This year the UK School Games was held at Redbridge and the Olympic Velodrome. I was lucky enough to be selected to ride for the South East.

We went on Sunday evening to the opening ceremony and then the next morning went to Redbridge (Hog Hill), where we did two days of road races, A Crit, 40k road race (where loads of people punctured) , sprints and team time trial. It was fantastic, the weather was terrible on the Monday but really sunny on the Tuesday. It was really exciting being involved with everyone from all over the UK.

On Wednesday we rode at the Olympic Velodrome. This was the highlight of the week and truly amazing. The noise from the crowd made the racing so exciting. I rode the scratch and team time trial. The whole experience was one I will not forget as it is not just about the racing but also staying in a hotel with your team mates and going to the evening events that made the four days so memorable. Overall in the competition, the South East came 5th out of 13 regions.

The start of the video is me and Megan in the team sprint.

Line Judges x2 or more
Time Keepers x 4 at least
Holders x 4
Results runners x2
Sign-on x2 – 3
Gear checks x2
Rider’s whips x2
Results computer x1-2
Announcer
Photo finish

It is really important that we find volunteers to fulfill these roles and to make the club look good. It is likely that some roles can be covered by more than one person. If you are available on the day and are able to help out then please email me at euancattermole@hotmail.co.uk with your preference of roles and I will add you to the list. Many thanks – Euan C

The premise of the meeting on 14th April was to give riders a rare opportunity to compete in a number of timed and individual events as a well as a mix of bunch racing. Herne Hill’s track records are a mix of conjecture and hearsay, so with the new surface having been laid in August 2011, we decided to wipe the slate clean and keep a new set of records.

The race meeting was the first in the Open Season series of monthly open meetings at Herne Hill. The programme also featured a number of separate womens events - which again was a rare opportunity for them to race separately from men on the track.

All record holders receive a coveted Herne Hill Velodrome Record Holder badge, and a place on the Track Records page on Herne Hill’s new website launches at the end of the month. There will be more chances make attempts at records throughout the season at Wednesday night Track League.

Particular thanks to the timekeepers, judges and other volunteer officials. VCL put on a complicated, challenging to organise race meeting, but everyone came away happy having had the chance to try some less-common events.

SENIOR WOMEN 10 Lap POINTS
1. Elise Sherwell – Look Mum no Hands/8pts
2. Lydia Boylan – Look Mum no Hands /8pts
3. Sarah Brook – Mule Bar Girl/6pts
4. Jo McRae – Look Mum no Hands /3ptss
5. Estelle Rogers – Rollapaluza CC/3pts
6. Natalie Creswick – Mule Bar Girl/1pt

SENIOR B 10 Lap POINTS
1. Alex Christians – London Pheonix/9pts
2. Carlos Conceicao – VC Londres/8pts
3. Tom Kennison – Medway Velo/3pts
4. Tom Freke – Dulwich Paragon/3pts
5. Chris McGovern – Sutton CC/2pts
6. 40/2pts

SENIOR A 12 Lap POINTS
1. Luke Anderson – Wigmore CC/7pts
2. Tony Lock – Edwards Elite/6pts
3. Neil Rutter – Swindon RC/5pts
4. Iain Cook – VC Londres/3pts
5. Chris Cole – VC Londres/1pt

YOUTH U/12 5 Lap SCRATCH
1. Hayden Cassidy – HHYCC
2. Theo Modell East London Velo
3. Matthew Williams – HHYCC
4. Kareem Akirnibi – HHYCC
5. Alex Griffiths – VC Londres
6. Logan DeMonchaux-Irons – CC Hackney

YOUTH U/16 7 Lap SCRATCH
1. Henry Dawson – Prestige VC
2. Hisham Al-Ramah – VC Londres
3. Aidan Woolven – Sutton CC
4. Freddy Wright – VC Londres
5. Georgie Hopkins VC Londres
6. Brenden Dremett – Fareham Wheelers

MENS 8 Lap TEAM PURSUIT
1. VC Londres / 4min39.57 – New Track Record
2. East London Velo/ 4min45.42
3. CS Grupetto/ 4min52.20
4. Dulwich Paragon/5min01.08
5. Brixton Cycles/ 5min05.72

