European Masters Track - Gold standard

Points Race :- Almost three days to the minute at 7.00pm after I'd finished the Elmet 12 Hr. I lined up for the Euro Masters (45-49) 20Km Points race final on the Manchester track, my first competitive race on the Velodrome where I had watched so many of Britain's finest triumphs over the past few years. I'd only got to the track and hour before after being stuck in commuting traffic and the signing on sheet was ripped from under my pen, I was the last to sign in and as I rushed off to accreditation I enquired "When are we racing?" to which the alarming reply "You're up first" so I had only 50 minutes to put bike together (and spares) get changed and have a warm up, after having barely an hour on the bike since bringing my battered body to a standstill in Yorkshire.
Most of the riders I knew from the British Masters but there was a handful of unknowns from other countries, the usual track cycling nations France, Italy and Denmark. I sat out the first couple of sprints to let my legs get used to the speed and the cadence of the group, Sylvan Abadie (Fr.) was very strong winning the first sprint and attacking several times, Stephen Clayton (GB) won the second with Abadie 2nd and I felt I had no option but to go for a lap so I attacked immediately and got a good quarter then half a lap but with no company I had no option but to continue on my own. I took the next points but my legs were in no shape to continue the attack even though I was almost in the same straight as the bunch, a group of four got off the front of the bunch and I was in with them when they caught me but eventually we all came back together for the sprint.
Clayton (3rd) and Abadie (4th) were in the points and leading the race with 9 and 11 respectively so I went on the attack again taking Ian Greenstreet (GB) and the Danish World Pursuit Champion Claus Christensen with me, I won the sprint but had to sit out the next won by the British Pursuit Champion Peter Ettles (GB) blowing a bit but with 10 Pt's in 3rd place. Attack again the only option this time after Trevor Burke (GB) and I had to go for the sprint from 2 laps out to stop Christensen catching me on the line, I was now leading with 15 Pt's one ahead of the French rider so I only had to beat him in the finale to take the win, I tracked him for the last 10 laps and then attacked with a lap to go and lead out the sprint, fading Ettles and Clayton came past and I had the title, there was a bit of confusion (as with all points races) Clayton would have beaten me if he had won the final sprint as we would have had the same total and in this case the position in the final sprint is the clincher but with 17 Pt's a clear 2 Point margin over the Litchfield man and Abadie a point further back in 3rd

The Champion and his 'iron' (carbon wheels mind!)

There was a whirlwind of victory ceremony with jersey and medal, girls and flowers (do I kiss two or three times?) with national anthem and flags and "Yes Mr. President a good race?" and a lap of honour to 'We are the Champions' (get a bit sick of this one after a few days - I'll be bound) and then a sit down blinking into the first day of being a European Champion. Lots of people came up to congratulate me, I wandered out into the daylight of the early evening from the artificial light of the track center stunned and a little dazed
As a little note to the evening, I was waiting for the victory ceremony with the two other riders, we propped our bikes against the acrylic fence ready for the lap of honour, we exchanged pleasantries and looked at the bikes two identical (but differently branded - 'Planet X' & 'Bernard Hinault') carbon bikes and mine in the middle a 30 year old 'Roberts' iron and in that Gallic manner Sylvan rolled his eyes and nodded his head in a way that pleased me almost as much as the win.