Staffordshire Cycling Festival 15 by ruth beck

Welcome Thanks for picking up our official guide to the 2015 Staffordshire Cycling Festival. Over the next 36 pages we’ll tell you everything there is to know about the people, events and activities that make up these 2 days of cycling that revolve around Stafford and Shugborough. If you’re a keen rider yourself we’ve got Strider Bike challenges and a free ride around the professional race circuit in the town centre on Friday 3rd July and 2 challenging sportive rides to choose from on Saturday 4th July. For those preferring to cheer on from the sidelines, there’s a feast of pro racing across the weekend too with a round of the British Cycling Elite Circuit Series on Friday night before rounds of their Elite Road Series and National Women’s Series on Saturday. All the information in this guide is up to date at the time of going to print, but for the very latest on the event, follow us on twitter and facebook or head to the official website ridestaffs.co.uk. Staffordshire Cycling Festival would like to express its thanks to Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council, Francesco Group, Lewis Partnership, and all the other sponsors and volunteers who make the event possible. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor of the event, write to

ridestaffs@leadout.co.uk

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

History There have been pro bike races in the town centre in Stafford many times in the past, and the town has featured on the route of the Milk Race and Tour of Britain on more than one occasion, but the 2010 Stafford Grand Prix won by Olympic Champion Ed Clancy resurrected an event that hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been seen in the town for over 25 years, ushering in a new era of world class sport in the town. Since that first race in 2010 the event has grown each year and whatever the weather has thrown at it, the people of Stafford have turned out in their thousands to support the riders. In 2013 the Stafford Grand Prix became part of the event youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re reading about today and with that growth came the opportunity for amateur cyclists to participate in the event themselves when we introduced 2 sportives and a second day, making our event a fully fledged festival of cycling. This year, as well as the return of all the well loved races, sportives and activities at the festival from previous years, the event offers a new opportunity for casual cyclists and families to get involved with the introduction of Free Ride Friday. To find out more about the event and how you can be involved, head to

ridestaffs.co.uk

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For details of how to be part of Free Ride Friday, just head to ridestaffs.co.uk

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Free Ride Friday is all about enjoying the freedom of riding a bike, whether by yourself, with friends or with family. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be a professional to take part, just able to ride a bike and ready to have some fun.

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The cycling festival has always inspired people onto their bikes as a result of the spectacle and excitement that is brought to the town. But this year, people wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to wait to become a part of the festival with the introduction of Free Ride Friday!

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Friday at the Festival The first day of the festival is all about Friday Fun, so celebrate the end of the week by heading into Stafford town centre at the end of the day for an evening of entertainment that’s got something for everyone. The evening begins around the Start / Finish area outside the Swan Hotel and expands to fill the whole circuit as the evening goes on, culminating with the Stafford Grand Prix.

Friday’s Schedule 4.00pm Unicycle Street Sh 4.30pm Strider Bike

5.45pm Free Ride

7.15pm Support Race 8.30pm Stafford GP

Strider Bike Challenge It’s the youngsters who get things underway at the cycling festival again in 2015 as the Strider Bike Challenge takes to the streets. Under 5’s will tackle challenges that test their new found skills on two wheels and there’s a medal at the end for everyone! To find out how to sign up, head to ridestaffs.co.uk

STAFFORD

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

C FU SE OV LL AT ER Y IN ED G

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enjoy Stafford, enjoy Staffordshire Take advantage of fantastic discounts, offers and promotions in Stafford Town Centre and at many of Staffordshire’s top attractions.

striderbike.co.uk 01926 339107 Check out our site for venues offering

To apply for your FREE card and see the latest offers visit www.stafford-towncentre.co.uk or www.enjoystaffordshire.com or call 01785 619 000 *Cardholders who do not have internet access can visit the visitor information centre or library for details of offers. Terms and conditions apply.

Strider Bike Challenge! The Staffordshire Cycling Festival tries to reach the full spectrum of cyclists from playground to podium so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appropriate that the festival gets underway with our youngest participants in action. Sponsored by Strider Bike, market leaders in producing balance bikes, the Strider Bike Challenge will see our fearless youngsters put through their paces on a short course around our start/finish line by the Swan Hotel. Anyone under 5 can take part in the Strider Bike challenge, the team from Strider will provide bikes and even pads and helmets to borrow. Everyone gets a medal at the end to mark their participation in the event and show off to friends and family. For more info about Strider, head to

www.striderbike.co.uk

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

2015 25th June Much Ado About Nothing 11th July Open Air Shakespeare at Stafford Castle www.staffordfestivalshakespeare.co.uk

