Welcome to Imperial Racing Team.
A cycle racing club: to race, to promote racing across the sport and promote races for others.

Imperial / im’pIerIal / a. majestic : derived from imperiale (Fr.), a great cyclist: for example Laurent Jalabert ; not to be confused with imperial rule.

Imperial Winter Series 2011/2012

ON THE TRAIL OF THE AWESOME PINE

London Dymano Jamie Pine dominates the Imperial Winter Series

In the E123 races we have again welcomed old friends and met new ones and are glad that this mix keeps the racing and the series fresh. It was particularly good to see Jamie Pine back for more this year but this time in the E123 series – he won the 3rd cat series 2010/2011– and is now a consistent winner taking 8 of the 12 races. Jamie is a wonderful sprinter and great to see in action.

After the final race of the series, in zero degrees, a large gathering of spectators transferred to the club house for the prize presentation with guest Roger Hammond awarding the prizes. The awards commenced with the 3rd cats culminating in the podium places – 1st and 2nd places finished on equal points – and the contrast between elated winner Peter Hudson and the disappointment of second place Angelo Christides was self-evident. At the end of the day they were only separated by number of wins.

In the E123 series, prizes were awarded to 20th place and the stand out riders made up the top three slots on the podium – Jamie Pine was the clear winner and was joined by Steve Golla and young Rory Townsend. Jamie welcomed his 1st prize of £500 with flowers, champagne, MaxiFuel bag and gels, and said a few words thanking the organisers on behalf of the riders. After a brief intro the award for the Combative rider of the series was presented to Conall Yates for his attacking spirit.

Before the random prize draw Roger took a few questions from the audience; he received a warm reception, his natural modesty and friendliness securing everyone’s attention. He responded in his usual eloquent and measured manner on questions about his pro career and the challenges now facing him. He highlighted the most rewarding aspects; everything coming together perfectly for the Junior Cyclo- Cross World Championships - and the most frustrating, his 3rd place at Paris Roubaix and lost opportunity of a Classics win in Ghent-Wevelgem! Reassuringly he concluded by noting that ‘once a cyclist, always a cyclist’ and hoped to stay in cycling in some form - however, with his wife Kara expecting their first baby in the coming weeks he may not have much time to ponder his future!

Although the Ladies series finished over the Christmas period we would like to mention them again here and thank them for their support.

We are exceptionally grateful again to our sponsors - Henry Furniss and the WyndyMilla team, MaxiFuel, Sigma Sport and SurfPrint - who allow us to provide additional rewards to the riders for their hard efforts and providing the excitement each race.

Thank you for racing with us and we wish you all the best for the 2012 season.

Lucy, Richard & Doug

Imperial Winter Series 2011/2012

First race 3rd December - are you ready?

The cyclo cross season might be in full swing but let’s not forget that most of us are already thinking about the road season in 2012 – so welcome again then to the 2011/12 Imperial Winter series - we’ll have a packed programme to cater for everyone as usual. The introduction of the Women’s race last year (over the Christmas break) proved a great success and seemed to hit the spot with the riders so this is a definite again; we would love to see it attracting a bigger, stronger field. Similarly we are delighted to continue our strong links with WyndyMilla and Maxifuel and this will again major on the up and coming categories but with some further recognition for the main E123 race.

One of the unique joys of running a series over a long period is to see the changing faces, many of those new ones, and last year’s series featured some strong rides by some new names and we remain convinced that Hillingdon provides a safe environment for riders to take up road racing. There has been much debate about the standard of racing at Hillingdon, some related to the standard of riding and some to the direction of racing. We consider that the chances of incidents are minimised by grouping riders of similar standard and by limiting the sizes of the field; by offering more category specific races we believe we are aligned to this. In respect of the question about clockwise vs. anti-clockwise again we see no evidence that this is affecting track safety and are maintaining the traditional direction for this year. However, plans are in place to replace the judge’s hut at the top of the hill with a new facility on the apron; this may mean a change in the longer term – most of you will be aware how cold it is standing on the top of the hill in winter, plus the difficulty of operating the photo finish equipment with frozen fingers!

The new club house has been a very welcome addition to the operational and comfort levels at Hillingdon; it was great to see riders, supporters and family staying on to talk about the racing and cycling in general – it’s not always about the racing! It is difficult to see how we survived for so long without it! However, you will appreciate that this is a costly facility to run and a result there has been a slight increase in fees this year which we will have to pass on – we recognise that these are difficult times so have tried to minimise this.

And so to the prizes! We will again be having overall prize money for the E123 and 3rd cat. races. These are effectively linked to the numbers of races we run and despite losing 2 last year because of snow we maintained the same level as previous years; we hope to do the same again this year.

E123 – Maxifuel packs to the top 3 overall

3rd Cat – Overall top 3 places win a free WyndyMilla custom cycling shoe insert fitting at their HQ near Guildford ; competitors will also be entered into a random selected finishing place each week to receive a Maxifuel pack of products.

4th Cat – Each week a random finish place will receive a Bike Fit courtesy of WyndyMilla

Women’s – a Maxifuel bag of products for the top 3 overall

Online (the web) entries proved successful for fast tracking at the sign-on table, so thanks to Rider HQ, they will be continuing this option for us again this season.

Ok, have you got all that? Series starts Saturday 3rd December, 12 rounds at the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, comfortable club house and the usual Imperial Racing Teas will be provided.

Coaching

Again this year, there’s the opportunity to get in some coaching on circuit racing before the racing gets underway. Mark February 18th 2012 (it’s a Saturday) in your diary, as Prime Coaching will come to the Hillingdon Circuit for a four-hour (1-5pm) training session on the do’s and don’ts and probably a few ‘cunning tricks to have up your sleeve’ that’ll be sure to have you ready in every way for when the action kicks off. No question, circuit racing can be intense and riding in a fast moving peloton around a technical undulating circuit calls for an understanding of racing etiquette. If circuit racing is new to you, this is a must-attend. Don't forget to register to avoid disappointment.

Sponsorship

WyndyMilla are now the established royal family of British cycling’s new wave of custom cool – young, pink and fresh - click on the link to their One Stop Go-Faster shop. WyndyMilla website
Developed by Maximuscle, Europe's leading sports nutrition company, Maxifuel is committed to providing proven, safe and effective products to help you beat your best during exercise - whether you're an elite athlete or a fitness junkie. Click on the links to view their full range of products and services. MaxiFuel website

Contact

If you have any queries about the Imperial Winter Series, please contact Lucy Collins on 07740628810 or email Lucy@imperialracingteam.com

A very short video (just 3 minutes) rounding up the feel of the
2009/2010 Imperial Winter Series. Includes out takes.

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