Published: 21 April 2010
Despite one or two regulars being stranded overseas, the turnout for the first round of the Reading Track League at Palmer Park velodrome was excellent and it was rain, not volcanic ash, that threatened to disrupt the meeting. Dark clouds rolled in with an hour to go and a few spots of rain fell during the warm-up, but the Youth programme began on time at 7pm.
The opening Senior event was a slightly damp Hare & Hounds, with the Senior Bs given a half lap head start on the chasing Senior A riders. This is always a close race and, with fresh legs and a new injection of youthful enthusiasm, the Bs fought to hold off the chasers. A small group of As, led by Nick Abraham, did manage to reach the back of the B train going in to turn 3 for the last time, but it wasn't enough and Sam Grant of Beyond MBC took the win ahead of Neil Rutter (Swindon CC) and AW Cycles' Rikki Pankhurst.
The next scheduled Senior event was the Sprint heats, but the consensus among the riders was that the track was too dangerous to sprint on. And appeal to the Chief Commisaire saw the Sprints moved back down the programme - in the hope that the rain would ease off and the track dry put.
The next event on the rearranged schedule was the the Devil-take-the-hindmost - an event that's always been considered a 'training' event, but which will now form part of the Omnium - cycling's decathlon - at the Olympics. A large Senior B field saw two riders out every lap and six riders left in for the final lap sprint. George Withers of Palmer Park Velo - one of the first year Under 16s riding up in the Senior B League this year - opened his account with an excellent 2nd place behind Rutter with Martyn Harris of Banjo Cycles in third.
The Senior A race was more conventional, with a single elimination per lap and it was Stephen Bradbury who took the victory over his AW Cycles team mate Matt Gittings with Abrahams in third place.
The evening, though, belonged to Neil Cooper (AW Cycles) who started by winning the Senior A Unknown Distance race on a rapidly drying track from Gittings and Steve Legg (RT 316) - and going on to continuing unbeaten from that point onwards.
Cooper took the rain delayed Sprint final - again ahead of Gittings and a fast paced 20k Endurance race. Averaging 45km/h - 28mph - and despite frequent attacks, many of them instigated by Reading CC's Nick English - the bunch stayed together until 3 laps to go. Cooper chased down a late break and surged past to win comfortably.
The Senior B racing was slightly more balanced with Rutter following up his win in the Devil with another in the Unknown Distance, ahead of Pankhurst and Harris. Hare & Hounds winner Grant took the Sprint final from Rutter with Trevor Bradbury - father of Stephen - 3rd for Reading CC. With a 2nd and a 3rd already under his belt, Pankhurst took the B honours in the 20k, ahead of Under 16 rider Will Macke from Palmer Park Velo and Harris.
Next week sees the sprinters in action again, with the first outing for the Derny bikes as the season long Keirin competition gets under way.