The Strider Cup: Toddler Balance Bike Championships at Manchester Velodrome

It might have been quite a while since we were young ourselves, but from being bumped into by a few overexcited toddlers in various locales in our time, we know they like a few things – crying seems to be one, shouting in quiet areas another and balance bikes is the third. Thankfully, there aren’t championships for the first two yet (give it time) but you can get your child to compete on the third. Balance Bikes, for those who’ve never had the misfortune to accidentally walk into a child who is on one, are a bit like a cross between a wooden horse and a real bicycle – no pedals or chains, but no need to hold it up and make clippy-cloppy noises, either. The burgeoning popularity of them made an event like this pretty much inevitable, and there’s no better way for your future Chris Hoy to get used to the big stage than by them winning gold at the National Cycling Centre (even if it is on a wooden frame). Age groups are bracketed at 5, 4, 3 and 2 years and under, and because of the scale of demand, there’s even a qualifying round. Yikes.

Sun 22 Sep, Indoor BMX track at National Cycling Centre, Stuart St, Manchester, M11 4DQ, All day, £8 (discounts for 3 or more children), http://www.stridercup.org/