WOMENS 6 lap TEAM PURSUIT
1. Look Mum no Hands/ 3min50.23 – New Track Record
2. Mule Bar 3min57.44

YOUTH U/12 Flying 200m
1. Hayden Cassidy – HHYCC/ 15.47secs – New Track Record
2. Kareem Akirnibi – HHYCC/ 15.72secs
3. Matthew Williams – HHYCC/ 16.75secs
4. Joseph Mulligan – HHYCC/ 17.53secs
5. Logan DeMonchaux-Irons – CC Hackney/ 17.56secs
6. Amelia Coombes – HHYCC/ 17.88secs – New Track Record
7. Alex Griffiths – VC Londres /18.12secs
8. Louis Byrne – CC Hackney/18.19secs
9. Olivia Howard – Welwyn Wheelers/18.38secs
10. Thomas Gloag – VC Londres/ 18.88secs
11. Seth Ludewick/ 19.06secs

YOUTH U/16 200m. FSTT
1. Harrison Coombes – HHYCC/ 13.13secs – New Track Record
2. Henry Dawson – Prestige VC/ 13.28secs
3. Andrew Bradshaw – VC Londres/13.37secs
4. Brenden Dremett – Fareham Wheelers / 13.53secs
5. Hisham Al-Ramah – VC Londres / 13.79secs
6. Sam Harding Preston Park Velo/ 14.90secs
7. Sydney Cassidy – VC Londres/ 15.44secs – New Track Record
8. Rowan Coombes – HHYCC/ 15.60secs
9. Isaac Brown – VC Londres/ 15.94secs
10. Aminur Islam CC Hackney/ 16.80secs

MENS 6 Lap INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT
1. Nick English – AW Cycles/ 3min16.24 – New Track Record
2. Nic Huthings – CS Grupetto/ 3min26.15
3. Ralph Carter – London Dynamo/ 3min31.25
4. Henry Martin – PM/ 3min33.25
5. Wayne Crombie – East London Velo/ 3min34.00
6. Will McFarland – East London Velo/ 3min35.13
7. Matthew Theobalds – CS Grupetto / 3min41.34
8. Kieran Laurie – VC Londres/ 3min43.06
9. Alex Christians – London Pheonix/ 3min44.82
10. Toby Blackman – VC Londres/ 3min44.88

WOMENS 4 Lap INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT
1. Natalie Creswick – Mule Bar Girl/ 2min37.91 – New Track Record
2. Estelle Rogers – Rollapaluza CC/ 2min40.32
3. Louise Mahe – Mule Bar Girl/2min43.19
4. Laura Cheesman – Prestige Velo/2min43.81

YOUTH U/12 2lap INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT
1. Theo Modell – East London Velo/ 1min23.37 – New Track Record
2. Arlo Ludewick – HHYCC/1min36.19
3. Jack Harradine – Bigfoot CC/ 1min44.43
4. James Finch – VC Londres/1min44.50

YOUTH U/16 4lap INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT
1. Max Bergin – VC Londres/ 2min33.80 – New Track Record
2. Aidan Woolven – Sutton CC/2min34.93
3. Freddy Wright – VC Londres/2min40.11
4. Oliver Cliff – VC Londres/2min 43.19
5. Thomas Finch – VC Londres/2min45.65
6. Charlotte Cole-Hossain – VC Londres/ 2min 50.78 – New Track Record
7. Mostyn Taylor Crockett CC Hackney/2min53.83
8. Georgie Hopkins – VC Londres/2min56.13
9. Eleanor Holden VC Londres/3min01.03

SENIOR WOMENS DEVIL
1. Lydia Boylan – Look Mum No Hands
2. Elisa Sherwell – Look Mum No Hands
3. Jo McRae – Look Mum No Hands
4. Louise Mahe – Mule Bar Girl
5. Sarah Brook – Mule Bar Girl
6. Estelle Rogers – Rollapaluza

SENIOR B MENS DEVIL
1. Louis Modell – East London Velo
2. Carlos Conceicao – VC Londres
3. Alex Christians – London Pheonix
4. Tyler Lemmon – Medway Velo
5. Jacob Kennison– Medway Velo
6. Ben Friend – Clarence Wheelers

