Amateur Racing in France/Spain

glshillcutt

I'll be in France this July, and was hoping to take in a race or two. I'll be in the vicinity of Limoges and Bordeaux (in a town called Villognon) for a few days around Bastille day. Then, south to a town called Collioure, just over the frontier with Spain near Barcelona, before returning to the Paris around the 21st, then back to the states.

Can anyone point me in the direction of information on race schedules, etc., and requirements for racing in Europe?

Thanks,

-- Gil

bykhtch2003

Here's the only site I've found so far:
http://www.velo101.com/epreuves/default.asp
I'm going to be in Normandy during the last 3 weeks of June and first two weeks of July and also hope to do a couple races. It looks like, in France anyway, they are long, mass start events that have separate prize lists based on age & cat. Not sure yet about licensing. Have sent e-mails to chat boards & a club in Normandy but have not received any replies. Good luck. Let me know if you find out anything about licensing. bykhtch2003@yahoo.com

glshillcutt

I took a look at the Velo 101 site, and most of these look like either cyclosportives or randonees. Either may be fun, but I'm not sure that they're competitive events. I must admit to being lingually disadvantaged - my wife speaks some French, so it's difficult for me to find information on this stuff.

Anything else you might be able to find would certainly be appreciated. I've not yet found anything analogous to the USCF, but will keep looking and post here if I find anything.

BeeGuy

Check out http://www.ffc.fr/index.asp for info on French racing. Use the babelfish translator at www.altavista.com if your French isn't so good. If you're an American rider, you'll also need a Foreign letter of permission and a UCI license (an upgrade to the USCF license). You'll need to call to get the letter. Leanne was extremely helpful and I got the letter in a couple of days after I faxed a copy of my passport to her.

I'll be going to France at the end of May. A fellow on this board happens to ride for a club near the village I'm staying in; what luck! and I'll be riding with their club.

chris

__________________
I bike therefore I am.

holli

In France there's four categories of elite 2 races and if I remember right, only 1.12.4 is a race where one can participate without team. There's only one 1.12.4 race near Limoges on July. Race is called Trophee de la Creuse and it's held somewhere in Limousin area. Most of the 1.12.4 races are held in northern France in July.

You should try to find calendar for national/elite 3 races. In national/elite 3 races you can participate as an individual. 1.24 is a code for national/elite 3 races.

Cyclosportive "races" can be quite good as well, although they are not real races. Some cyclosportive events are like races and there can be pretty good riders participating.

Hope this helped. If you still can change your travelplan go to Belgium, there's more than plenty of open races.

__________________
Pain is just weakness leaving the body.