5th July

Party in the Park in Victoria Park

12th July

Teddy Bears Picnic

12th July

Live @ the Castle

at Izaak Waltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cottage at Stafford Castle

CMYK: 74.0.10.0

@StaffordFest Stafford Festival

Free Ride Friday! New for Friday evening in Stafford Town Centre is Free Ride Friday - the opportunity for families and individuals to ride the Stafford GP circuit between 5.45pm and 6.45pm. The mass participation event will be the first time that cyclists are allowed to ride through the town centre. Can you ride the free ride? This activity is just for fun so as long as you can ride a bike with confidence you are more than welcome. Under 18’s must wear a helmet, adults are strongly advised to wear one, but it is not compulsory. Younger riders must be on bikes that don’t have stabilisers, but can be on a tow bar with an adult or in a bike seat. Balance bikes and scooters are not suitable and will not be allowed. For those that are more experienced please note that this is not a race and we request that all riders respect the experience and speed of travel of others. Under 12’s must be accompanied by an adult rider at all times. How to register? There is no fee and you may cancel your registration at any time. You may also turn up on the day, however please be aware that for safety reasons there will be maximum number of riders on the course and we will operate on a first come-first served basis. To apply please complete the online registration form at

www.staffordshire.gov.uk/ staffordshirecyclingfestival What will you get when you finish? Every rider will receive a medal to commemorate their involvement in the event, you will also have the opportunity to obtain a photo of yourself riding under the finish line. More-over you will have the satisfaction of riding the course of the Stafford GP and then watching the pro-riders compete at stunning speeds just a couple of hours later so plan to stay and enjoy the fun!

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

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Pickering & Butters S O L I C I T O R S

Local Heroes Take to the Streets For the first time, in 2015 Staffordshire Cycling Festival will have a support race for local amateur riders to take part in. Hitting the streets at 7.15pm, the race will give the crowd a chance to practice their cheering as the build up begins to the 6th Stafford Grand Prix later in the evening.

Race Schedule 7.00pm Warm up

7.15pm Race Start

8.00pm Race Finish

8.05pm Presentations

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

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Stafford Grand Prix Jewel in the crown of the opening day of the festival and always one of the most hotly contested races on the UK calendar. The Stafford GP has seen some memorable racing since 2010, not to mention some memorable weather! The now regular finish outside the Swan Hotel is married to a new circuit for 2015 with possibly the longest finishing straight of any criterium in the UK this year, all the way from the north end of Gaolgate Street and nearly 400 metres in total. Also new for 2015 are sponsored corners on the circuit with Lewis Partnership, Rapid Racer Products and Pickering & Butters Solicitors all putting their mark on the town for the night! Other landmarks to look out for are the team pit area in the Market Square where you can drool over the bike bling and grab an autograph from one of our superstar cyclists! Lymestone Brewery will be on hand to make sure you stay well refreshed on the evening of the event with a new beer tent this year in the Market Square, a great vantage point for the racing throughout the evening. As well as the Swan Hotel and Bear Grill, long time sponsors of the event, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also delighted to welcome on board The Bean Encounter for 2015 as a new sponsor of the event. The Bean is just before one of the tightest corners of the circuit this year making it one of the most spectacular places to watch the race!

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

SHUGBOROUGH

Saturday at the Festival Day 2 of the festival sees the event move a short distance out of the town centre in Stafford and up to the picturesque grounds of Shugborough Hall. The day begins early for the cycling enthusiasts who have signed up to ride one of our two sportives, but for their friends, family and anyone else who wants to, what lies ahead is a leisurely day of relaxation with free access to the grounds and gardens of Shugborough courtesy of the festival. The daytime activity on Saturday at the festival takes place around the Hall itself at Shugborough. At 4pm in the evening, all our activity moves a short distance to the Farm, where our competitive races start and finish.

Saturdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Schedule 8.00am 66m Sportive riders depart 9.00am INTO 35 mile sportive riders depart 10.00pm Last Sportive riders leave Shugborough 4.00pm Sportive cut off time. Festival relocates to Shugborough Farm

Food and Drink Throughout the day at Shugborough The Lewis Partnership will be on hand to take care of filling hungry tummies while Lymestone Brewery will have plenty to keep you lubricated as you shout for your favourite riders.

