Speed, power, tactics, skill, endurance, climbing, sprinting, teamwork, glory. This is road racing!
Road races are massed start events, the most famous of which are the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
Twickenham CC has a strong tradition of road racing and has several members and former members who have been national, international and world champions, including Dave Nie, Spencer Smith and Roger Hammond.
The Club’s oldest active member, Ken Ryall, joined the club in 1933 and was England Team Manager in 1959, whilst former professional road racer Doug Collins, (TCC life member and national treasure) is still an active member of the club.
Amateur riders race for glory, cash prizes, and British Cycling points which are awarded on a completely baffling tiered system where Riders and Clubs are ranked regionally and nationally by the number of points they gain.
If you have not raced before then there are a number of local races that take place on closed circuits, the closest ones being Hillingdon (Tuesday evenings in the spring and summer, Saturdays in the winter) and Chertsey (generally once a month on Saturday or Sunday from February to October).
Our men’s squad take part in both the Surrey League and South East Road Race League and many other independent local events. These typically involve between 40 and 80 riders covering distances of 80-140 km on the open road. There are also a number of stage races that take place in the South-East each year.
Youth racing normally takes place on Closed Circuits, before progressing to the open roads at Junior level.
Twickenham's Ladies Squad are also actively involved in the Women's National Team Series in which we claimed an impressive 3rd place overall in 2007, and improved upon that by finishing 2nd in 2008.