DDCX Women's development - first session

If the first DDCX women's development session of the season is anything to go by then 2013 is going to be a cracker year for women's cyclocross in Australia!

A total of sixteen women from experienced road cyclists to casual commuters came out to Darebin Parklands yesterday to develop their cyclocross skills.

During the two hour session the group took a step by step approach to the seemingly daunting barrier jump. Under the watchful eye of Nik Cee we covered dismounting, remounting and lifting exercises then put it all together with some serious barrier jumping practice.

The group picked up the skills really quickly and were looking so pro we put them through their paces with a few mock race starts.



On the sidelines DDCX's own Steve Duggan also put on an impromptu kids training session. The kids field looks set to break new records in 2013 as well!



The development sessions are designed to equip participants with the skills and confidence to start racing cyclocross. Hopefully those who came out yesterday will be able to practice the things they learnt and build on them at the next session.

The next session will be held at Harrison Street Velodrome at Brunswick on May 12 at 12pm. Its a special Mother's Day edition for bike riding mums who want to give cyclocross a go but all women & kids are welcome. We will run concurrent sessions for newbies as well as those wanting to develop their skills further.

Remember these sessions are open to all skill levels and bikes. You don't need a racing license to participate and they are free!

Hope to see you there!

Unknown Road

So fresh off a good kick-off of the Victorian Cyclocross season last Friday in Beechworth and with the onset of regular rain and cold weather it's definitely starting to feel like 'cross race time!

Although numbers were low compared to the mayhem that is a normal DDCX race there were a lot of smiling faces after the race, as entrants were treated/subjected to two races each in the afternoon. The chance to race through the centre of town on closed roads with proper race barriers is a big step. For many it was also a chance to be reminded of the heart-racing and chest burning experience that is cross racing. The highlights were the 'A-corn-er', the 'stairway to heaven' and the 'hay bale hurdle'. For some the proximity to the beer tent meant easy access to 'liquid refreshments' which I'm sure added to their race highlights! DDCx would again like to thank anyone that took a chance and came out for the race. The support of racers does mean that other races are likely to occur, in new areas.

We will post photos as they emerge, especially ones of the excellent mid-pack finish line salutes that occurred.

But we would also like to remind everyone of the upcoming women's skills clinics starting this weekend. There has been a lot of interest in CX from new and existing road or MTB racers and these sessions are a great chance to learn tricks and tips for riding 'cross in a friendly and fun environment.

Bring whatever bike you have (seriously) and a positive attitude and we will help with the rest. We can't guarantee podiums but there's a money-back guarantee that Blakey will make an amusing pun at some point.

DDCX Women's Cyclocross Development 2013

2012 was a big year for women's cyclocross in Australia. The first National Series saw an elite women's field race in Melbourne, Adelaide and finally Sydney with some stand out talent in Lisa Jacobs and Mel Ansett dominating the races. 

Here at Dirty Deeds we held a successful women's skill session with many participants going on to race in our local series. 

This year we want to keep the momentum going so we are holding three pre-season events to help get newbies into the game and to allow the rest to brush up on some skills. These sessions will be run by the Dirty Deeds crew with support from Cycling Victoria. Hopefully we can tempt some of the stars of the 2012 season to come down to show off their skills as well. 

The focus of these sessions will be to give women the confidence and skills to go into the 2013 cyclocross season and provide a setting to develop and practice. We focus on bike handling, barrier jumping, as well as some other tricks to make your cx experience less daunting.  

The first session will be a COME AND TRY event designed for those who want to see if cyclocross is for them. This will be held on Saturday 27 April from 10am - 12pm at Darebin Parklands. Those who have raced cyclocross before are also welcome to attend and depending on numbers, we can arrange for different ability groups to separate and work at different levels. 

The second session is a MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL event to be held on, well, Mother's Day, Sunday 12 May from 11am-1pm. This event is a chance for bike riding mum's with young kids to get out and try something new or to dust off the cyclocross bike from last year. Kids are welcome and can bring their own bikes also. EDIT - this session will be held at the Harrison Street Velodrome, Brunswick. 

The third session will be a SKILL DEVELOPMENT event designed to practice new skills and work on technique. To be held on Saturday 18 May from 10am - 12pm, this is one week out from the DDCX Prologue which is a great introduction to racing cyclocross. Keep following this blog for all the details.

If you have or can borrow a cyclocross bike, great. Otherwise bring along any bike you have lying around. You will not need a licence to attend these skills sessions. You will be required to have a licence or to purchase a season pass to enter any DDCX events, including the Prologue. 

The meeting place for sessions 1 and 3 will be at the rangers shed at Darebin Parklands. See map. 

View Dirty Deeds Women's Development Sessions in a larger map

If you have any questions please feel free to email me at katelansell at gmail dot com

Hope to see you there!