5.00pm Mammoth MTB race 6.00pm Francesco Group Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grand Prix 7.30pm Stafford Kermesse 9.30pm Stafford Kermesse finish and prize presentation

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

Bramshall Milwich

Milwich Bank

Sandon

Feed Station Weston Hixon Marsh Farm Feed Station

Tixall

Milford Common

Great Haywood Blithfield Reservoir

Key Distances 8.5 miles Dog and Doublet Feed Station 17.5 miles Bramshall 22.5 miles Marsh Farm Feed Station 29 miles Hixon 33.5 miles Tixall

35m Sportive For the third year running, the shorter sportive at the Staffordshire Cycling Festival is sponsored by INTO, a county council initiative to encourage more people to use sustainable transport as they get about in their daily lives. Each year the project offers training and practical support to a number of local people who use this sportive as their first goal on a journey toward a healthier lifestyle. For 2015 the route for the sportive gets refreshed with a feed station at Sandonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dog and Doublet, climb over Milwich Bank and the rolling road to Uttoxeter all new features that precede the familiar return leg from Blithfield to Hixon and back into Shugborough. For more detail on the ride and to check the availability of places on either sportive, head to ridestaffs.co.uk.

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

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66 Mile Sportive As with its shorter counterpart, this years longer sportive route also gets a new look, venturing further north into Staffordshire than at any time in its short history. Along the way the varied route has lots of challenges and features that will make for a memorable ride on the day. Cobbles, a ford and even level crossings are man-made features of your adventure in Staffordshire as well as more familiar obstacles such as the climb over Milwich Bank that has featured in the Tour of Britain on more than one occasion. Detailed overview of the ride can be found on the event website at

ridestaffs.co.uk including links to download the route to a GPS unit.

Did you know Staffordshire Cycling Festival has its own YouTube Channel? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lots of video online about the festival including TV coverage of previous races from the festival, previews of this years races and animations detailing the route of both sportives.

Are you a Strava user? Entered for the sportive already? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Strava club for Staffordshire Cycling Festival Sportive riders, to join just head to strava.com and search for Staffordshire Cycling festival.

Head to

youtube.com/ ridestaffs to find out more and subscribe!

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

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Dog & Doublet INN

What’s in the Goody Bag? While our sportives certainly aren’t a race and there’s no prize for being first back to Shugborough, there is a reward waiting for every rider when they get to the finish. This years goody bags include the following items, with more to be added in the run up to the event: Stique Tool Two unbreakable tyre levers with a built in bottle opener, store for spare change and more Black Mamba Gloves Great for keeping hands clean whenever there’s a roadside emergency. Wella Shampoo Courtesy of Women’s Grand Prix sponsor Francesco Group

Lymestone Beer Token Swap it for a bottle to take away, or a half to celebrate your achievement there and then (can also be exchanged for a soft drink) Bulldog Moisturiser Not that you need it you handsome thing

Special Goody! Sportive Riders registering on FRIDAY receive a special Festival buff when you register!

INTO Towel Ideal for the kit bag Puncture Repair Outfit

Cake Token To exchange for a snack from the Lewis Partnership

 S ome of the items that will be included in goody bags on 4th July if you’re riding our sportives. STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

From http://go.h asbean.co.uk/wel

Mammoth MTB Race The Mammoth MTB challenge was introduced to the event in 2013 to the delight of the local off road community. Back for 2015, the format is the same, with a short, technical course that combines dirt and tarmac, all in sight of the start/finish line at Shugborough farm.

Race Schedule 4.30pm Registration 5.00pm Start 5.30pm Finish 5.45pm Prize ceremony

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

Spectator Information Spectator parking for all races at Shugborough is located shortly after you enter the site via The Farm Entrance (the Milford Entrance to Shugborough will be Entry Noshut). Parking is ÂŁ3 per car.

Please be aware that vehicles will not be able to enter or exit the grounds of Shugborough between 6.15pm and 9.45pm

Spectators Car Park

Spectators Entrance

The Francesco Group Women’s Grand Prix The Francesco Group is a well known name in Staffordshire Hairdressing with many salons and their own training academy. What’s not so well known is that the team at Francesco HQ are cycling crazy, using two wheels to stay fit as well as to raise money for some great causes. For the first time in 2015 Francesco Group have became a sponsor of our festival and have put their name to our women’s race which becomes the Francesco Group Women’s Grand Prix. The Francesco Group Women’s Grand Prix takes place at 6.00pm on Saturday 4th July in the grounds of Shugborough, utilising a circuit that will see them pass the finish line at Shugborough Farm roughly every three minutes over the duration of their 50 minute race.

Race Schedule 5.45pm Competitor warm up 6.00pm Start 6.50pm Finish 7.00pm Prize ceremony

Whilst short in length, the circuit for the Francesco Group Women’s Grand Prix is far from straight forward, each lap featuring three cattle grids and a number of tight bends that will require the winner to demonstrate a combination of speed, strength and agility on their route to victory as they get the evening’s elite racing underway.

