Report: Reading Track League

2013_DolanBikes_Track-Bikes_Banner

Summer arrived at last at Palmer Park with the whole meeting completed before sunset on a gorgeous June evening

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Guy Swarbrick writes … In the opening trackcycling Senior A scratch race it was Nick English of AW Cycles that led out with team mate Trevor Bradbury tucked in behind him and another AW rider, Joseph Crolla, making up the trio a little way behind.

It was Crolla, though, who had left himself ‘space to race’ and came round his team mates to take the win. And it was another AW Cycles rider – Matt Gittings who came round to take second with Ian Greenstreet of Newbury RC sneaking in for third.

In the Senior B race it was Sam Grant of Beyond Mountain Biking who made the jump out of turn one on the final lap to gap the field. Josh Mitchell of Bicester Millennium led the challengers desperate to close him down but, while Grant was able to hold on to take the lead, Mitchell was overhauled by yet another AW Cycles rider – Dan Lansley – who pipped him to second place.

Grant had something of a scare in the heats for the Keirin event – clipping out of his pedal on the run-in in an incident reminiscent of one almost exactly two years ago which resulted in a massive crash. This time – somehow – he held it all together, keeping the bucking bike under control by skipping it sideways and gathering it all back up again. That he managed to keep himself upright and avoid taking the rest of the field down with him is testament to his bike handling skills – but it also put paid to his efforts to make the final.

This time it was Mitchell who got the better of Lansley in a tight finish with Pail Davidoff of Team Terminator in third place. In the Senior A Keirin the scratch race result was also reversed with Gittings winning this one from Crolla – ahead of Oliver Hitchings of Peter Hansford Racing.

The relatively small Senior A field made for an uneventful Devil with Gitttings again edging Crolla out in the final sprint with Nick Abraham clinching third. The big field for the Senior Bs made things a little more lively and it was Mitchell from Lansley again at the finish – albeit this time it was the younger of the two brothers – Palmer Park Velo’s Matt Lansely – that took second with Hugh Knudsen third.

The performance of the night, though, was that of French-based Under 16 rider Tom England of Bush Healthcare who slipped away off the front of the bunch with the in-form Crolla, Abraham and Hitchings. The quartet looked to have the race sewn up but as the sun started to ebb away, so did their lead and English and Greenstreet managed to bridge across.

As they came off turn 4 and headed for the bell, England made his move and had opened up a 15 metre gap by the finish line. The group chased, but they didn’t get back on terms and the youngster was 20 metres clear as he took the win. Abraham, once again, was the first Senior A over the line, with Greenstreet and English following him home. Sean Gorvy took the Senior B win – his first – from Knudsen and and David Ivory Reading CC with Sam Harding and Emma Clarke of Palmer Park Velo taking second and third in the 16 category behind overall race winner England.

Reading Track League Round 6 3 June 2013

Senior A
trackcycling 10 Lap Scratch
1 Joe CROLLA AW Cycles
2 Matt GITTINGS AW Cycles
3 Ian GREENSTREET Newbury RC

Keirin
1 Matt GITTINGS AW Cycles
2 Joe CROLLA AW Cycles
3 Oliver HITCHINGS Peter Hansford Racing

Devil
1 Matt GITTINGS AW Cycles
2 Joe CROLLA AW Cycles
3 Nick ABRAHAM BC Private Member

AW Cycles 20k Endurance
1 Nick ABRAHAM BC Private Member
2 Ian GREENSTREET Newbury RC
3 Nick ENGLISH AW Cycles

Senior B

trackcycling 10 Lap Scratch
1 Sam GRANT WDMBC Beyond
2 Matt LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo
3 Josh MITCHELL Bicester Millennium

Keirin
1 Josh MITCHELL Bicester Millennium
2 Daniel LANSLEY AW Cycles
3 Paul DAVIDOFF Team Terminator

Devil
1 Josh MITCHELL Bicester Millennium
2 Matt LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo
3 Hugh KNUDSEN BC Private Member

AW Cycles 20k Endurance
1 Sean GORVY GS Henley
2 Hugh KNUDSEN BC Private Member
3 David IVORY Reading CC

Under 16

AW Cycles 20k Endurance
1 Tom ENGLAND Bush Healthcare
2 Sam HARDING Palmer Park Velo
3 Emma CLARKE Palmer Park Velo

 

RST Cycle Clothing & Trigon Bikes

Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)

Other News on VeloUK

Tags: