Post by crumpy on Dec 13, 2015 17:38:23 GMT
Race blog: Junior tour of Assen 2015
Taken a while to getting around to posting this but having been over to Holland for this year's 2015 Tour of Assen, I thought it would be ideal to share our first experience with other youth members / parents of what it's all about.
If you haven't heard of it well what is the junior tour of Assen? Assen is a chance for junior riders to feel like a pro tour rider for a week and race with some of Europe's best. They compete for 6 days straight with a different event each day, time trial, crit races and even a point to point including a cobbled section just to spice things up a bit more. The overall time for each rider is calculated throughout the week with the leading rider taking the yellow jersey. There is also a green jersey that is given to the riders with the most points tally for sprints sections each day as well as other jerseys up for grabs, white, red and pink.
Except for the time trials, all races are supported with car & motorbike escorts and support cars with spare wheels. It's the full works, even a staged presentation at the end of the week for the winners of each jersey.
Who is it for? Assen is open for youth riders from as young as eight years old. May have to check that but categories are for calendar year. This year Jamie was cat 7 (14 years of age during 2015) and they start from cat 1 upwards (a different category for each calendar year). Standard? Well, providing you are riding at least regional level you will be fine. That said, the riders at the front are all national riders and although Jamie has not yet ridden nationals yet, the races are as long and also a high standard.
Entry and cost? Entry opens early Feb each year and cost 80 Euros which includes race fees, but be very quick to enter. One of the younger categories was fully booked within 75 mins and most had been snapped up the day they were open. Therefore if interested a date for your diaries is Feb 1st 2016 when 2016 entries open. Actual event date looks set to be the first week in August.
Accommodation and ferry cost is reasonable, there is also camping on site available. All races are well within 30 minute drive of the main HQ. We stopped outside Assen in Exloo (25 mins drive) from the HQ and got lucky due to a couple of the races or race starts being nearby. However, it is better to stop near the HQ as updated information and start times are posted on a notice board including all the day's results and current positions. If you are unlucky enough to have a puncture as we were, you have to swap your wheel back around 7pm the same day. We had to hang around for most the day in Assen due Jamie having a puncture in the morning.
First time advice, would be to plan well and check the website for updates. There is not much happening from the February until 3-4 weeks before the event at the end of July/beginning of August. The best route across is by car & ferry. The Stenaline runs from Harwich to Hook of Holland. With all that's been going on at Calais this year, that is a route you perhaps would want to avoid. Book your ferry on a flexible option as soon as you've entered as this also gets fully booked. A good idea is to also print out a route planner, this was a life saver when our sat nav failed to work. It's daunting enough when you've never driven in Europe before!
Although in summer it did lash it down with heavy rain for a few days, so take as much waterproof gear as you have / can.
Once your there, take your licence, sign in and just check the following days event location and start time, as they are not as you would expect in numerical order.
Check your age cat. Gearing, this differs slightly to UK restrictions. Some categories also require certain sprocket sizes due to receiving support / replacement wheels. We had to run a 9 speed cassette with a 16 tooth smallest sprocket. Also take as many bike tools and spares as you can. There is a bike stand offering parts and maintenance and there is also a cycle shop nearby but use only if you need to. Further info?
Well first starters there are a couple of guides on youth cycle sport website but other than that, not really much available, maybe the odd YouTube vid.
This can be a daunting trip first time but providing you plan well, after the days racing you can relax for the rest of the afternoon and even make a holiday of it. It all depends how serious you want to take it. Some relax by the pool while others are out checking the following days course. We did a bit of both.
As for Jamie, he did really well considering when I booked this he didn't have that much race experience and we were fairly new to cycle racing, so a bit daunting but he loved it and if it wasn't for my poor choice in wheel selection on the cobbled stage would have finished much higher. Overall classification he finished 49 out of 65, a drop of around 8-10 places with the puncture. Most events he was around mid place 36-40th place. Not bad for his first real year after hanging up the footie boots!
For a few photos of our trip, click or copy the following link.
www.flickr.com/gp/137739110@N07/155pE8
Tour of Assen Official Website: www.europeanjuniorcyclingtourassen.eu/
www.youthcyclesport.co.uk/features/first-timers-guide-to-assen/
Regarding next year, we will definitely be making the trip again and will perhaps add a reminder to this post a couple of weeks before entries for 2016 open. It would be great to see a few Wyre Forest riders make the trip. Roll on 2016.
