Warm-Up
Seven VCL youth riders once again made the dawn trek to Newport for the second of the Icebreaker track meetings. Having driven through almost three hours of rain, we were welcomed by glorious sun-shine to the Newport Velodrome car-park, packed by 9.00 a.m. with the motor-homes and mini-vans of the really eager. The quiet and calm efficiency with which the girls and boys set up, sign-on and go through their warm-up shows the value of this experience. Already many of us parents feel less like team managers and more like soignuers.
Racing started with the A boys points heats. The presence of the GB talent team saw the races ridden at furious speed. Those that had thought the warm-up an opportunity to roll around and have a chat were quickly disabused. The racing remained fast all day, although, oddly after a crashless first meeting, there were a worryingly large number of spills, the worst a five-girl pile-up towards the end of the neutralised first lap of the scratch race as the favourites all jostled to get to the front. Whether through luck or skill, all the VCL riders remained upright throughout the day, Josh Cole-Hossain only by the deftest of flicks as the rider in front rolled a tub at full gas; enough to get around, but not so much as to bring down the rest of the bunch.
All-in-all, it was another fruitful day for VCL. The blue-and-red was prominent at the front of many of the races. Josh made the most of his minor finals to mix it up and George Jary took points from the points race and was lying sixth overall after a strong scratch finish, before being boxed in the devil and dropping to a disappointing 11th in the final standings. Abi Van Twisk and Elenor Holden showed that perhaps they were starting to get used to the Newport boards, Abi managing fifth in the B girls scratch, fifth in the devil and a fine 4th overall at the close.
The most successful rides of the day were reserved for our youth C riders. Fred Wright made no mistake with the points, picking up maximum points on every sprint bar from the last, by which time he could deservedly relax. It was a dominating performance and perhaps it was no co-incidence that a perplexed Tomas Owens decided to change out of his National Champion’s jersey. Fred took the scratch race in equal style, Owens finishing second again, and it was down to the devil to decide between the two overall. Fred has had no luck in the devil this year. Last up he mistakenly thought that he had been called out by his dad. This time around, after having ridden at the front for most of the race, Fred cruised over the line with four left in, wrongly thinking that the previously eliminated rider, having taken a rather long time to drop off, was still in. The mistake cost him dear. Fred now had two firsts and a fourth to Owens’s two seconds and a first. The riders were equal on points and there was some discussion as to whether the number of first places or the final race position decided the outcome. In the end Owens’s higher finish in the final race was deemed sufficient to give him the overall. A slightly disappointing end, but there was no mistake about which rider was the strongest.
That left Rachel Jary and Charlotte Cole-Hossain in the C girls. Charlotte made a statement of intent by attacking on the first lap of the first 20-lap scratch race. It was a chase from then on, Charlotte finally lapping the field with two to go. Back in the by now splintering bunch, Rachel sportingly held back until Charlotte had half a lap before herself attacking with some gusto. Unfortunately for Rachel, some of the riders lapped by Charlotte sat on Charlotte’s wheel, only to be dragged back up to Rachel relatively fresh for the final sprint. Matters were less complicated in the points and the devil. Charlotte and Rachel made sure by keeping the bunch under control, taking 1st and 2nd respectively in both races with some ease and taking the same two places on the final podium.
So far, this series has been excellent for our youth riders. With just one more to look forward to, we are hoping that the team can finish with a florish.
U12 Podium
