Until a few months ago I was developing a cycling curriculum that would introduce certain skills in a progressive way up until graduation a few sessions down the line. Among the topics were introduction to: cornering; sprinting; sprint finish; group ride; and endurance. By the end of those sessions, one was meant to be able to demonstrate those when called upon.
Evaluation would be done during either the normal sessions (ie, progressively) or the races designed with those skills in mind or both.
The Mini-Crit Wars is a cycling race designed to test the above-mentioned skills while introducing the criterium discipline to youngsters and newbies. Contestants were meant to start together, form a peleton (group ride), navigate the U-turns (cornering), complete the intermediate sprints (sprinting), sprint at the last few metres (sprint finish) and complete the race without getting overlapped (endurance).
And that’s precisely what happened on Sunday, 30th May 2021 at Kasarani.
Due to the numbers, some of the rules were relaxed such as “once overlapped you’re out”. The adults completed 10 laps while the children did 1 lap. These were the times:
Zahra Moctar – 5-6 years F – 12″.03 (record)
Ibraham Moctar – 7-8 years M – 11″.05 (record)
Antonia Maria – 9-10 years F – 18″.30 (record)
Samuel Kagiri – 17-23 years M – 1:16″.18 (record)
Bedan Karanja – 17-23 years M – 1:24″.58
Francis Ndung’u – 17-23 years M – 1:27″.38
Peter Gitu – Hippo M – 1:29″51 (record)
The Sprint Battle Series is a cycling race designed to test one’s ability to sprint over a short distance from a stand-still start while the KR-ITT Series is a test of efficiency on the bicycle. These are but some of the cycling races by Duo-Bearings Africa.
I think that the races are a nice way of instruction.
Look at it this way:
Each race has its own rules and regulations, and when someone registers, they put themselves on a learning curve; a learn-on-the-job scenario. When juniors witness the seniors demonstrating certain skills, they get a rough idea of what’s required, then execute it on the racing track. And over time, they get better, stronger, faster.
Although our races are meant for fun and games, they are meant to harness certain skills and qualities that ordinarily would not be acquired elsewhere. Not to mention that it presents an opportunity for masters of the art to coach the upcoming stars in the discipline. Is there someone out there still complaining of unemployment when there are open slots around?
The Mini-Crit Wars will now feature as an annual race in our cycling calendar, and who knows? Perhaps someone will connect more with the crit discipline than they will with the individual time trial.
Take the chance and try out one of these races; you never know.
Our next cycling race is the KR-ITT Series on 27th June along Kenyatta Road (off Thika Road): how efficient are you?
For more information, please contact 0707047249, or email duobearingsafrica@gmail.com
We’ll be having our first swimming gala on 6th June at Impala Club; then a soccer tournament at Stima Sports Club on 19th June. See you there?
WHO'S WORLD OF FANTASY WILL YOU DIVE INTO NEXT? 
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