SENIOR A MENS DEVIL
1. Tony Lock – Edwards Elite
2. Nick English – AW Cycles
3. John Coolahan – Kingston Wheelers
4. Neil Rutter – Swindon RC
5. Wayne Crombie – East London Velo
6. Will McFarland – East London Velo

YOUTH U/12 DEVIL
1. Hayden Cassidy – HHYCC
2. Theo Modell – East London Velo
3. Kareem Akirnibi – HHYCC
4. Alex Griffiths – VC Londres
5. Arlo Ludewick – HHYCC
6. Matthew Williams – HHYCC

YOUTH U/16 DEVIL
1. Max Bergin – VC Londres
2. Henry Dawson – Prestige VC
3. Freddy Wright – VC Londres
4. Thomas Finch – VC Londres
5. Harrison Coombes – HHYCC
6. Andrew Bradshaw – VC Londres

WOMENS TEAM SPRINT 1 Lap
1. Look Mum no Hands/ 37.84secs- New Track Record
2. Mule Bar Girl/38.01sec

MENS TEAM SPRINT 1.5Laps
1. Brixton Cycles/50.45secs- New Track Record
2. VCL/ 50.97secs
3. CS Grupetto/ 52.04secs
4. Medway Velo/ 53.75sees

CONSOLATION RACE 5 Laps
1. Tony Lock – Edwards Elite
2. Luke Anderson – Wigmore CC
3. Carlos Conceicao – VC Londres
4. Ben Jacobs – London Dynamo
5. Jason Garfield – CS Grupetto

YOUTH U/12 4 Lap POINTS
1. Hayden Cassidy – HHYCC/10pts
2. Theo Modell – East London Velo/8pts
3. Matthew Williams – HHYCC/4pts
4. Kareem Akirnibi – HHYCC/2pts
5. Arlo Ludewick – HHYCC/0pts
6. Amelia Coombes – HHYCC/0pts

YOUTH U/16 6 Lap POINTS
1. Brenden Bremett – Fareham Wheelers/12pts
2. Thomas Finch – VC Londres/5pts
3. Harrison Coombes – HHYCC/5pts
4. Freddy Wright – VC Londres/4pts
5. Max Bergin – VC Londres/3pts
6. Hisham Al-Ramah – VC Londres/1pt

WOMENS 1 Lap Standing Start TT
1. Lydia Boylan – Look Mum No Hands/36.88secs- New Track Record
2. Sarah Brook – Mule Bar Girls/38.57secs
3. Elise Sherwell – Look Mum No Hands/40.03secs 11/40.12secs

SENIOR MENS 2 Lap Standing Start TT
1. Neil Rutter – Swindon RC/ 1min06.50- New Track Record
2. John Coolahan – Kingston Wheelers/ 1min08.53
3. Will McFarland – East London Velo/ 1min12.53
4. Jules Birks – VC Londres/ 1min13.73
5. James Clark – CC Hackney/ 1 min13.75
6. Cameron Howard – Spirit Racing Team/ 1min13.80
7. Ben Friend – Clarence/1min14.00
8. Eli Lassman – Brixton CC/1min15.31
9. Iain Gillam – Imperial Collage CC/1 min16.74
10. Kier Apperley – CC Hackney/1min17.31
11. Chris McGovern – Sutton CC/1 min18.84
12. Phil Wright – VC Londres/1lmin20.66

SENIOR 10Km. SCRATCH
1. Tony Lock – Edwards Elite
2. Richard St Pierre
3. Luke Anderson – Wigmore CC
4. George Gori – LaFuga Sigma
5. Iain Cook – VC Londres
6. Chris Cole – VC Londres

The under 14s and under 16s were next up, and VCL fielded five riders: George, Oliver, Noah, Fred and Charlotte. Fred and Charlotte both placed 2nd in the under-14s. George was highest placed in the under-16s, at 6th, with Oliver 10th and Noah 13th.

In the senior cat 3/4 race, VCL was represented by four riders: Philip, Marek, Kieran and Mark. As is often the case at Hillingdon, it ended in a bunch sprint. Philip managed to be third over the line, the race being won by Peter Cole.

We left as Toby started the E/1/2/3 race, thereby making sure that VCL riders were to be seen in every race that day.

