The opening evening of Halesowen Friday Night Track League was one of the coldest regulars could remember, but that did not deter the competitors with a substantial turnoutÂ
 Report brought to you by: The Book: Merckx: Half-Man, Half-Bike by William Fotheringham
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The opening evening of Halesowen Friday Night Track League was one of the coldest regulars could remember, but that did not deter the competitors with a substantial turnout across the board and high speed racing. The A category races turned into a duel between the home club and V-Sprint, the team run by Jim Varnish, father of GB track sprinter Jess, with honours even across the four events. Other developments this season include cash prizes for the closing distance races each evening, and what can claim to be the fastest results system in the country, with each evening’s standings posted as they happen on the club website.
The opening scratch race saw a four-rider break go clear, with the sprint won by Tom Gregory of Halesowen from Ted Bate of MJS Racing. The Devil, on the other hand, saw Jack Hibberd, last year’s League winner, take the honours from Halesowen’s Jack Mills and William Fotheringham, while V-Sprint’s Neal Preston – returning to FNTL after a year’s absence – took the kilo scratch with an early sprint that saw Gregory almost close on the line. The final 20 lapper went to Gregory, who broke away with Bate 15 laps out, and opened a half-lap gap with Fotheringham marking Hibberd and Preston.
The B-category events were dominated by the promoting club, with Matthew Harris leading the way, while Nigel Albutt, Patrick Fotheringham and Gary Cann look set to be contenders this season. Harris came from behind after Fotheringham led out in the opening scratch, but missed out completely in the devil, won by Albutt, while Harris went on to take the kilo scratch and made a strong lone break late on to take the closing 20-lap scratch – no mean feat, with a
strong northerly blowing down the finish straight. Behind, Cann led out the sprint for second, with Albutt and Fotheringham shading him late on.
The youth events were contested by a massive 26-rider field, who showed exceptional bike-handling skills in the blustery conditions. The home riders dominated, with Xavier Sullivan-Touye, Bradley Simkin and George Cann dominating the three events. Sullivan Touye ended the evening with two wins to his name, Simkin and Cann one apiece, but the trio were closely matched throughout. Gabriella Horner was the only rider to break their monopoly, winning heat one of the kilometre scratch.
To encourage young riders on fixed, many of last year’s freewheelers have been promoted to the Youth category, and the freewheeler events were run as a single category, with Georgia Davis, Thomas Povey and Josh Field taking the honours in the three 240-metre dashes, while Mollie Lewis and Millie Allen ran out the victors in the two and one-lap handicaps.
RESULTS: http://www.halesowencycling.net/fntl/results2012/11052012.htm
 Report brought to you by: The Book: Merckx: Half-Man, Half-Bike by William Fotheringham
