2014 Road Race - New Course

The Bec are never scared to push the boundaries and try new stuff and this years road race course is no exception. While the Ladies Mile Circuit which has used over the last couple of years has lead to some good racing, the endless loops needed to make up the miles make us all dizzy! 

So this year we're combining the Ladies Mile with the Crowborough Circuit, which hasn't been used since 2009 and so will be new to a lot of riders. In fact we've had to work hard to get the loop risk assessed and cleared through the police to bring it back into use; hence the course only being published a week before the race (Apologies for this)

Course Description

From the HQ in Groombridge we will ride up to the top of the Ladies Mile, neutralising as soon as we're out of town. Then it's a further 10 laps round to the lap board. The course has a long drag, but is characterised by it's sharp turns and at only 4 miles around feels like a big crit circuit. At the end of Ladies Mile we turn right and continue onto the Crowborough Circuit.

After riding through Friar's Gate and turning off the main road riders hit the Marden's Hill Climb which last 1.3 miles until reaching Crowborough Town. At which point there's a wide fast descent and couple of short sharp climbs to break the momentum and then it's back onto the main road at Friar's Gate. 

After 6 laps around this second circuit we go straight on up the B2188 and finish on a 800 meter clear open uphill section leading into Ashdown Forest. Then it's all downhill back to the HQ.

Here's my recce of the course last year -  STRAVA

There's still places available to ride this new course - ENTER HERE