WORLD MASTERS TRACK - "It's showtime folks"

WORLD MASTERS - Manchester - 15Km Points Race

News of that once great cycling champions fall from grace, it was only getting worse by the day, all these allegations against Jimmy Saville were only tempered by the back pages full of the pantomime events that surround that once iconic charity fundraiser Lance Armstrong allegations that his great plate spinning act was finally falling down around his ears. With cycling so much in the news these days we thought for all the right reasons but apparently we were wrong! Rumours that Lance was thinking of making a comeback in the Masters abound but was otherwise engages on some pre-publicity event that may involve a lifetime ban or even a stretch in prison where I'm sure he will find all the drugs he needs (or wants) to be champion of his world.

Bunch racing at it's best 15Km Points Race 50-54

Lance Arm Strong his name is like a call to war, the definition of a fighter, and what a fight it has been, if only it had been a fair fight we might feel good about how we believed (wanted to believe) in a man who could take on the things that us mere mortals hope to avoid or at least beat with the help of others. A one man war machine against the world and its pain. Taking that pain for us? And now we find its all been a Hollywood plot with rickety scenery and bad acting, shocker!

Toth leads by two laps - still a bit to do for SWRC

Back to the racing, Day 2, for me or just plain Thursday for everybody else, not enough riders (26) sign on for heats so its everybody straight through to the final and no nasty heat for us Hooray! But I got to watch some of the best racing of the week in the 45-49 heats as riders lapped the field one after another clocking up the points (10pts. for a lap) in the highest scoring 40 lap race I'd ever seen and riders needed at least 10 points to qualify, and to think last year you only requires a single point, thank Lance I'm out of that group. Our final comes around soon enough that evening after a day watching the rain fall and fall. So its a bit of a warm up (I'd been on the track that morning) and with only 60 laps (six sprints) all to play for, I sit out the first sprint as only on 92" gear and its always 'mental' fast! Vincent Zoric (ARG) is fastest out the gate from Londoner (Hackney BC) Kier Apperley and the Vladimir Zyryanov from Siberia (bet they have a nice track!)

Round the outside

After this it gets a bit confusing but I think we are played the old one...two by defending champion Le Beau and his Canadian team mate Peter Toth who went away and gained a lap with Burke the British champion  but Burke pulled out soon after as did the American Don Langly who won the next sprint as I picked up my first points in second, the Russian third and another American David Gulick the single. While I was getting my breath back Toth went again! this time with the Russian and Ralph Carter (London Dynamo) who had beaten me in the British Champ's but he could not hold the pace  while the others gained a lap.

Ralph Carter (Dr) 5th (Pic - Steve Walton)

While I was floundering getting a single point on the scoreboard but the race was well stretched by this point and I thought I was nowhere, so many riders had gone away that I was out of the reckoning. I made a big effort for the final sprint and only lost out to Le Beau so I was surprised when I came off the track to be told I was 4th! With two of the strongest riders pulling out and the likes of Poppelwell and Christensen not scoring a single point, even though they were very animated in the race. To be fair all the medallists were all at least a lap up and I never even thought it was possible for me to go with any of the moves but it just goes to show that maybe I was not giving myself a chance its the closest I've come to a medal and now maybe I think I can win

The British riders do better in the 45-49 age group Nick Abraham and Nick Noble taking  the Silver and Bronze from that man Kenny Williams again!  But it's a dam close race with the result only decided on the final sprint after the Italian Enrico Grimaldi penalised two laps for a 'non mechanical' timeout when leading the race at half way.