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Junior racing roundup 22/06/10

by Steve Powell

Sherilyn is having time off the bike at the moment as she is deep in study being in the midst of her GCSE science exams, but takes a break now and then for a spot of racing.

6th June we all went to the VCC Herne Hill family race day. It was an action packed day and Grandad (Dave) was there too in the grandstand cheering us all on.

The 2 lap - 2 person mixed relay saw us all in competition, Sherilyn and Mitch decided to take on mum and dad plus many other pairs of adults. It was a close run first lap with Sherilyn getting to the cross over zone in lead position to hand over to Mitch but mum was not far behind. Experience then had the advantage over youth, a really slick hand over had dad nipping past Mitch after another rider nearly bought the whole lot of us off ...... a butt gusting effort by dad meant the youngsters had to settle for 2nd place (only just!)
Sherilyn then got revenge on mum in the ladies race, with a rapid performance securing her a clear win.
We all took part in the Devil heats, Sherilyn and mum being the first of us shelled out, followed by dad ... but Mitch held a fast wheel in the sprint to secure his place in the adults final later on in the day.
The handicap race saw Mitch in action again, this time he had to settle for 2nd place, having a bit too much distance to make up but put in a sterling effort.
After lunch the 10 lap race had both kids racing again, mum & dad deciding they had wasted quite enough heartbeats and left them to it. The racing was quite furious, Sherilyn leading out for a fair few laps with Mitch tucked right in behind her, forcing the pace and other riders to go high up the banking to go round them in the closing stages. The sprint was very tight, Mitch finishing just ahead of Sherilyn having been tactically boxed in by another rider to keep him at bay.
Mitch then went on to ride in the Under 12's race, this time borrowing his grandad's original (and now fully restored) Holdsworth which he bought with his paper round money in 1947-8.
He put in a great performance, easily winning ahead of his rivals and on a bike that last crossed a finish line in anger probably 60 years ago.
The final race of the day was the adults Devil final, with one little lad in the midst of the bunch. The race went off really quickly, Mitch managed to hang on but was eliminated after a few laps as his legs were spent after his full days racing.
All riders were then invited to do a few laps wind down for the spectators and so the kids got Grandad to do a few laps with them, having been there in the old days watching Fausto Coppi and Jacques Anquetile battle it out. A great family day out.

Then onto some more serious racing ....

12th June was the next event in the Lee Valley CC youth race series at Hog Hill. Aaron Freeman put in another blistering performance, annihilating his rivals for his 3rd win in the series in the Under 8's category, securing his position at the top of the leader board. Mitch was on good form too in the under 12's, sitting in the lead bunch and buried himself in the up hill sprint finish to secure a 6th place in truly class field.This now puts him in joint 6th on the leader board with all to play for with 2 more races in the series to come.
Sherilyn cruised around the circuit, now having moved up to the under 16's the competition is much greater and the 16 year old lads are a tad stronger than the only 15 year old girl who has done no training.

Finally 20th June was the ECCA track championships held at Welwyn. Sherilyn had to ride with the boys again, being the only under 16 girl, so her performance although respectable was not able to be compared with her rivals as disappointingly none were there.
Mitch managed a great performance, the Welwyn Wheelers squad tactically trying every trick in the book to shake off the sole Chelmer rider in the scratch race, however this was in vain with him coming around the outside, high on the banking to get 2nd in the sprint just ahead of his main rival much to the excitement of the race commentator. With solid performances in the pursuit and other sectors of the Omnium during the day gave him a respectable 3rd placed podium position and a cash prize too.

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