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New Kirklees Club Launched

19th January 2010 | Source: Kirklees Cycling Academy

Kirklees Cycling Academy, a brand new cycling club in Kirklees, is about to open its doors to 11-18 year old boys and girls in the region.

"Kirklees has over 400,000 thousand residents and yet, surprisingly, to date there has never been a cycling club dedicated to young people aged 11-18 within the region" says Darren Stringer, Club Secretary and one of the club's founder members. "By creating and launching the Kirklees Cycling Academy (KCA), we have already taken one important step to addressing the gap that exists in the sporting market for young people."

The KCA hopes to introduce a large number of young people to cycling as a fun pastime or for more serious aspirations.

"You don't have to be an experienced cyclist - you may be completely new to cycling, or simply feel inspired to have a go following the success of Team GB in the Olympics. Well now is your chance!", says Darren. "Some young people may just want to come along to get fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle or may even just want to meet friends of a similar age. Whatever the reason, we look forward to welcoming you, but places are limited to 40 per session, so book early to avoid disappointment!"

As a club, Kirklees Cycling Academy is committed to long term rider development. Future facilities at the club will include a "Bike Library" which will allow young people to access specialised Road and Cyclo-Cross cycles at a very low cost which they may otherwise never get the chance to ride if they had to buy these bikes themselves.

Training nights will be a mix of fun and physical activity including riding bikes on rollers and turbo trainers, combined with short competitive sessions. Three main cycle disciplines will be worked on - Road, Track and Cyclo-Cross. Training plans have been put together with the help of Simon Watts and Peter Root of British Cycling and all training will be carried out by accredited British Cycling Coaches.

Once a month, a Strength & Conditioning Coach, who is an accredited professional, will focus on core strength, posture, stretching and diet.

Sessions will take place at Spen Valley Sports College, which is now hosting a variety of community activities. The KCA was already an idea at embryonic stage when Peter Root of British Cycling and Shaun Fox of Partnership Development Manager of Spen Valley School Sport Partnership contacted the KCA founders to accelerate the launch. This provided the club with its base. We hope to see some rising stars of the future born out of the collaboration.

Training sessions start on Thursday 4th February 2010, from 7pm-8pm at Spen Valley Sports College and cost £2.50 per week. For more information, including a full timetable, visit www.k-ca.org, email training@k-ca.org or call 01484 421 855 for joining information.