Riders at the hotel getting ready to leave for Oudenaarde

The next day we were up nice and early for breakfast before what, for many, was the longest ride they have done. We drove out to the new start in Oudenaarde feeling excited on a cold, cloudy morning. We were told to park up in a field were we all got ready and started cycling to the start where we split up. One group was doing the 140km ride while the others were doing the 80km ride. The much talked about changes to the course affected the sportive with the Paterberg and the Oude Kwaremont coming later than in previous years.

The shorter ride was also made harder by the increase of climbs from just 5 to 13 climbs. Although it sounded a lot harder, the new course wasn’t too challenging for the 11 strong riders who did it. Many hills were packed with other riders meaning many riders had to either trackstand or get off (VCL riders don’t fall off) their bikes and walk up the rest of the hill. Unfortunately, this happened to many of the riders in both long and short rides. However, the short ride did not encounter the same kind of mechanicals that plague the Northern classics and only suffered one minor difficulty.

The same could not be said about the long ride where I (on a new bike-my dad’s decision) suffered various mechanicals, Freddie and Chris dropped their chains on the Koppenberg and Chris got 3 pich punctures in the first 50km. Thankfullly when we got to the first feed zone, our bikes began to cope with the cobbles propely.

The riders on the long ride rest at the first feed zone

However, the short,steep,sharp climbs were just begginning and there were 8 coming up in the next 40km. The last of these climbs was the Kruisberg-45km from the finish with gradients of 9% it goes on for 1.8km and were the first of the four hardest as well as the last climbs of the day. After the Kruisberg, there another 1.5km hill which led up to the 2.2km cobbled Oude Kwaremont with gradients of 12%. This was a gruelling test of the energy levels left with just 3km till the Paterberg. Only 300metres in length it may not seem the nastiest hill to finish on but with an average gradient of 13% and a maximum of 22% it is a real killer. Unfortunately, when we all reached the top we had another mechanical. Freddie’s rear derailleur snapped and he was left to do the last 15km stuck in one gear. Thankfully, we were over all the hills and it was just a short descent and a 10km finish straight to go. In the end we finished in two groups with Jason, Chris and Phil staying with Freddie.

Phil mourns the loss of Freddies rear derailleur.

Once everyone got back to the hotel and showered, we headed out to our normal bistro to enjoy a well deserved meal looking foward to seeing the pros suffer the next day.

As is now tradition, we went to see the start of the ‘girlies’ race in Oudenaarde. We were able to see Lizzie Armistead, Emma Pooley and Lucy Martin in their AA drink team as well as Nicole Cooke in her Faren Honda team. We watched them sign on and be presented to the crowd before watching them start what was the third round of the World Cup. Before leaving Oudenaarde we decided where to go to watch the men and womens race. The Oude Kwaremont was the final decision as we could see the women go up it before the men go up it 3 times.

When we arrived, Caveman got out a fishing pole with a Flanders flag and an England flag on aswell as wigs for him and Tony.

Caveman and Tony's wigs.

We had to wait a while before seeing the women come past and another hour for the men. The first time the men came round, there was a break of 13 including sprinter Tyler Farrar and breakaway specialist Pablo Lastras. By the second time around, Omloop Het Nieuwsblaasd winner Sep Vanmarcke was pushing the pace on the front with the breakaway already absorbed back into the peloton. Before seeing them for the third time, we moved up the hill where there were two big screens so we could watch the last 20km. As expected, the Kwaremont was decisive and we saw Alessandro Ballan go off the front shortly to be joined by Tom Boonen and Pipo Pozzato further up the climb.

Ballan makes his move!

This was the winning move and we watched the last 10km intensely as the three upfront rode away from the 25-strong chasing group. They had enough of a gap to start a match sprint for the final few kilometres and as the sprint was launched the crowd went mad cheering for Boonen and there was an eruption of noise as Boonen lunged for the line and stuck his fist in the air.

"And the crowd goes wild"...well not yet.

On the day, there were some 15,000 riders from all over the world taking part in this sportive which gets more popular every year. Hopefully we can get a few more VCL riders to experience the cobbles and climbs next year. If you want a taster of the ride over the cobbles here are some videos of my uncle going over them:Flandrian Cobbles

There were also some photo spots on the route. If you haven’t seem them already here is the link: http://www.sportograf.com/en/shop/event/1415. Simply enter your number and you can buy some photos of you on the ride.

