Dromara Cycling Club run a club league each year incorporating both time trials and road races. The events usually take place on a Thursday evening between April and September starting at 7 pm each evening. The events are held at various locations in County Down and are open to any club member, aged 12 or over, who holds at least a Cycling Ireland 'club competition' licence.
The league was set up by club member Bob Patterson who designed it so that all participants would have an equal chance of winning the league, regardless of gender, age or ability, as the 'points' are based on participation, commitment and personal improvement. At the end of the year there are trophies for both first and second place as well as special awards for the best placed female, youth and vet riders.
To run an event the club needs both timekeepers and marshalls. These helpers are drawn from the list of participants and are named in advance of the event. As an acknowledgement for their assistance, both types of helpers are awarded league points (see below).
Time handicaps
Time handicaps are applied in two ways. For time trials they are applied after the event in order to even out the various ability levels and find out who has made personal improvements. For road races, the time handicaps are applied by grouping similar ability riders together and setting them off at timed intervals. In theory, all riders should then come together at the end for a 'bunch finish'.
Riders begin the series of events with no time handicaps. The first time handicap is calculated after the first 10 mile (solo) time trial. The time handicap is calculated from the number of minutes and seconds above 20 minutes i.e. if Rider A completes the 10 mile time trial in 30 minutes then his/her time handicap for the next time trial will be 10 minutes. At the next 10 mile time trial Rider A completes the event in an 'actual time' of 28 minutes. With the 10 minute time handicap his/her 'handicap' time will be 18 minutes. This is then compared to the other riders, ranked in order of time and then points are awarded (see paragraph below). A report from each event is provided on the club website along with tables showing both the actual times and the handicapped times. After each subsequent 10 mile (solo) time trial, the handicap is recalculated based on the 'average' of all the 10 mile time trials during this season. In the example above, for the third 10 mile time trial, Rider A will have a 9 minute handicap (i.e. 30mins-20mins = 10mins, 28mins - 20mins = 8mins, average of 10mins and 8mins = 9mins).
Points awarded
For road races
The winner receives 50 points, second gets 45 points, third gets 40, fourth 35, fifth 30, sixth 29, seventh 28 etc. The minimum number of points awarded for completing a race is 25. Since 2009, points are also awarded for those who were unable to complete the full race distance. These points are based on the percentage of the course completed i.e. if the course is 10 laps and the rider completes 6 then the points awarded will be based on 25 points (minimum) multiplied by 0.6 (6 laps divided by 10 laps) giving a points value of 15.
For time trials
For time trials, the points are awarded on the fastest 'handicap' time. The winner gets 40 points, second gets 39, third gets 38 etc. The minimum number of points awarded for completing the distance is 25.
For timekeepers
In recognition of the vital job that timekeepers play, from 2009 onwards the timekeepers are to get a minimum of 27 points, with a maximum of one point less than the last participant gets (minimum of 27). Therefore, if at a time trial there are 10 participants, the winner would get 40 points, the 10th rider would get 31 and the timekeeper(s) would get 30 points.
For marshalls
From 2009 onwards, marshalls are to get 25 points for helping out. This will not depend on the number of participants.
[NOTE: Marshalls must be aged 18 or over]
Overall
At the end of the series of events, the final point totals will be calculated based on the best 20 out of 23 events.
Click
here to view the 2009
calendar (v10)
2009 League Summary table here
Main table here
2009 League Summary table here
Main table here
League reports
*RRace = Road Race
Further reading
If you wish to read about the 2008 league, click here.
| Round | Date | Type | Location | Report |
| 1 | 2 April 2009 | 2up tt | Downpatrick Road | here |
| 2 | 9 April 2009 | 2up tt | Dundrum Road | here |
| 3 | 16 April 2009 | 2up tt | Spa | here |
| 4 | 23 April 2009 | 10m tt | Lurgan Road | here |
| 5 | 30 April 2009 | RRace | Old Belfast Road | here |
| 6 | 7 May 2009 | 10m tt | Lackin Road | here |
| 7 | 14 May 2009 | 10m tt | Dundrum Road | here |
| 8 | 21 May 2009 | 16m tt | Hillsborough-Bhinch | here |
| 9 | 28 May 2009 | RRace | Anahilt triangle | here |
| 10 | 4 June 2009 | Hill climb | Dree Hill | here |
| 11 | 11 June 2009 | 10m tt | Gall Bog Road | here |
| 12 | 18 June 2009 | RRace | Drumaroad Road | here |
| 13 | 25 June 2009 | 25m tt | Banbridge Road | here |
| 14 | 2 July 2009 | 10m tt | Killyleagh Road | here |
| 15 | 9 July 2009 | RRace | Kinallen | here |
| 16 | 16 July 2009 | 16m tt | Bhinch-Hillsborough | here |
| 17 | 23 July 2009 | RRace | Old Belfast Road | here |
| 18 | 30 July 2009 | RRace | Anahilt | here |
| 19 | 6 August 2009 | 10m tt | Spa | here |
| 20 | 13 August 2009 | RRace | Magheraconluce Road | here |
| 21 | 20 August 2009 | 10m tt | Downpatrick Road | here |
| 22 | 27 August 2009 | 10m tt | Lurgan Road | here |
| 23 | 3 September 2009 | 10m tt | Dundrum Road | here |
Further reading
If you wish to read about the 2008 league, click here.
* last updated 14 May 2009
| Position |
Time
trials |
Road
races |
| 1st |
40 |
50 |
| 2nd |
39 |
45 |
| 3rd |
38 |
40 |
| 4th |
37 |
35 |
| 5th |
36 |
34 |
| 6th |
35 |
33 |
| 7th |
34 |
32 |
| 8th |
33 |
31 |
| 9th |
32 |
30 |
| 10th |
31 |
29 |
| 11th |
30 |
28 |
| 12th |
29 |
27 |
| 13th |
28 |
26 |
| 14th |
27 |
25 |
| 15th |
26 |
25 |
| 16th |
25 |
25 |
| 17th |
25 |
25 |
| 18th |
25 |
25 |
| 19th |
25 |
25 |
| 20th |
25 |
25 |