Taken a while to getting around to posting this but having been over to Holland for this year's 2015 Tour of Assen, I thought it would be ideal to share our first experience with other youth members / parents of what it's all about.
If you haven't heard of it well what is the junior tour of Assen? Assen is a chance for junior riders to feel like a pro tour rider for a week and race with some of Europe's best. They compete for 6 days straight with a different event each day, time trial, crit races and even a point to point including a cobbled section just to spice things up a bit more. The overall time for each rider is calculated throughout the week with the leading rider taking the yellow jersey. There is also a green jersey that is given to the riders with the most points tally for sprints sections each day as well as other jerseys up for grabs, white, red and pink.
Except for the time trials, all races are supported with car & motorbike escorts and support cars with spare wheels. It's the full works, even a staged presentation at the end of the week for the winners of each jersey.
Who is it for? Assen is open for youth riders from as young as eight years old. May have to check that but categories are for calendar year. This year Jamie was cat 7 (14 years of age during 2015) and they start from cat 1 upwards (a different category for each calendar year). Standard? Well, providing you are riding at least regional level you will be fine. That said, the riders at the front are all national riders and although Jamie has not yet ridden nationals yet, the races are as long and also a high standard.
Entry and cost? Entry opens early Feb each year and cost 80 Euros which includes race fees, but be very quick to enter. One of the younger categories was fully booked within 75 mins and most had been snapped up the day they were open. Therefore if interested a date for your diaries is Feb 1st 2016 when 2016 entries open. Actual event date looks set to be the first week in August.
Accommodation and ferry cost is reasonable, there is also camping on site available. All races are well within 30 minute drive of the main HQ. We stopped outside Assen in Exloo (25 mins drive) from the HQ and got lucky due to a couple of the races or race starts being nearby. However, it is better to stop near the HQ as updated information and start times are posted on a notice board including all the day's results and current positions. If you are unlucky enough to have a puncture as we were, you have to swap your wheel back around 7pm the same day. We had to hang around for most the day in Assen due Jamie having a puncture in the morning.
First time advice, would be to plan well and check the website for updates. There is not much happening from the February until 3-4 weeks before the event at the end of July/beginning of August. The best route across is by car & ferry. The Stenaline runs from Harwich to Hook of Holland. With all that's been going on at Calais this year, that is a route you perhaps would want to avoid. Book your ferry on a flexible option as soon as you've entered as this also gets fully booked. A good idea is to also print out a route planner, this was a life saver when our sat nav failed to work. It's daunting enough when you've never driven in Europe before!
Although in summer it did lash it down with heavy rain for a few days, so take as much waterproof gear as you have / can.
Once your there, take your licence, sign in and just check the following days event location and start time, as they are not as you would expect in numerical order.
Check your age cat. Gearing, this differs slightly to UK restrictions. Some categories also require certain sprocket sizes due to receiving support / replacement wheels. We had to run a 9 speed cassette with a 16 tooth smallest sprocket. Also take as many bike tools and spares as you can. There is a bike stand offering parts and maintenance and there is also a cycle shop nearby but use only if you need to. Further info?
Well first starters there are a couple of guides on youth cycle sport website but other than that, not really much available, maybe the odd YouTube vid.
This can be a daunting trip first time but providing you plan well, after the days racing you can relax for the rest of the afternoon and even make a holiday of it. It all depends how serious you want to take it. Some relax by the pool while others are out checking the following days course. We did a bit of both.
As for Jamie, he did really well considering when I booked this he didn't have that much race experience and we were fairly new to cycle racing, so a bit daunting but he loved it and if it wasn't for my poor choice in wheel selection on the cobbled stage would have finished much higher. Overall classification he finished 49 out of 65, a drop of around 8-10 places with the puncture. Most events he was around mid place 36-40th place. Not bad for his first real year after hanging up the footie boots!
For a few photos of our trip, click or copy the following link.
www.flickr.com/gp/137739110@N07/155pE8
Tour of Assen Official Website: www.europeanjuniorcyclingtourassen.eu/
www.youthcyclesport.co.uk/features/first-timers-guide-to-assen/
Regarding next year, we will definitely be making the trip again and will perhaps add a reminder to this post a couple of weeks before entries for 2016 open. It would be great to see a few Wyre Forest riders make the trip. Roll on 2016.
