Published: 11 July 2006
News and Results from Reading Velodrome Racing, Palmer Park, July 3rd 2006 from John Dennis.
It may be the traditional home of Rugby, but Twickenham also has a strong hold in the cycling world. Its home club produced no less than three four-man teams to contest Monday's British Cycling Central Region's Team Pursuit Championship, held over 9 laps of the Reading Velodrome :- Twickenham A, B and Youth combinations. But the final race, a battle between their A team and Reading's A.W.Cycles star men of Bayfield, Bedingfield and Petersen was a triumph for the local riders. Despite fielding only three men it was a strong enough combination to beat the men from the rugby town by almost 9 secs.
Reading town's riders also showed that there is more strength in the background
for Palmer Park Velo's coach, Shane Benson, decided to enter A and B teams, with some youngsters in the under 12 years old category, to experience top class racing.
The evening of the year's hottest day saw young riders at their best for they took a good share of the points from the seniors. It was yet another example of the success of Reading's policy of encouraging juveniles (under 16 ) and juniors (under 18) to mix it with the older competitors.
Two of them, Alex Breary (PCA Ciclos Uno) and Tom Price (VC St Raphael) chased Ian Greenstreet home in the A riders 10 lap scratch race and Michael Wilmot, Hillingdon Slipstreamers, overcame everyone in the B riders category.
In the sprinting department 15 years old Toby Meadows (BeyondMTB) topped the B riders 500m scratch race which followed an A riders final where rising local star Sam Serruya, another 15 year old, was not surprisingly beaten by elite rider Ian Holt.
Young Sam's team mate Joe Bayfield took his revenge in the name of AW Cycles, when he closed the evening's action with a perfectly timed victory over Holt in the 20 kms Endurance.