British Cycling Annual Awards Dinner 2007

17 February 2006

Reebok Stadium

Report: Phil Ingham

Images: Andrew Kennedy (see bottom of page for details of how to order images)

Hugh Porter interviews Victoria Pendleton, one on the evening's highlights

Master of ceremonies Hugh Porter got the evening underway by announcing that there were 110 awards in total to be handed out, before handing over to newly appointed UEC vice President and British Cycling Board member Barry Broadbent, who officially welcomed everyone.

Then it was straight into the awards and Victoria Pendleton, looking stunning in a plain black dress, was a popular choice to present the awards to the Youth winners. The young stars were understandably delighted to be receiving their awards from one of the sport's brightest stars.

Next up were the many Masters and Veterans winners. Again Vicky Pendleton did the honours and she clearly enjoyed giving her father, Max, an extra hug and kiss as he came up to collect his award. Roy Hunt got a deserved special mention from Hugh for overcoming a nasty accident in the autumn to come back to near his best in the later rounds of the National Cyclo-Cross series.

Vets 'Cross champion Chris Young was commended not only for his national title but also for his showmanship - his now legendary "walk" over the line at his home round of the National Trophy Series clearly impressed commentator on the day, Hugh Porter. Chris also made an early bid for the tie of the evening award with a vivid pink number.

British Cycling's Jonny Clay with the Leicester Cycle Speedway Club's all-conquering women

The first Volunteer awards of the evening then brought on stage eight outstanding commissaries nominated for recognition by British Cycling's commissions. Hugh took time to chat to Rod Scott, who had been nominated by the Track Commission, and asked him what events had given him most pleasure to officiate at. Rod admitted that, despite attending events at the highest level, he'd always enjoyed watching young riders reaching their potential and seeing their talent come to fruition.

After a break for the main meal, the second batch of awards opened with the Juniors. Nicola Marshall of British Cycling's solicitors, Leigh Day, presenting. Among those getting a special mention was Russell Hampton, who was congratulated on his remarkable debut win in the Scratch Race at the recent Los Angeles Track World Cup.

The highlight of the disability awards, which followed, was the appearance of Sarah Bailey MBE (pictured right, with Jonny Clay), who has made a seamless switch to cycling from swimming and enjoyed a remarkable first full year in the sport.

Turning to the Women's awards, the inaugural women's Cycle Speedway champion Lucy Whitehead got an especially warm cheer from a big body of fans, whilst Janet Birkmyre tested Hugh's chivalrous nature as he struggled with the delicate matter of age as he listed her many over-forty category titles. Janet took full advantage of the situation, promising the compromised compare "We'll talk later Hugh!"

During the men's presentations, it was good to see the popular sprinter Barney Storey, freshly returned from success in the Australian Track Championships, collecting the awards he and tandem partner Anthony Kappes had won in 2006 on their way to dominating both able-bodied and paralympic tandem racing.

Volunteer Awards

Attention then turned to three groups of volunteer awards, dedicated to Club Coaches, Club Officials and Event Organisers.

Hugh spoke to coach Chris Pyatt, only recently retired as a rider and asked him what had motivated him to turn to coaching: "I took a lot out of the sport of track cycling", said Chris, "and it's gratifying to see the kids I coach enjoying it." A recurring theme with all the volunteers was the amount of time and commitment they put into the sport and Paul Coates from Southampton probably spoke for many when he admitted "I've got a very understanding partner!"

Of the club officials, Beryl Bowes was revealed as a regular supplier of cakes to Hugh during his stints in the Manchester Velodrome commentary box, but Hugh also paid tribute to her many years of hard work behind the scenes at events in the North-West.

Jeremy Brown, from Bradford Bandits BMX club showed the kind of modesty and self deprecating humour that is typical of many key volunteers. He refused to take direct credit for the club's success and emphasised that it was only working together as a group that the club's volunteers had been able to win the prestigious CCPR club of the year award. "We got a letter saying we were in top six," he related, "so we assumed we were sixth - so it was a big shock when we won!"

Finally, Hugh spoke to Rob Lyne, a man who has done an immense amount of work helping to re-vitalise the sport of Cyclo-Cross in South Wales. Rob has done this despite coping with a brain tumour and again his modesty was humbling - "I really just want to put something back into the sport and I really enjoy getting the youngsters into the sport - that's it for me!"

