Published: 12 August 2008
Palmer Park Track League -4th & 11th reports "Double dose of action!!!!"
Two weeks of action from Palmer Park track league today, so we will keep it short and sweet with plenty of action.
Last weeks action saw racing action with the Derny's and a blistering Senior A final with a final average speed of 36mph, saw Chris Legg pip Matt Gittings on the home straight and Sam Sturgeon third. The Senior B's had a rousing victory for veteran Alan Parkinson over another vet Donal Lineham with local bike guru Rikki Pankhurst third.
The Women's final saw a comprehensive victory for Emma Patterson followed by relative newby Nikki Drinkwater second and Holly Swarbrick in third.
The youths didn't miss out having a go either and in the B Category it was Daniel Maslin who led in Frazier Carr and Cameron Swarbrick. The C Cat race was won by Jamil Gaida from Max Stedman with Reg Pay third.
A round up of the other Youth events saw victories for Matt Hargroves and Joseph Lineham in the 1 lap Handicap and then in the Devil we saw Daniel Maslin win the Cat B and Jamil Gaida continue his good form to win the Cat C, with Rosie Serruya winning the Girls race. The Youth 10 lap Scratch saw Daniel Maslin and Jamil Gaida and Rosie Serruya all completing a threepeat of victories for the evening.
The Senior A racing showed the continuing good form of Chris Legg as he won the Senior Hare & Hounds and the final race of the evening, the AW Cycles 20km endurance, lapping the field with a few laps remaining. Sadly Chris would break his collarbone later that week which has ended his season prematurely.
The Senior Bs racing saw veterans Donal Lineham win the Unknown distance and Trevor Bradbury the 20km.
Emma Paterson continued her good form to win the Womens Unknown distance, Hare & Hounds and 20 km endurance.
Now, on to this week's racing which, after seeing Nicole Cooke win Gold in the Olympic road race and take her first senior major title since winning a plethora of junior titles, should have inspired a few people to give it some welly, and they didn't disappoint.
- Three abreast, from left Matt Gittings, John Paul and Sam Sturgeon, heading for the line.
Starting with the Youth B category which had close racing in every event and saw Cameron Swarbrick snatch a lunge on the line victory over Daniel Maslin in the Keirin with Maslin returning the favour in the Hare & Hounds. Swarbrick then took the win in the Points race with Maslin evening the score in the Sprint competition.
The Youth C category races were also evenly shared and hard fought with two victories apiece for Jamil Gaida (Hare & Hounds, Sprint) and Harvey Watson (Points, Keirin).
- Nick English gives it some welly!!
The Seniors got underway with a 10 lap Scratch which had Matt Gittings just beating Ian Greenstreet to the line in the A's, with Nick English taking the B honours and Emma Patterson the Womens race.
- David Jack leading Ian Greenstreet (left) and Tristan Natolie in the Keirin heats
The Keirin heats produced some close racing but in the finals it was all out war. The B's victory went to John Paul with some carefully timed accelerations but in the A's it was three abreast as Rob Drinkwater led coming down the home straight, with Jack on his outside and Cooper outside of him. As they closed to the line Cooper had the edge over Drinkwater with Jack third.
The Senior Unknown distance event produced another close finish as Neil Cooper passed Ian Greenstreet 20 metres from the line to win in the A's, with John Paul taking another win in the B's.
The Final event of the evening as usual, the 20km AW Cycles endurance race, was a fast and furious event, and with Chris Legg out with injury, it was a much more closely fought and tactical battle that ensued. Attacking on the first lap was Nick English, an ex-rower and good time trialler, the field wasn't going to let him get too far away. This early acceleration, plus some from Tristan Natolie shelled out a few riders and when several concerted attacks were put in from Rob King, Sam Sturgeon and Neil Cooper, this caused a major split in the field, leaving 10 riders away, and smaller pockets off the back.
- Neil Cooper, who won 4 events on the night!
Constant attacking from King, English, Cooper, Sturgeon and Greenstreet put paid to several more riders and it was a group of eight who contested the final 10 laps. With no one able to gain more than a few metres lead the final lap bell sounded and the lead group went totally tactical, no one wanting to take it on from the front. Finally a move down the back straight from Rob King, which was quickly marked by Greenstreet, who then chose to keep the pace high and lead into the final bend. Neil Cooper had been tailing Greenstreet and as they hit the line it was Cooper who took it, a bike length up on Greenstreet with Matt Gittings Third. English taking the B honours and Emma Patterson the first women home.
Good Luck to the track team at the Olympics.
David Jack