseverybody took banned substances, “I viewed it as a level playing field.” But he did admit that: “People will see me as someone who has disrespected the [Tour de France] and the sport…and I did.” Which may be small comfort to The Sunday Times journalist David Walsh, who has spent 13 years waiting for this moment, or Armstrong's other ‘victims’.

The roads more travelled

Professional road riding may be slightly tarnished by the Lance Armstrong affair but it won’t stop the rest of us from enjoying taking our bikes out. With the popularity of road cycling at a high, Cycling 2013 - a Pocket Guide to Road Cycling is the perfect way to find out about all the organised events around the UK. It is packed with independent reviews of over 800 events, including sportives, Audaxes, road races, time trials, CTC events and leisure rides. The guidebook costs £12.99 but CTC members can save 36 per cent by ordering using a CTC membership number or the discount code CTC1310 before 31 January.

Getting Britain cycling

The first session of the All Party Cycling Group's inquiry into 'Get Britain Cycling' starts on Wednesday 23 January, and runs each week (with one exception) for the next seven weeks. First up is the strategy for cycling. CTC’s Roger Geffen will give evidence, alongside other cycling organisations, academics and journalists. Members of the public are also welcome to attend or you can follow the sessions on twitter: #getbritaincycling

Around the world with Josie Dew

If riding further afield than the UK is one of your aims for 2013, an illustrated talk by CTC Vice President Josie Dew might whet your appetite. Josie will discuss her travels by bike across six continents, 49 countries and 457,000 miles at Milland Village Memorial Hall, West Sussex on Thursday 31 January. Tickets cost £10 and are available from Hollycombe School.

Take off for summer

Also in West Sussex - but not until the summer - is the Orbital Cycling Festival at the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Running from 26-28 July 2013, this new event will feature races for men, women and children, as well as an exhibition area and activities for all the family. CTC will be there too so why not put the date in your diary now?

Let's hear it for the volunteers!

You still have time to vote for your favourite unsung hero in CTC’s Volunteer of the Year Awards. Nominations close on 17 February and the winners will be announced at the National Dinner in May. Categories include: Volunteer Achievement ; Voluntary Group Achievement; Local Campaigner; Young Volunteer; and best Youth Club or Project of 2012.

Snow mobile

Summer seems a long way off: as CycleClips goes to press, large drifts of snow are piling up outside CTC’s office in Guildford; and the editor is wondering how she will make it home. Luckily, CTC Senior Off-Road Officer Dan Cook has just written a handy guide to riding an MTB in snow and ice so she should be OK. But she may be gone some time…

CTC Holidays availability

If you have any feedback on CycleClips, please email publicity@ctc.org.uk. If you are a CTC member and you would like to subscribe to CycleClips, please email your membership number and request to membership@ctc.org.uk. If you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter, please click here. To view the CycleClips archive, please click here.

CycleClips 18 January 2013

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