There was also a well-deserved and popular presentation to Keith Butler (pictured with British Cycling Chief Executive Peter King), former rider and for many years a driving force behind the hugely successful Surrey League Road Racing programme. He picked up the Dave Saunders Trophy, "For Services to Cycling" an award nominated annually by the British Cycling Board of Directors.

Eight of the Best

Anna Blyth, with Peter King and Marc Beaumont with Hugh Porter

After another brief break, the grand finale to the evening was a series of awards presented to eight exceptional athletes, each of whom enjoyed a remarkable 2006. Hugh Porter spoke to each about their achievements and about their plans for the future.

First in line was BMX rider Shanaze Reade, the World Junior Women's champion. Asked about the Beijing Olympics, she said "The Olympics mean everything to me. To win the BMX title in 2008, the first time it's run at the Games, would be amazing!"

Anna Blyth, the World Keirin Champ was looking forward to the upcoming Manchester World Cup. "Riding in front of big crowd is great." She also revealed that the Match Sprint will be her main focus "Being the only women's sprint event in the Olympics." She also took time to pay tribute to the GB Team for its support - "I get so much help with everything and training with World and Olympic champions is amazing!"

Jason Kenny, three times world junior champion in 2006 is famously a man of few words, but he chooses them well and he got a big laugh when Hugh Porter asked him if he'd enjoyed seeing a re-run of his wins on the big screen during the previous break. "Well, I've actually got it on my computer, Hugh" he revealed, "and I do watch it quite a lot!"

Tracy Moseley with Hugh Porter and Shanaze Read with Peter King

Phil Dixon, national champion and national series winner, in Cyclo-Cross looked a happy man. "I enjoyed this winter, things went well for me. At the National Championships Roger (Hammond) and Liam (Killeen) were probably the favourites, but on the day I had good legs, got a good start and carried it through." Sounds so simple doesn't it.? Now working as a mountain bike coach for British Cycling, he admitted he'd be keeping fit during the summer "by chasing some of the youngsters around."

Marc Beaumont, national Downhill champion and series winner looked back on what he called "a pretty good season. I enjoyed every race and took it as it came and was a lot more consistent." Asked about his race strategy, he said "You know where you're going and what to expect and you just try to pull a bit more out of bag on your final run."

Lee Aris, indoor and outdoor national Cycle Speedway champion - only the second rider to do the double - said "there's a huge difference between the two, indoor and outdoor. I was over moon to win the indoor." He also paid tribute to the many Polish riders now riding in the UK, for "raising the standard of racing."

Tracy Moseley the national Downhill champion and World Cup winner looked back to her "fantastic start to year" when she won the first three World Cup downhills. She also looked back on the years she and arch rival Sabrina Jonnier rode in the shadow of the great Anne-Caroline Chausson: "We had some tough years battling and this year we shared it out." Jonnier just lost out in the World Cup but turned the tables in the World Championships, where Tracy said she was "riding well enough to win, but you only get one ride!" Looking ahead, she admitted she'd be focusing on the World Championships at Fort William. "I've won three out of the four World Cups there, so it does look set up for this year. I do ride well there and crowd is always amazing." And then hinting at retirement, she noted that the World Championships is "the one thing left on my list!"

The final star on stage was Victoria Pendleton, multi national champion in 2006 and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner. Like Anna Blyth, she was looking forward to Manchester's World Cup: "The World Cups in Manchester are my favourite events. It'll be nice to be racing at home." Asked if she was worried about the Meares sisters from Australia, she got a good laugh when she she planned to "stay out of their way so they can't hook me!" Looking further ahead, she seemed reluctant to raise expectations for the Olympics, but under gentle pressure from Hugh she did say "it is the most important goal and then I could retire!"

And so ended a fine evening of entertainment, recognition and celebration, hosted with aplomb by Hugh Porter and enjoyed by everyone who attended.

Purchasing Images:

Copies of the original hi-res digital photo files can be purchased by award winners only (or parents or guardians). They are suitable for obtaining prints from. Please email the photographer Andrew Kennedy direct on andrew@kennedyimages.co.uk - Andrew will be charging an admin fee of £5 for all image files he emails and will only be able to correspond via email. Please include in your email the full name and British Cycling membership number of the person you want to obtain an image of. Also, please include the on-image reference number, which is top left of every image in the galleries.

 

Please note, Andrew will not be able to supply prints. Instead he will be emailing hi-res image files, from which you will be able to obtain unlimited numbers of prints.