Many people are very familiar with League 2000 but equally there will be a lot who don’t know what it’s all about, so this is by way of explanation and also a photo journal of a typical night at L2K.
Basically, it’s a kind of stage race held at Prissick over the space of a few hours covering 12 Monday evenings from April to August (roughly, but not exactly, every 2 weeks).
There’s a skills course, a time trial and finally a handicapped road race (your handicap being based on your TT time), with points awarded for each stage to give an overall score on the night. These scores are added up week by week over summer to give an overall league table. Naturally, being open to children aged 4 to 16+, the league is split into age categories.
League 2000 has been running for over 20 years now, bringing pleasure to up to 100 children per session and being the launch pad for many of the region’s cyclists. It would not exist without the dedication of its full-time organisers and their on-the-night helpers and marshals who are drawn mainly from Cleveland Wheelers and the parents of the children taking part, all on a volunteer basis.
Hopefully this post this will encourage those who have children who they feel would benefit from and enjoy the activity to bring them along, and equally to encourage those who can spare a Monday night now and then come along and volunteer.
The photo-journal continues below:
Before riders can sign on for the night their bikes need to be “gear checked” to ensure the ratios being used comply to British Schools Cycling regulations. This is primarily aimed at making sure the children do not over-strain their leg joints.
Quite often a bike needs “fettling” to keep it within regulation.
Once bikes are checked and the riders have signed on, they can begin the event. This usually starts with the skills course which can be taking place as other riders are turning up for sign-on.
Then they move on to the Time Trial…
Finally comes the handicapped road race, or rather a series of them, organised more-or-less around age, but with ability playing a factor too.
Finishing positions are scrutinised by the timekeepers before being passed on to the backroom staff for processing, with the resulting on-the-night results and league tables being produced ASAP.
While the racing is going on the parents can watch and encourage from trackside or relax in the pit area where refreshments and snacks are on sale.
A full gallery of the night’s action can be found below.
Any photos can be downloaded and used for your own purposes (for non-commercial use only).
Cleveland Wheelers 