Town races ‘highlight of calendar’ and here to stay, hope organisers
‘The town centre races is really contributing to a sporting highlights package for the town. You can’t get better imagery than young people in a sporting environment with spectators around them in such a grand setting’
BARNSLEY Town Centre Races continue to be ‘one of the highlights of the British calendar’ and organisers are hopeful another successful edition will help to preserve its future.
The races returned after a three-year break, due to Covid-19, on Friday in front of several thousand people with a series of races concluding with events in both the men’s and women’s National Circuit Series.
There have been concerns over the future of the event, due to finances being tight across the country and the cost of living crisis potentially impacting participation in the sport.
But organiser Chris Lawrence and the volunteers from Barnsley Road Club are determined to keep it going.
Chris said: “We kicked off with the community ride which the Lord Mayor opened.
“We had a massive batch of people in that event and that’s what inspires the next generation to take up cycling.
“This event has reputation of nurturing talent.
“To take that chance away in such a massive venue would be a really disappointing conclusion to the last five years of mega events.
“It is one of the highlights of the British cycling calendar.
“We have put foundations in place to talk to the council about funding in years to come.
“It shows what a good healthy lifestyle can do, and that works well with a lot of the council’s initiatives.
“Improving the cycling infrastructure in the town would go hand-in-hand with lowering emissions and reducing congestion.”
The races are among the biggest sporting events to happen in Barnsley every year, both in terms of the number of spectators and the standard of competition.
Lawrence said: “The town centre races is really contributing to a sporting highlights package for the town.
“You can’t get better imagery than young people in a sporting environment with spectators around them in such a grand setting.
“It’s fantastic for the town.
“Previous winners are now on the world tour. It’s a true breeding ground for top cyclists.
“Tom Pidcock won our event and is now competing in the Tour de France.
“You can’t argue now that Barnsley is where it is at.”
The women’s race was won by 17-yearold Emma Jeffers and the men’s race by
Jacob Scott.
Lawrence said: “Everything went absolutely perfectly which is testament to the team of volunteers from Barnsley Road Club.
“Without them, the event simply wouldn’t be as good as it was.
“The weather was perfect which played its part.
“It was a lot better than the last years when it’s tipped it down
“We saw big crowds, especially towards the later stages. All the pubs were really busy.
“It was excellent.
“We streamed it as well on our website and got better viewing figures than before.
“I would like to thank all the spectators, the council, the suppliers, our volunteers and British Cycling.”