Another exciting and thoroughly enjoyable trip very well organised by Steve Cave.

“It’s that man again!” Garrie Tillot offers Max the U14 Series Leader Shirt

Once again, Max achieved a first and second place in the Points and Scratch race but lost concentration in the elimination; misjudged his position and was called out 12th. Pinging them off from the back can be a dangerous tactic. Ending the day’s event a secure third, it was clear to the field that the overall series title was still Max’s.

Charlotte warming up, Abi warming down

Hisham , Abi and Charlotte were the lone VCL riders in their categories. Moving up an age group can be hard as a win is so much less certain in a field older and more experienced by a year.

All three riders were able to keep up front in their races but were unable to match the final breaks as the leaders broke away to the finish. It has been pointed out, the events are as much a show of endurance over distances greater than experienced in the local Track Leagues and Omniums. For this final event, some of the Talent Team were available to participate in their under 16 category.

Max and Hisham deep in concentration

This Icebreaker Series is definitely worth the early start and long drive. The Kids love the racing and gain great Indoor Track experience. Some participants travelled from Edinburgh and the Isle of Man to race so it is a true reflection of the competition across the Country.
This year, the Winter dates have had a neat little overlap into the start of the Summer Season.

In my humble opinion, our VCL youth rode with strength and intelligence and are a credit to the Club and the Coaches who give up their free time supervising training year round, Winter and Summer.

The Spring Omnium was this Sunday, marking the start of the season down at Herne Hill. VCL were a dominant force as usual. Welcome to Andrew Bradshaw starting his first season in VCL colours, Scrippo is back, and riding his bike, and Josh, Sam, Kieran and Euan are now riding as Juniors. Most people used the opportunity to test their track legs after the winter and were looking strong for the upcoming season.

After enjoying the cyclo cross season, Abi wanted to have a go at mountain biking so she entered the National Mtb XC series. The first of the series was on Sunday in Sherwood Pines Forest in Nottinghamshire. The atmosphere was so exciting and there was the opportunity of watching Annie Last and Liam Killen (Britain’s Olympic hopefuls) race later in the day. Abi’s race was early in the morning and she was competing in a large field of youth girls. She was gridded at the back as she has not competed at this level in mountain biking before and was hoping to gain some experience. So, when she appeared at the finish in third position it was such a fantastic surprise! She put in a very fast time and raced with great confidence, coming ahead of some very talented riders.

Meanwhile Iain, swapped his VCL colours for those of Edingburgh University, at the British University & Collage Sport Track Championships at Newport Velodrome, getting a nice 12.2 flying 200m time, 6th in the points race and dragging his team to 3rd in the team pursuit.

Toby’s alraedy notched up a few races at Hog Hill this year, but at least last week it felt like spring had sprung!

Only a few weeks until our local race leagues at Crystal Palace and Herne Hill and the racing season will be in full swing.

Max prepares to squeeze himself into the leader's jersey again. A larger one has been promised for the final round.

Ten VCL riders travelled down to Newport for the second round of the Icebreaker series on Saturday 25th Feb. Again, the show was stolen by Max Bergin and Fred Wright, who once more came first and second overall after dominating all three events. Well done to both! Max is well positioned now to win the series, though Fred will not compete in the final round due to the club trip to the Tour of Flanders on the same day.

There were also strong performances in the other categories, with a number of riders making significant improvements on the previous outing. In the under-16 boys, George, Oliver and Hisham (all first-years) finished 9th, 11th and 13th respectively, each bettering last month’s result. Riding for the first time in this series, Abi (again, a first-year) did extremely well to come 4th in the under-16 girls, her ride in the devil being particularly exciting. At the back with only three riders left in, she pulled off a move that even Laura Trott didn’t try in her inspirational ride at the recent World Cup, squeezing between the two leaders to avoid elimination. Also in this category, Eleanor raced for the first time this year, putting in a determined performance and finishing above a number of other riders.

In the under-14 girls, first years Rachel and Georgie also improved on last month, finishing 5th and 8th respectively. Given that the overall winner is the current national champion, these are very respectable results and bode well for the south-east omnium series in May and June. Our sole representative in the under-12 category, Max Cheatle, continued to acquire valuable track experience, finishing 17th, competing against a number of riders who have a winter’s track racing in their legs.