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

Spectators Car Park

The Stafford Kermesse For the third year running at Shugborough, Leadout Cycling Ltd is delivering something rarely seen in the UK, a race on totally closed roads. The circuit for the Kermesse undergoes two major changes in 2015 with the race running clockwise for the first time and the finish line moving location to the farm on the Shugborough Estate. As one of the shortest events on the British Cycling Elite Road Series, the Kermesse at Shugborough is always a fast paced race that has the potential to throw up surprises. Last year saw Morgan Kneisky of Team Raleigh take the win, and Tom Stewart of Madison take third, but they were joined on the podium by the relatively unknown Andrew Hawdon, demonstrating that this is a race where anything can happen. The presence on the start line of big name teams like Condor-JLT and Team Wiggins will certainly ensure the pace is as high as ever, but whether they’ll have enough time to wear down the opposition is something we’ll have to wait for the big night to find out!

Key timings to be aware of are

6.15pm Last entry/exit to spectator car park 7.30pm Start 9.30pm Finish 9.40pm Prize ceremony 9.45pm Car Park reopens for spectator exit

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

The Teams At the time of going to press, the following teams had confirmed their entries in the pro races across the festival weekend:

JLT-Condor

In their previous incarnation as Rapha-Condor, the men in black have always been a popular feature of our races in Stafford, supporting the event every year. In 2014 the team enjoyed a clean sweep of the podium in the Stafford GP and they return this year eager to repeat that success.

Team Wiggins

Pedal Heaven

Formed to propel Bradley Wiggins toward Olympic Gold in Rio.

Growing out of the amateur ranks to become a fully fledged professional team this year.

The team is probably best described in the words of the man himself:

Pedal Heaven have already made their presence felt in the British Cycing Elite Road Series and Tour Series in 2015.

“Wiggins represents everything I fell in love with cycling for. It’s about being with a great group and enjoying the ride with the fans who make this sport so special.”

Expect great things from Pedal Heaven as they continue to climb through the ranks this season.

Also Entered

Catford CC/Equipe Banks

One Pro Cycling

With the stated ambition to one day participate in the biggest races in the cycling world such as the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España, One Pro Cycling has landed on the UK pro scene with quite a splash in 2015. The team was Co-founded by England cricketer Matt Prior, in December 2014 becoming a licenced UCI Continental level professional cycling team for its debut season.

@ONEProCycling

Polypipe

Velosure Starley Primal Team Raleigh

Madison Genesis

Hot on the heels of their victory in the Tour Series, the Madison Genesis team will be one of the favourites to challenge for victory on the streets of Stafford. The versatility and strength in depth of the team that’s directed by Roger Hammond means that they can be expected to be one of the key animators in the Kermesse too with locally based rider Liam Hollohan always amongst the front runners at Shugborough.

STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

Stafford 2012 2015 in numbers 9,000

4,846

Over visitors to the Bike Bus

pupils received scooter/ bikeability training

2,500

Dr Bike checks

4,926 pupils

470 adults taking

part in Bikeability cycle training, programmes and workshops

took part in Walk to School Month and Walk to School Week

5 schools and 10

businesses in Stafford received travel grants for cycle/scooter storage and changing facilities

@INTOStafford

35 Real time passenger info screens installed 4 travel information

totems installed

46 buses wi-fi enabled

INTO Staffs

FREE

Bus

WIFI

www.staffordshire.gov.uk/intostaffs

How the Race Happens Ever wondered how the Staffordshire Cycling Festival came into existence? Ever wondered how it’s paid for? Then read on! In 2010, promoter Paul Rowlands of Leadout Cycling Ltd organised the first Stafford Grand Prix cycle race with the backing of a number of local businesses and stakeholders in the town. That event grew to the point where in 2013, Leadout decided to add a second day to their event and created the Staffordshire Cycling Festival you’ll see on July 3rd and 4th this year. To make the event happen, local sponsorship money is raised along with contributions from stakeholders and added to the money raised from the entry fees for the two sportives to make up the event budget and from that, we deliver your cycling festival. If you’re a fan of the sport though, there is a way for you to get involved yourself. Head to crowdfunder.co.uk/staffordshire-cycling-festival to find out about the great rewards we’re offering you in return for making a donation to the event this year.

Supporters and Sponsors British Cycling INTO Francesco Group Staffordshire County Council Stafford Borough Council Lewis Partnership Rapid Racer Products Lymestone Brewery Pickering & Butters Solicitors Stafford Town Centre Partnership Stafford Railway Building Society Fortress Distribution Strider Bike Has Bean Coffee Matrix Mammoth Lifestlyle STAFFORDSHIRE CYCLING FESTIVAL 2015

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