Freshers and Applicants

Offer Holders/Freshers
If you are a keen cyclist considering potential universities, or have already applied and are wondering what is in store, CUCC is one of the best University Cycling clubs in the country!

We put together this page to help people who are applying or have offers – if you have any other questions then please do not hesitate to get in contact with any of the relevant captains on the contact page.

Storing Bikes

Most colleges don’t allow people to store bikes in their rooms. One previous captain got round this by hanging his bike from the picture rail and claiming it as ‘functional art’. On a more serious note, every college will have an alternative secure storage area they can give you access to- its worth emailing the porters before you come. If in doubt, contact someone on the committee!

Riding and Training

We put on several rides at different speeds throughout the week. Beginners rides are put on to show people the ropes of group social riding, the calls and signals and so on. Medium rides are the mainstay of the club, not too fast, not too slow, but a good workout for those looking to get fitter- many of the people who race do these. Finally, there are fast rides for those seriously training that go longer and faster, as well as turbo (stationary trainer) sessions throughout term.

There are social excursion rides such as the trip to the beach in Easter term and a ride to Thetford in Michaelmas to provide an opportunity for differing wings of the club to mix

On top of this we regularly run a club trip to the Velodrome to give those who want it a taste of cycling on the track.

There is also an annual training camp, with a mixture of abilities, in Spain – usually around Calpe – during the Christmas break.

BUCS and Competition

CUCC is one of the top University cycling clubs in the country. In the past decade we have topped the tables 7 times and have never been out of the top 3. Notable alumni of the club include multiple national champions Hayley Simmonds and Michael Hutchinson, Memil-Pro rider Ed Bradbury, and 2010 World Time Trial Champion Emma Pooley.

An indication of our strength is that at the 2018 BUCS 25, our 3rd team (7th, 8th and 9th fastest riders) were the 3rd fastest team overall, beating the A teams of every other university and only beaten by our 1st and 2nd team.

If you have never raced before or are totally new to the sport, then this is a really good place to start. There are rides at different levels for progression (see below) and a group of people doing dedicated training and racing at higher level for you to join in.

The first event is the BUCS Hill Climb in October, followed by BUCS Track events in November – if you have previous in racing and would like to give these a crack then please email either the Men’s or Women’s captains (see the contact page).

There’ll be a Freshers’ TT the weekend after Freshers’ Week if you’d like to show your colours early!

Blues

Road cycling is a discretionary Full blue sport for men and women. Placing within Cambridge’s top 3 finishers, and the top 6 of Oxbridge in the Varsity match (BUCS25) will net you a half blue. To attain a full blue for men, then you additionally need 2 sub-54 minute 25m TTs, and to finish in the top 50 of a national TT event. For women, a full blue comprises a medal at BUCS and a top 25% finish in a national TT.

Cambridge are the current men’s Varsity champions, winning the team and sweeping the podium but crucially losing the drunken town bike race afterwards!

Such is the strength of CUCC that in 2015, to finish in the top 3 from Cambridge necessitated coming top 4 in BUCS!