Keeping on Track

Watching the racing at Newport

  
 A few weeks of racing dominated by the Track, I entered my first proper 'Open' meeting since 1984! At a track I'd never ridden on before, the Newcastle-under-Lyme track at Stoke. It was on of the National Hard Track League run throughout the season and although I had a series of 'B' I chose to do the Elite races with some of the top track riders in the country. A lovely outdoor track in a park with a good tarmac surface, the rain of the day before had cleared up. The meeting had quite a bit of sprinting (Senior won by Sean Mayer the son of an old friend (and adversary) from the past. There was Ladies and schools so plenty of time to recover between the races. I didn't show myself up too much in the 'warm-up' Scratch or Points races, not out first in the Devil (but suddenly ran out of puff!) It was the day after the National 50 so my legs ached like buggery anyway and it was all down to the 20Km Scratch finale. As I say legs were about shot so when six of the top riders set off up the road I sat tight in the bunch and bided my time for them to gain a lap while doing a few strong turns and then when it was all back together I was able to hang in and got 8th overall in the finish sprint.

Ceremonial Opening at newly re surfaced Halesowen

A couple of weeks later I had the British Masters Track at Newport, I did a dismal 2Km Pursuit (slowest ever!) for 9th but when you are in the company of the World Champion Peter Ettles (Sandy Wallace) then all performance is relative. And such is the competition here that even he could not retain his British title and pushed into second spot by World Bronze medalist Mark Wiffin (Tavistock Whs.) 'newby' to this age group but a rider with another World class time Johannes Roux (Giant) only taking the Bronze. After feeling great the day before in the 8Km Scratch final. I was here there and everywhere, up the road in a break of four most of the race but i could just not get it to stick as the others were unable or unwilling to make a real go of it (a bit of both I suspect) so as we finessed the finish I'd used most of my bullet's and ended up 7th with the same podium as last year Peter Ettles Ian Greenstreet (Newbury RC) and Adrian Ward (Shaftsbury). In the Points race I fared better but with the race reduced from 60 to 40 laps (& only 4 sprints) it became a 'sprinters' race and as I never get going until half way I was off the front chasing the eventual winner Ian Whittall (Manchester Whs) with Ettles an Greenstreet when the bell went for the end of the race. We were only 20 meters short of lapping the field (so 1/4 lap!) which would have seen us taking all three medals (10 Pts for gaining a lap) as I was I had to settle for 6th the Manchester rider winning (with 9 Pt's) from Ettles and 'newby' Michael Rice (De Laune) 3rd an old friend from Herne Hill (& Dunraven days) who got up in several of the early sprints

1982 Winner

I had another visit to my past this last weekend at (newly resurfaced) Halesowen Track for the Dudley GP another National Hard Track League meting . It rained all morning so the start delayed for a couple of hours and then an opening ceremony with the Mayor and all that jazz. I was a bit more confident here knowing a few more of the riders and having a few more races in my legs but I'd done a terrible (I thought) ride the last week in the Belper RC 25 (54:34) and set out to recover my TT legs by doing a few hard sessions in the week so my legs feeling a bit wobbly after 70m yesterday and track legs suspended until later in the year. I suppose I never worry that I will be able to 'turn on' my track legs, I've never been the super quick type so transition not all that difficult but having done some specific track sessions and a bit more racing has definitely had an effect on my 'testing' ability so I needed to reverse it If I want to put up some decent times

In the bunch with William Fotheringham

All the races were quite long 20 lap Scratch 32 lap Points and a Devil that went on forever (I went out after 12 or so) and with only a Ladies  and Schools Omnium to compliment it we were up and down every twenty minutes. It was tough going, the wind blew up making the home straight a bit of a graveyard and I'd left my 94" gear on from the indoor track making it even tougher. I was determined the the best riders would not get away from me this time and there were a few more endurance riders to take on the chasing and the wind discouraged riders from going out on the attack too much so all the races stayed together apart from the end of the Points when I attacked and got half a lap up by the finish, this with an early win gave me my highest place.

Alistair wins the Billy Jones '10'

William Fotheringham the Guardian journalist is a Halesowen A & CC member and races in my Masters age group but he has not been around recently claiming no time to race but he was sponsoring the final race and gave a good account of himself without walking off with any of his own money. At easter I started reading his Eddy Merckx book while staying at Adrian's, I did not know if I was going to get on with it but within a few chapters I was gripped, the only sad part I had to leave it behind half finished but not much time to read in the season so I'll put it on the list of things to catch up with along with the Sean Yates and Sean Kelly books that brother Phil just gave me (he needs to get out on his bike more!)

Podium Loney, Rutherford & Notley

 The final event was the Billy Jones '10' forty laps of the track in the company of some pretty fierce (and allot younger) competition. I was determined to stay with the leaders this time however hard the pace went and the race developed differently and I was able to hold the pack all the way to the finish. David Bradley (Vertex) helped by making a solo attack that lasted for the first half of the race but was destined not to succeed in the wind and he was pulled back and by this time in the race the contenders had decided to settle for a sprint finish so there was a bit of finessing before the final gallop and it was Alistair Rutherford (NAB) from James Notley (Mammoth) and long travelling young Scottish rider Zac Loney (LFH).

I had won this race in 1982 with a solo win when there were only four riders left on the track, three of these were SWRC riders as we decimated the mainly sprinting field with constant attacks one of my favorite memories of racing o7ò

Billy Jones '10'

Masters Track (Newport) Results

Midsummer TM Newcastle UL Results

Dudley GP - Halesowen Results