Road Working Group Six Week Review
In line with the planned changes for Road Racing for the
2025 season, Cycling Ireland, Road Working Group leads, provinces and
calendar leads recently completed the first six-week review of the updated
system. The review took account of the views from each province and has made
some recommendations for immediate improvement.
As outlined in the review document, available below, Full
Competition membership has seen its first increase in four years, up 18% from
2024.This is a very welcome development, but further challenges remain.
This increase in numbers has seen 1692 C3 licence holders,
372 C2 riders, and 195 C1 riders. The changes to licencing and upgrades have
already seen over 30 junior riders climbing the categories, with the long-term
plan being that the C1 category grows to 250 riders with these upgrades.
Race entry numbers have seen a steady increase, for the most
part avoiding combining multiple categories. The newly designated National
Grade events have seen particular growth compared to their 2024 entries.
In terms of Regional Events, as is evidenced in the
document, some events held on weekends with multiple conflicting events have
suffered in terms of entries. It is becoming apparent through rider feedback
that many riders struggle to attend two races on the one weekend. The Working
Group have taken this on board and are looking at ways to remedy through
engaging with organisers and calendar co-ordinators this issue moving forward
this season and into 2026.
The increase in numbers and standard in the C3 category has
been overall a welcome change, but has also hammered home the importance of league
and club racing as the entry point for riders starting out in racing.
While the numbers for women’s racing have held strong with 2024
numbers, the plan remains to grow women’s participation in racing, and the
group will engage further with the Women’s Commission to this end.
The Working Group is also recommending further engagement
with Masters riders, and a potential Masters only mini-series for five or six
events in the run up to National Championships.
Find the full document here.