Cycling Time Trials (CTT) unveils new ‘Tribes’ team competition, along with introduction of intuitive ‘Event Finder’ functionality.

June 19, 2024

Cycling Time Trials (CTT), the governing body for time trialling in the UK, is excited to announce the launch of 'Tribes'; an innovative online, team-based competition. This initiative looks to encourage cyclists from all over the UK to participate in time trial events, competing for national team podiums and fostering a sense of camaraderie and collective achievement.

19th June 2024, 5pm GMT /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – Even among cyclists, time trialling has a reputation for being a lonely affair; a solitary rider competing in a race of truth against the clock and themselves over a set distance. Add in the time spent travelling the country to find ‘fast’ courses that coincide with ‘fast’ conditions and racers do indeed spend a lot of time in their own company. But enter a village hall HQ on the day of an event and you will find a thriving community of like-minded souls talking bikes and cycling over tea and cake as they await the results.

And now Cycling Time Trials is looking to take that sense of community out onto the road with its new Tribes competition. Emphasising a “Race Locally to Compete Nationally” concept, Tribes is a brand new online initiative that aims to reward performance and teamwork, wherever it takes place, over simply recording a fast finish time. This means that to be competitive cyclists don’t need to chase ‘fast’ courses or standard distances, and that participation in local events enables riders to contribute to their team’s score in a national competition, promoting sustainability by reducing travel costs and lowering carbon footprints.

Taking part couldn’t be easier as you are automatically entered whenever you sign up for a CTT Open Event, and the competition is powered by Spindata. Spindata is an innovative system that ranks time trial results across the UK by using time and relative position to other riders. The scores are directly comparable between events, so there is no advantage to riding a ‘faster’ course or chasing ‘ideal’ conditions. You can compete wherever you are, on any bike, and all you need to do is your best.

There are four key principles to Tribes, and cyclists that are taking part should follow the steps:

1. Choose Your Bike
2. Ride Three Races
3. Make Up Your Tribe
4. Improve Your Score

The initiative harkens back to the golden era of the 1960s and 1970s when team competitions were a significant aspect of time trialling, with numerous team prizes up for grabs. Tribes aims to leverage this nostalgia to appeal to veteran cyclists while introducing a fresh, exciting concept for those that are younger, or new to the sport.

Complementing the Tribes initiative is the new Event Finder tool on the CTT website which allows users to find events close to them that are still open for entry using an intuitive postcode search functionality. Event Finder and Tribes work hand-in-hand: to improve your score, you must find and participate in events, making the process seamless and accessible.

Based on Google cloud technology, the new Event Finder tool includes modern features such as calendars, route planners, and social sharing options. Cyclists can share with friends or their Tribes from over 3,000 event details on the CTT website, enhancing community engagement and participation.

Andrea Parish, Chair of CTT, expressed her enthusiasm for these new developments: “We are incredibly excited about launching the new Tribes initiative, and I am certain the Event Finder tool is going to be a game changer for us. These innovations are set to pave the way for greater accessibility and involvement in the sport of time trialling. By bringing these features to our platform, we hope to make it easier than ever for cyclists to get involved and enjoy the sport, fostering both individual and team growth.”

Nick Wild, founder of Spindata, is also the man behind the Tribes concept and explained that he was driven by a desire to open up the sport: “The integration of Spindata and the introduction of a standalone category for road bikes in recent years have really opened the door for new participants in time trialling and paved the way for Tribes. Hopefully the new competition, along with CTT’s Event Finder, will inspire even more riders to start their racing journeys.”

For more information, visit the CTT website at www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk and everything you need to know about Tribes can be found via tribes.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/about

The Cycling Time Trials team can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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Images – https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PgVS22_LkKOn0Gj-S1aAoVaR-HT8QILJ?usp=sharing

About Spindata – https://spindata.co.uk/about

Spindata FAQs – https://spindata.co.uk/faqs/time-trial-rankings

Contact

Name: Kate Allan – Compete PR

Email: Kate@competepr.com

Phone: +447754 072648

Editors’ Notes

Cycling Time Trials is the National Governing Body for time trials in England, Scotland and Wales.

Events on flattish main roads and following a more-or-less “out and home” pattern are in the majority but with the increasing level of traffic there has been a tendency for more events of a so called “sporting” nature to take place. These are often on hillier roads and usually follow circuit type courses so that the route can be followed by using only left turns. This means, the problems associated with the long spear-point intersections of dual carriageway roads can be avoided.

The idea of individuals riding “against the clock” and ignoring any other rider who they catch or who catches them still holds true for the majority of events but there are also events which are for teams of two, three or four riders who ride together known as Team Time Trials – shortened to 2up/3up/4up TTTs.

All open events are advertised in the annual ‘CTT handbook’ and via the website. To ride in any of them you need to be a member of a club affiliated to Cycling Time Trials. There are at least that number again of club events (which are generally not advertised) and if you approach the club promoting one of them you could get a ride. For riders not in clubs affiliated to CTT, there are ‘come and try it’ club time trials that they can compete in.