Take part in the first post-lockdown national cycling event in Sussex.
Preston Park Youth Cycling Club is proud to be hosting the region’s best young cycling talent with Round 4 of the National Youth Omnium Series. Don’t miss this fun-filled day of racing at the historic Preston Park velodrome on Sunday 23rd May 2021. This will be the first major youth cycling event in Sussex since lockdown was eased, so we will be pulling out all the stops:
- The best U14 and U16 riders from across the region and beyond will be competing for places in the National Youth Omnium Final.
- A full race programme for U8, U10 and U12 riders – while not part of the national series, our younger riders still need high quality racing opportunities. Provided that you have previous experience of riding track bikes then you will be very welcome and we promise a fun packed day of racing.
- There will be five different events – Time Trial, Elimination Race, Scratch Race, Sprint and Points Race – with points awarded for each race and totalled up at the end for each age group, with equal prizes for boys and girls.
- A small army of PPYCC volunteers will be ready to make sure the day is a huge success, as this is our first major event since 2019 our volunteers are as keen as the riders to make this a day to remember.
- Outdoor catering from Charlie at Infinity Foods, Brighton’s finest health foods supplier.
- A 63 acre park and gardens that family and siblings can enjoy throughout the day, plus proximity to the city centre and seafront for those who need that post lockdown, big day out for the rest of the family.
- Racing starts at noon, and is expected to finish at 4.30pm, leaving plenty of time to visit the park or town centre before or afterwards!
The cut off for entries is the 15th May at 11pm – so don’t miss out!!
Come and race on sports most historic velodrome.
Come and race on a piece of global sporting history! Preston Park is a globally important cycling venue. Dating back to 1877 the velodrome was the first ever built in the UK and is now the oldest working velodrome in the world. The velodrome and its open air, flint-edged seating and surrounding grounds are protected by Historic England and attracted crowds of 10,000 spectators in its heyday. Today the venue plays host to a thriving cycling community as the home to both Sussex Track Racing League and Preston Park Youth Cycling Club, the grass track centre also being heavily used by St Peters Cricket Club.
Its listed status doesn’t prevent the velodrome being kept up to date of course! The last five years have seen major upgrades with new perimeter railings to bring the track up to date with modern safety requirements, extensive landscaping improvements to the flint seating area and the cricket pavilion is about to undergo a major refurbishment to bring it up to date for 21st century sports events. With both PPYCC and St Peters Cricket Club supporting burgeoning youth memberships, this historic sporting venue is set to remain of vital importance to the future of sport in our region.
Enjoy a much-needed family day at the seaside.
Everyone needs a big day out right now, and we are happy to say that Brighton is well and truly open for business.
Make your Youth Omnium visit a family day out to remember. While British Cycling’s Covid19 rules mean that only one parent or guardian per rider should be at the track venue, this doesn’t mean the rest of the family needs to stay at home. You can simply leave the car at the venue, hop on the Number 5 bus at Preston Park and be in the town centre in just 10 minutes.
You can see iconic attractions such as the Palace Pier, Royal Pavilion and i360, wander around the North Laine independent shops and The Lanes boutique shops or amble lazily along the beach and seafront.
Or you could just chill at Preston Park itself as the velodrome is situated within 63 acres of lawns and gardens including a beautiful rose garden, formal borders, wildflower meadows, a large childrens play area, multiple cafes and the largest municipal rock garden in Britain.
Put simply, there is loads to do for the whole family so use the opportunity to extend your Youth Omnium visit for a day to remember.
Getting there and getting around
Preston Park is easily accessible being directly on the A23 which runs alongside the park. The velodrome is located from Preston Drove by car or through the park by bike or foot. The post code is BN1 6LA. Click on the map image below to find Preston Park Velodrome in Google Maps.
The velodrome is situated within Brighton’s largest park with many gardens, play areas and cafes to explore. Click the image of the park below for a downloadable PDF map of the park.
The Number 5 bus service into Brighton city centre leaves Preston Park every 15 minutes. See the Brighton & Hove Bus Company website.
Prizes
We are very thankful to the following organisations for donating prizes.
Ensuring your safety
This years Omnium will be a little but different from previous years as we are going to follow British Cycling’s Covid safety guidelines. As an overview:
- Only one parent / guardian per rider is allowed on site. As the largest velodrome in the country, we have enough space on the cricket pitch to accommodate a parent/guardian safely in the track centre.
- We will offer outdoor catering.
- No changing rooms. However we are allowed to open the toilets in the cricket pavilion where a one-way system will operation.
- We are still allowed to use holders in the time trial as long as the holder holds from behind and wears a mask.
- There will be no sign-on table, riders will sign on virtually on the BC website. A volunteer will oversee the collection of race numbers by riders on the day.
- Riders will have to gear check bikes themselves with one volunteer observing.
Useful information
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/leisure-and-libraries/parks-and-green-spaces/preston-park