After some excellent club sessions at Lee Valley Velodrome it is fair to say a few of us have been bitten by the track bug so when I mentioned the SE Regional track champs I was excited when Steve Smith, Dom Campbell and Tom Kennison were keen to join me for the day.
It became a bit of an A team effort when the club bike taken by Dom had a few mechanical issues and we were left scratching our heads for an alternative bike. Step in Nigel Smith who, with the aid of some parts from Steve, transformed his commuting fixie hack into a track steed. Ok it wasn’t flash but would do the trick and it meant we could all ride.
Dom's bike - the magnum
We travelled up as a team with Steve and Nicola Smith ‘the team car’ and everyone seemed to be looking forward to the event. We arrived in plenty of time and signed on, warming up for the first event, the kieren. My heat was first, I have never been in a derny paced race and perhaps caught up in the excitement just sat at the back. At the sprint, though not dropped settled for rolling in behind the other girls. The boys were somewhat more exciting to watch, when the derny rolled off Steve and Tom were on a flyer, unfortunately Dom got caught behind a rider going backwards resulting in him haveing to make up some 150 within the last three quarters of the lap. Though he finished in the bunch he was just out of qualifying for the final.
The next event was the scratch, I decided I wanted a 15 sprocket and borrowed Steve’s wheel unknown to me at the time I already had a 15 on my original wheel (rookie). The scratch was the same as the kieren, I sat at the back, did nothing moved up a place in the sprint. I was kicking myself, I certainly didn’t feel outclassed but I was not confident waiting for others to make moves and being hesitant, I felt I was just making up the numbers and I was determind in my next bunch race to change that. Steve and Dom decided to concentrate on the pursuit and Tom went forward into the scratch. He was looking sharp but not placed that time.
Next was the pursuit, for me 5 laps, for the boys it was 6. I set of way too fast, blew up after half a lap and spent the rest of it wanting to cry. Lesson learned.
Steve was next, he looked like an absolute machine going round, low, aero and powerful. He was clocking up some serious pace. Next was Dom, unfortunately as he started his chain came off. Step in Steve Smith who put the saddle down a few CM and gave him his bike and Dom was restarted in Tom’s heat. Dom was professional not letting the mishap get him down and rode very consistent laps. Not Tom’s speciality but he also looked super aero, smooth and fast as he completed the painful time-trial that, despite being a few minutes, feels like it will never end. It is also worth noting the MVC team just used track bikes with regular wheels and handlebars where most the other riders used TT set ups and discs. Scores on the doors:
5th – Steve in 3.41.15
7th – Dom in 3.43
11th -Tom in 4.05
Ladies 7th Sally in 3.39.20
The kieren final with Steve and Tom was next, it was crazy fast to watch. Here it was Tom’s time to shine and he stormed in to 4th place with Steve finishing a few places behind him.
The last race of the day was the points. I was determind to be more confident and proactive and had decided I would win points in at least one of the sprints. For the first sprint I kept in the front third of the group but failed to score, I think I was about 5th. With the girls a little tired from this first effort I seized my opportunity and on the next point scoring lap went for a break a quarter of a lap in. It was a very long way round and I could feel the peloton bearing down on me as I rounded the corner to the finish. One rider managed to get round but I held on for 2nd. I was totally spent. I then found myself on the front and legs were cramping up. On the final lap I finished a quater of a lap down, having blown but I kept my sprint points taking 5th overall and some licence points so I was really happy. I’d been proactive and it paid off.
The men’s race again was unbelievably bonkers, attacks coming thick and fast, at one point Steve had a quater of a lap lead on the field but sadly was swallowed up again before the sprint. Dom also had a number of attacks, these lads may be new to track racing but they were making their presence felt. No points for the team on this occassion but they rode well, they rode fast and they were certainly looking confident.
So to summarise Tom is 4th in the South East Region for kieren, Steve 5th in the region for pursuiting and Dom 7th. Can’t wait to see how this unfolds next season. Thank you to Nicola Smith our number 1 supporter, who I hope will join our ladies track team and Nigel our ‘Edd China’ for building a bike for Dom.
