About Us
History
The Papanui Cycling Club was established in 1931 and has a proud history of achievement at Local, National and International level. The club is managed by a volunteer committee and is dependant on its membership to ensure it continues to operate at a high level - please feel free to offer!
Objective
“To develop and promote cycling in Canterbury for the benefit and enjoyment of all members”.
Road Racing
Road Racing is the main activity of the club. Racing is available to members virtually every weekend either with the club or in conjunction with the other Christchurch clubs. You need to become a licensed rider to take part (but you're welcome to come and have a go once or twice!), which affiliates you with Cycling New Zealand, the National governing body for cycling.
There are two main types of races, namely “handicap” races and “scratch” races.
A handicap race involves starting in small groups {called a mark} at differing time slots dependant on the riders ability, with those of lesser ability starting first ("Limit") and those of greater ability starting last ("Scratch"). The object being for the entire field to come together towards the end of the race. There are generally prizes for the first rider home and for the fastest time... not always the same!
A scratch race involves cyclists of similar ability racing against each other in groups (called a grade) of twenty or so. Each grade has prizes for being the first rider home (and generally the top 3, podium, places).
As road racing involves the use of public roads, cyclists must be aware that normal road rules apply at all times.
Races take place all over the country and there is (almost) always a race in Canterbury every weekend - check the Race Calendar page for details
Track Racing
As the title suggests, track racing is undertaken on a designated circular track which is approximately 250 metres long. Track racing in Christchurch is held at Denton Park over the summer months and generally runs from November to February.
To race the track, members must have a special track bike which is basically a fixed wheel cycle with no gears and no brakes. There is a track development programme run each year to introduce new cyclists to track racing