Velodrome 1st February 2019

Schools back and so are the riders. Riders had a strong south easterly to contend with on Friday night however they were all keen as the storm on Wednesday night meant no training for the week. We encourage any cyclist who is keen to try out the track racing to come along at 6.oopm on Wednesday night to make a start. The club can get the riders onto a suitable bike for the try out.

First event of the night was the 1 lap time trial and the windy conditions meant no records were broken. Quickest for the night was Tom Geary at 47.00 sec just ahead of Renee Hardacre at 47.46 sec. Next was Kate Geary at 49,22 sec with Bastian Jefferies at 52.45sec and Emiley Hadicke at 53.59 sec.

A small recovery time was afforded the riders before they were on the track again for a 3 lap scratch race. Renee Hardacre cruised home a clear winner whilst Tom Geary just edged out Kate Geary for the minor placings. The riders then moved on to a 1 lap handicap. Renee riding from 10m finished too quick for the others to take the win from Kate (20) and Emiley (40) in 3rd place. The handicapper took note of the race and produced a re-handicap. This time it was Kate Geary (20) winning from Emiley (45) and Bastian (40) in 3rd place.

The riders were then split into 2 sprint heats. First up was Emiley and Bastian over the 1 lap. With Bastian racing hard right from the starting whistle, Emiley waited until he tired before she moved smartly to the front and claiming the win. In the second heat, it was Tom, Kate and Renee who rolled away. Kate kept talking and seduced the others into a short sprint which suited her strengths and duly won the short dash to the line ahead of Renee and Tom.

The riders were then given an elimination race over 5 laps. The first lap is a free lap but after that each lap the last rider over the line is eliminated. This produced some fiercely contested efforts to the line for the first 4 laps but it was Renee who cruised away after 3 laps to secure the win from Kate and Tom.

A small rest break and the riders were back out for a second sprint effort. Emiley again was too smart for Bastian and rode him on the hip all the way to take the win. The second heat was a different race. Once again Kate tried to control the race but this time Tom and Renee challenged earlier. This saw Renee take the win from Tom whilst Kate had to settle for 3rd.

Lindsay