Cyclocross
Our sessions
Developing skills and confidence.
Our sessions provide a safe, fun and welcoming environment in which young riders can learn and develop a wide variety of core cycling skills and techniques. Our coaches hold British Cycling qualifications and sessions cover our three core disciplines - Cyclocross, Road Cycling and Mountain Biking,
Road
Mountain bike
Our sessions are all planned in blocks, with each block having a focus around a core discipline.
Our session blocks generally run from February to Easter, Easter to end of June, mid August to October holidays and October holidays to end of November. We also run a range of led rides, MTB Skills sessions, race prep sessions and Summer camps, as well as hosting an annual Club Championships to provide additional opportunities for all riders in the club.
Each block has a broad focus, with our sessions tailored to suit different age ranges and abilities, and designed to develop our riders’ general bike skills, as well as those specific to Cyclocross, Road Cycling and Mountain Biking.
Our Fundamentals sessions are the entry point into the club
These take place on Wednesdays at 1740-1840 and Saturdays from 0900-1000.
Our session times
We run a number of different sessions, with coaching taking place across the week.
Our sessions are organised by ability, and split into the following categories (riders attend either Wednesday or Saturday:
Fundamentals
Sessions designed to teach riders the core basic skills in riding and to develop confidence and ability. These take place on:
Wednesday’s 17:40–18:40
Saturday’s 09:00–10:00
Enhance
For those riders that have mastered the basics and have the ability to move onto more advanced sessions. These take place on:
Wednesday’s 18.45-20.15
Saturday’s 10.30-12.00
Rollers
To support those riders looking to race, we also have a rollers session. This takes place on:
Thursday’s 19:00–20:00
The entry point to the club is through our Fundamentals sessions. All new riders start here on a trial basis so that our coaching team can determine a riders ability. Many riders will continue in these sessions, however, there may be occasions where a rider is capable of moving to our Enhance sessions. Our coaching team will be able to quickly identify these riders and find the right sessions for them.
Getting started
The first session you attend is free and you will be met by a member of our Coaching and Leadership team who will not only introduce you to your group for that day, but also run through what to expect from the club sessions.
Sessions take place at various locations in the Falkirk area, each being chosen to enable us to deliver coaching across different cycling disciplines. Locations primarily include Callendar Estate MTB Trails and Kenneil Estate, with some sessions also taking place at Larbert High School (home of the £250k Larbert Legacy Cycle Track). In addition we also run sessions at Plean Country Park and Callendar Park for more advanced riders or specific training.
Session times are the times in which we will be coaching within, riders must arrive 10-15 minutes before sessions begin for registration and to warm up for the session.
It is important that riders arrive at sessions ready to participate, this includes ensuring that three checks have been carried out:
Helmet Check - is your child's helmet fitting and worn correctly? Is it comfortable? Does it conform to an appropriate standard? Does it show no visible signs of damage such as cracks or chips?
Clothing Check - is your child's clothing appropriate for the weather conditions? Is it tight fitting? Is your child wearing gloves? Is appropriate footwear being worn?
Bike Check - is the bike in a safe, working condition in order to allow your child to participate in the sessions?
If you are unsure of the answer to any of these questions, please speak to a member of the Coaching and Leadership team. For more information on any of these checks, visit the British Cycling website here
Attendance.
Our sessions are very popular and in some cases have waiting lists.
If a young person cannot attend a session we ask that you contact membership@fjbc.scot
We don’t like to read the riot act, but please be aware that poor attendance could prevent other children on the waiting list from joining the club. Therefore, the following attendance policy is applicable at the discretion of the Head Club Coach.
If a rider does not attend for 4 consecutive weeks, without informing the club, and without a reasonable explanation, it will be assumed that they no longer wish to attend and their place will be offered to another rider.
If after a prolonged absence a child would like to return to the club they may be placed on the waiting list and given the next available place.
If a rider’s attendance across a block is poor, without informing the club, and without reasonable explanation, we will contact you to determine whether they/you wish to continue and reserve the right to reassign their place.
It is understood that young people are involved in activities which may on occasion clash with our regular sessions.
We appreciate your support in keeping on top of non-attendance.
We support and encourage all our riders – from those who want to be more bike active, to those who want to race.
Competitive Events
As a club we encourage all of our riders to have a go and to try out competitive events to give them a wider experience of cycling. Entry is around £4-£8 and can often include some sort of prize at the end (a medal or some haribo!) for taking part.
Events take place all across Scotland and beyond, however for younger riders, where race durations will be around 10 minutes, we wouldn't encourage travelling further than an hour to compete (unless you are staying away for the weekend and making a trip out of it!).
We encourage Parents/Guardians to give it a go too - especially Cyclocross which we have seen a lot of Mums and Dads don race numbers and compete in over the last couple of years.
Most events are run through Scottish Cycling (the National Governing Body for the Sport) and you can find all Events here.
We share events regularly through our Facebook page, and most events have more than one rider in attendance, so you will always see a familiar face at the start line. If you would like to more about events and what they involve, please speak to a member of the Coaching and Leadership team.
