Cycling is a sport for everyone. Especially with lockdown still in the near past, the exercise bike has become a key part of makeshift home gyms, and the bike itself has been a vessel for enjoyment in hard times. The sport has become immeasurably more popular, and does not show any signs of slowing down. The BUCS road racing championships are the epitome of university race cycling, and it promises to be a great event.
When and Where?
The BUCS road racing championships will take place at Loughborough university on the 22 May. The women are up first, starting at 09:00, and the men follow them at 13:00. Hosted by Loughborough, the BUCS road racing championships will see athletes from universities across the country powering around the Wymondham circuit to see who will come out on top.
The Wymondham course is 15.3km long, and is reasonably open with some punchy climbs. Starting on a kind downhill, the riders will then take on a steady incline for around three kilometres before a steep downhill section. What comes up must also come down, and it seems that the opposite is also true as the riders have a huge climb back up at around eleven kilometres in. With some short, but sweet, climbs dotted around the course, it should allow for some fast and entertaining racing. The women’s course is 6 laps (91.8km), and the men’s is 8 laps (122.4km).
Who?
As with any BUCS event, any university are eligible to send athletes to the BUCS road racing championships. These championships are very open in terms of entries, as universities are able to send as many athletes as they wish. This will mean that a wide array of talent will be on show, and perhaps an unlikely winner will be crowned come the end of the day.
The women’s race currently has 29 entries, with a huge 12 of whom are from Loughborough. Other strong universities like Birmingham and Oxford will be looking to challenge Loughborough’s dominance, however. As with many other sports, Loughborough has a long established supremacy in the sport of cycling. This is mainly due to the Loughborough Cycling Academy, as well as Loughborough Lightning – a performance racing squad.
There are a huge 78 entries for the men’s races, meaning that there should be some fantastic racing on show throughout. 14 of these entries will be donning Loughborough’s African Violet, but they hold far less of a stranglehold here than in the women’s event. Therefore, the field is more open for a lesser known university to come through and take victory at the BUCS road racing championships.