Central Region participation in Youth Tour of Scotland 2017

Event details can be found here: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/147744/Scottish-Cycling-Youth-Tour-of-Scotland-2017

This is a fantastic opportunity to experience team racing in a stage race on closed roads in and around Perthshire and is a valuable development opportunity for riders interested in competing in the Inter-Regional Championships in 2017 or 2018 – although selection or otherwise for this Scottish Cycling event will not imply selection for subsequent Inter-Regional competitions.

Entry costs are £219 per rider (including full board accommodation at Strathallan School) plus £180 for each Team Manager, plus travel and other associated costs.

The Central Region Board currently funds full participation for Central Youth teams in the Inter-Regional events, which means that there is limited scope at this time for funding of any additional events.  Nevertheless, discussions with the Chair of the Board are positive and it is hoped that the Region will be able to provide some contributions to costs.  This, however, will not be able to be properly discussed and agreed until a Board meeting which is to be held towards the end of January.

The proposal at this stage is therefore that riders would need to be prepared to at least cover the cost of the entry (i.e. £219).  This is consistent with approaches being taken by other ‘local’ BC regions.

The date for confirmation of entry is 30 January, so we are asking that riders who are interested in being considered for selection, and whose parents are willing to pay a contribution as outlined above, to email centralyouthriders@btinternet.com by the end of Sunday 22 January, stating name, BC licence number and date of birth.  

In accordance with the desire for this to be a development opportunity for the Region’s riders, selection for the teams will be driven by consultation with the Central Region GBCT coach, Ric Jamieson.

Please note the following points of clarification:

• Boys event is Youth A only – i.e. born 2001 or 2002 and will be a team of 4 riders.
• Girls event is Youth A & B – i.e. born 2001, 2002, 2003 or 2004 and can be a team of 3 or 4 riders.  The preference is to take 4 riders.
• Riders must have Central as their region on their BC race licence.
• All riders interested in selection should think carefully about whether they are ready to cope with 4 arduous races over 3 days in potentially adverse weather conditions, coupled with long journeys to and from the event.
• The racing is of a high standard, and riders interested in selection for this event would also be expected to be planning to compete in at least some of the National Youth Circuit series in 2017.
• No entries will be made until after the Regional Board meeting and all selected riders will be asked to confirm their commitment before the Region submits any entry confirmation.

If you have any questions, including queries about costs, please in the first instance email centralyouthriders@btinternet.com.