It was great to see so many in red and blue competing at Newport and doing the Club proud in both performances and results. Well done to all!

February’s Team Championships mark the end of the cross season. Half relief that the warm(er) weather is on the way, and half sadness that the wacky world of cyclo cross is done for another year.

First, news on the sesaon’s league standings overall:

After 14 rounds of racing since September, held all over the South East of England, Thomas Finch came 2nd, and Fred Wright 3rd in the Youth boys – both great results. Abi Van Twisk went one better by winning the Youth girls category (and sorry for getting that wrong the first time!). Jules Birks came 3rd overall in the Senior men, after a very strong year of racing, and not helped by a few mechanicals throughout the year ruining a few races for him.

So between the Youth and Senior catagories we had a first, second and two thirds. Excellent stuff.

In the Seniors, Philip Glowinski also come 9th overall, and Keiran Laurie was 8th Junior. In total, the VCL had 4 U12s, 5 Youths, and 15 seniors racing throughout the year. Some seriously good results, well done all!

Onto the Team Champs itself VCL entered 1 youth team, and 3 senior teams. The course at Great Walstead School is always a good great course to finish the season on. This year, the snow was hanging around making for a crazy start straight and slippery corners. The coruse was a lot more technical than previous years, with usually just a  few seconds of straight before the next tight corner.

The youths had a good race, Thomas had a typical strong race to finish in 5th. Fred and Abi finished one behind each other, with Fred taking 13th boy, and Abi a fantastic ride to take 14th (1st girl). Rachel came 4th girl helping the team a very respectable 5th place overall.

On to the senior race, VCL entered the second most riders spread over 3 teams, and unlike last year’s bevvy of mechanical issues, all 11 finishes meaning we had the most finishers of any team! Despite team manager Philip taking the previous race off to study everyone’s form to help decide which team they went in (at least that the excuse he used), as usual on the unpredictable course C teamer beat A teamers etc. Its since been pointed out the first 3 VCL finishers scored enough points to get second place overall, only problem that they were representing a mixture of the A team and C team! Largely though everyone finished roughly where expected.

As usual Jules (5th place) and Philip (7th place) were dominant, despite Jules rolling a tub and me forgetting to bring his spare wheels (sorry again!) Luckily Shaun’s mountainbike served well as a spare. James had one of his best races of the year to finish 22nd, and fell off much less than usual, in spite of the technical, slippery course. Iain (33rd), Kieran (38th) came in pretty close to each other, while Andy (42nd), Jason (45th), Chris (46th) and Shaun (56th) were all even closer having swapped positions a few time during the race. Phil (68th) and David (81st) rounded things off nicely over a lap up on some of the field.

Frustratingly, even after a great ride from everyone, the A team could only able to equal its 4th place from last year. The B team came 9th (though I can see the inaccurate results owe us enough points to jump to 8th) and the C team came 14th. This means all 3 of our senior teams finished in the top half of the rankings. Great stuff.

The impressive-looking VCL warm-up area

U14 Boys Podium

The U14 girls couldn’t quite match their counterparts in the boys category, but Charlotte, Rachel and Georgie, all three new to the category, put in consistent performances finishing 7th, 8th and 10th repectively. The VCL girls were amongst the most aggresive riders in a category where conservative racing seemed to be the order of the day. All three put in big turns both attacking and chasing down breaks.

For Max Cheatle in the U12 boys it was his first experience of racing at Newport. His 14th overall was creditable in a field where many of the riders are frequent vistors to the track. The toughest category, as ever, was the U16 boys in which VCL had three representatives: George Jary, Hisham Al-Ramah and Oliver Cliff. Like the U14 girls, all three have moved up this year and their 14th, 17th and 22nd places respectively are decent in a category where the racing is very fast, tactical and technical. George did well in the points and scratch races and looked better than his 10th and 13th places would suggest, but it was in the elimination race where his tactic of sprinting from the back misfired and his 20th cost him four places in his overall position. Otherwise, for a first-year U16, Georges’ was an impressive ride. The rider who did get his elimination tactics right was Hisham, who finished 6th in that race and might have done even better, but looked almost embarassed to still be in with the company he was with and hesitated just enough to get called out with six riders left.

Well done to all who rode. Once again VCL colours were displayed to good effect.