Report & results from the Reading Track League on Monday night at the Palmer Park Stadium (August 12)
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Report by Rachael Elliott, photos from Jun Aishima (thanks Ian)
The first event of the night was the B trackcycling scratch race. It was Hugh Knudsen (BC Private Member) who made the early break, but he was quickly chased down by the determined bunch. With four laps to go, an injection of pace dispersed the group, with Nick Cammell (GS Henley) taking advantage of this to break from the front.
Cammell slowly increased his lead with every lap and, despite some determined efforts by Matthew Lansley (Palmer Park Velo) and Joshua Mitchell (Bicester Millenium), the group were unable to catch Cammell. Cammell impressively sustained his lead until the end, eventually winning with a victory of some 50 metres. Mitchell won the sprint for second place, just a wheel ahead of Matthew Lansley.
12 riders started the A trackcycling scratch race. Nick English (awcycles.co.uk) started to push the space within half a lap of the gun sounding. However, a determined effort by the group quickly resulted in the bunch being reformed. Any further attempted breaks were chased down and, at the bell lap, it was clear it was going to be a race for the sprinters. Matt Gittings (awcycles.co.uk) led the sprint from half a lap out and managed to hold off teammate Joe Crolla (awcycles.co.uk) and Neil Rutter (Cotswold Veldrijden) who finished in second and third respectively.
In the A Keirin Final, Gittings took the lead as soon as the derny pulled off and, despite the efforts of Crolla, took his second win of the night by two whole bike lengths. George Withers (awcycles.co.uk) was rewarded for his efforts with third place.
In the B Keirin Final, Sam Grant (WDMBC Beyond) and Daniel Lansley (Palmer Park Velo) attacked from the moment the derny left the track, with Mitchell perfectly placed for the final sprint on their shoulders. Mitchell timed his sprint perfectly to win the race just a tyre’s width ahead of Grant. Daniel Lansley held on for third place.
The third round of the WLCA 1km Time Trial came next on the programme. Riders were faced with arguably the worst conditions of the competition: a cool south-westerly wind proved testing for the seven riders. Nevertheless, Rutter put in a strong ride to cross the line with a time of 1:13.84, with Ian Greenstreet (Newbury RC) finishing in 1:15.32.
Ollie Hitchings (Peter Hansford Racing) impressively managed a time of 1:17.11, despite being in obvious pain from a cycling accident the previous week. In the overall competition, Greenstreet still leads with his time of 1:13.17 from 22 July. Rutter’s time this evening puts him in second place, with Nick English (awcycles.co.uk) in third place with his time of 1:14.18 from 15 July.
Both the A and B devil races ended in impressive displays of sprinting. Gittings and Crolla once again contested the sprint in the A race, with Gittings once again managing to pip Crolla on the line. Withers rode a strong race to collect third place. The B race saw an even tighter race between the first three, with Mitchell the final victor ahead of Hugh Knudsen (BC Private Member) in second and Matthew Lansley in third.
In the unknown distance, Rutter and Frazier Carr (awcycles.co.uk) had a commanding lead when the bell sounded. Rutter was able to consolidate his lead in the final lap and take the win ahead of Carr. Henry Dawson (Prestige VC) took third place in the A race. Amongst the B riders, Mitchell’s sprinting ability saw him win the B race, closely followed by Matthew Lansley, with Knudsen taking third.
As is usual, the AW Cycles 20k formed the last event of the night. 24 riders started the race, with most managing to stay in the race for the first 5km. However, with 32 laps to go, a sudden injection of pace saw the race splinter into three groups with many riders withdrawing. With 20 laps to go, the original group of 24 riders had been decimated to a field of just nine.
English was the first to make a break and, chased down by teammate Gittings, the two formed a successful two-man break and were able to hold a distance of half a lap from the chasing group of five for the remaining 10-laps of the race. The second group of Crolla, Greenstreet, Nick Abraham (BC Private Member), Withers and sole B-rider, Mark Shepherd (Banjo Cycles) remained united for the remainder of the race and, despite some attempts by Crolla to catch Gittings and English, were unable to make inroads into the commanding lead of the pair.
In the final lap, Gittings’ strong push saw him take the win from English. Abraham took third place in the A race. Shepherd, as the only rider to stay in the second group of five, took first place in B race with Cammell hanging on for second place.
RESULTS
WLCA 1KM Time Trial
1. Neil Rutter Cotswold Veldrijden 1:13.84
2. Ian Greenstreet Newbury RC 1:15.32
3 Ollie Hitchings Peter Hansford Racing 1:17.11
4. Martyn Harris Banjo Cycles 1:18.32
5. Nick Cammell GS Henley 1:20.56
6. Mark Shepherd Banjo Cycles 1:21.03
A riders
trackcycling 10 lap scratch
1 Matt Gittings AW Cycles
2 Joe Crolla AW Cycles
3. Neil Rutter Cotswold Veldrijden
Keirin Final
1 Matt Gittings AW Cycles
2 Joe Crolla AW Cycles
3 George Withers AW Cycles
Devil
1 Matt Gittings AW Cycles
2 Joe Crolla AW Cycles
3 George Withers AW Cycles
Unknown Distance
1.Neil Rutter Cotswold Veldrijden
2. Frazier Carr AW Cycles
3. Henry Dawson Prestige VC
20k
1.Matt Gittings AW Cycles
2. Nick English AW Cycles
3. Nick Abraham BC Private Member
B riders
trackcycling 10 lap scratch
1 Nick Cammell GS Henley
2 Josh Mitchell Bicester Millennium
3 Matthew Lansley Palmer Park Velo
Keirin Final
1. Josh Mitchell Bicester Millennium
2. Sam Grant WDMBC Beyond
3. Daniel Lansley Palmer Park Velo
Devil
1. Josh Mitchell Bicester Millennium
2. Hugh Knudsen BC Private Member
3. Matthew Lansley Palmer Park Velo
Unknown Distance
1. Josh Mitchell Bicester Millennium
2.Matthew Lansley Palmer Park Velo
3.Hugh Knudsen BC Private Member
20k
1. Mark Shepherd. Banjo cycles
2. Nick Cammell GS Henley
Ladies
trackcycling 10 lap scratch
1. Lydia Brookes GS Henley
Keirin
1. Lydia Brookes GS Henley
Devil
1. Lydia Brookes GS Henley
Unknown Distance
1. Lydia Brookes GS Henley
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