Dear Sir/ Madam

I am very displeased to learn of your proposals to change the grading system for next year, expecially with regard to replacing the A4 category with a new “Sport” category. The two proposals that I take issue with are that “there can be no cash prizes” and that there can only be “three placings”. I understand that you are trying to make racing more accessible to everyone but what you are doing is sucking the incentive to race regularly for people who simply don’t have the time to train with the intensity of others out of cycling in Ireland. Proposing to make the field bigger and the opportunity to get a trophy smaller is going to make a rider less interested in riding such a race.

I think that you should have kept the A4 category and introduced the “Sport” category as a step below it. The A4 category woul cater for a rider who rants to race regularly enough but can’t/doesn’t do much consistent training in between, the step below would cater for people who would not be interested in racing regularly but would ‘have a go’ if an ocassion presented itself.

From what I can see the plans for adopting these changes are already set in motion for next year,  I hope it will not affect the growth of racing in Ireland as was seen in 2010.

Yours in Sport

The Kerry Cyclist.