Welwyn Wheelers Cyclo-Cross at Stanborough Park
Welwyn Wheelers Cycling Club have been regular users of the Stanborough Park site over the years and we were delighted to recently provide the venue for another successful event for them, in their 75th anniversary year.
Welwyn Wheelers Cycling Club, who are based at Better, Gosling Sports Park, hosted round seven of Central Cyclo-cross League at Stanborough Park on Sunday the 23rd of October 2022.
The club have built an excellent relationship with Better Leisure, which has enabled development of the course over the past few years, making it technically challenging and one of the favourite venues on the regional Cyclo-cross calendar.
The event was supported by a team of around 80 volunteers on the day and attracted 315 riders from across the south-east. A full race schedule opened with 5 to 16-yr-old youth riders competing in their respective age categories, followed by Junior and Senior riders in the afternoon.
Biblical weather conditions meant what had been predicted as a fast course became challenging and highly technical, as riders battled against the elements and the mud! Youth riders took the brunt of the wet weather, with the sun not making an appearance until the afternoon.
The adults didn’t get away lightly with the course having been churned up by earlier races. Despite conditions, feedback from riders again confirmed Stanborough Park as a fantastic venue for cross.
If you are interested in getting into cyclo-cross, Welwyn Wheelers offers experienced and improver training sessions at Gosling Sports Park. Working in partnership with Better Leisure, the club has developed a purpose-built off-road facility around the perimeter of Gosling velodrome. All sessions are pay-as-you-go and open to non-members.
The club will also be hosting two rounds of Muddy Monsters at the Gosling Sports Park, offering youngsters aged 5–14 a fun introduction into off-road racing. For more information visit https://welwynwheelers.org.uk/muddy-monsters-series-22-23
All photography was kindly supplied, free of charge, by Steve Merchant Photography, https://stevemerchantphotography.co.uk