World Championship Rookies Ready Themselves for Challenge
Story posted March 21, 2008
By Larry Hickmott
At the Manchester UCI World Track Championships, there will be two young riders at their first senior World Track Championships, David Daniell from Middlesbrough and Jessica Varnish of Bromsgrove. Daniell is a first year senior whilst Jess – a second year junior -- is still at school and having to take time out from her studies to be part of the biggest track event in Britain since 2000.
Both riders have already tasted success at World Championship level as juniors. David won a World Junior title last year in the Team Sprint and a Silver in the Junior Keirin as well as a European title in the Junior Sprint. Jess meanwhile won a Silver medal in the Junior Women’s Sprint at the Worlds last year and a Gold in the European Junior Women’s Keirin Championship.
During the last training week, we spoke to them both to find out what they thought about being given the chance to race against the very best in the World.
David Daniell
Talented first year senior David in full flight at a Revolution track open.
On how he felt about being selected for the World Championships, David replied “I was ecstatic really. It is great to be recognised by the team. To be selected and race against the top guys is going to be a great experience.”
“I definitely didn’t expect something like this after just turning senior. I thought I’d have a hard few years ahead of me just get to the standard of these lads and its awesome I have got this chance to race against them already.”
Talking about what it felt like to be amongst such a select group of riders within Team GB a week out from the championships, he explained “it doesn’t feel so different training with these seniors because I train with them week in, week out but it’s the thought of racing at a senior world championship that is great. Winning the Junior Worlds was great but stepping up to the seniors already is amazing.”
The call up for the Worlds was unexpected for David but he says that he is prepared for the challenge. “I had been training for Herne Hill (Good Friday International Meeting) and so I already had a lot of speed in my legs. As soon as I found out I was doing the Worlds, I have had three weeks of training for the kilo which has been enough.”
David has had success in the Kilometre event, winning the title at the Junior Europeans in 2006 (Athens) and was then third in the Junior Worlds in 2006 (Gent). Knowing what its like, ‘four laps full chat’ is how he described it, the North East lad says he’ll be giving it his best shot and see what comes out of it with the big crowd behind him.
David talks to his national coach after a training session this week. Right: David working hard out of the starting gate in Worlds training.
He puts his improvement down in the last year to the work he does in the Olympic Academy and the training day in, day out on the track and off it. One of his PB’s recently was a 10.3 flying 200 metre effort at one of this years Revolution track opens. That is a world class time for any senior rider and with the tapering for the Worlds, is looking to set a new PB for the kilometre at the Championships.
Two weeks ago, David was training six days a week but with the worlds now rapidly approaching, he is fitting in more rest so he is fresher for the very intense efforts the coaches are putting him though. And come race day, David knows he has an advantage over the rest. “Having the championships at my home track has played into my hands as I know the ins and outs of it. I also think being at home there is less pressure on me than if I had been flown some where to compete”.
With that, we let David go and change before he headed home and some well earned rest. Good luck David!
Jess Varnish
Lining up in front of me for the GB Team photo was a young lady who was supposed to be at school but thanks to an understanding school Jess Varnish was able to join a who’s who of British riders in the track centre at Manchester. Asked how she felt when she learned of her call up for the Championships, the West Midlands rider replied …
“I was really shocked when I was told. I didn’t expect to get the call being a second year Junior. When I found out at a training camp I was completely gobsmacked. Just for them to even think about me in the selection process is amazing and I’m really motivated to do well”.
Right: European Junior Women's Keirin Champion.
Considering her age (Under 19), her speed over 200 metres is amazing. She has a PB from Mexico of 11.6 which is World Class even for senior riders. Asked what senior experience she has in sprint events, Jess told us “I have done the Revolution here and in Australia where I have raced a few of the French girls like Sandi Clair and Virgina Cueff, Yvonne Hijgenaar from Holland and the Aussies.”
Prior to the call up, Jess was nearing the end of a strength phase of her training, and since learning of her call up, has been putting in some speed work to sharpen up for the World Championships. Because she doesn’t have an indoor track near her in Bromsgrove, Jess admits she doesn’t get a lot of track time during the winter and her training comes on the road or in the gym.
So prior to the call up, she had two days track training at an ODP camp, another two days at the Worlds training camp here in Manchester and from Friday will be with the team where she is hoping to get enough track time to sharpen up for the Sprint and Keirin events she hopes to ride.
“I feel good being back on the track and am doing a lot of paced work and the speed seems to be coming back quite quickly.”
Jessica in some motor chases this week at Manchester.
Asked what she is looking forward to most, Jess says “the whole experience of being at such a major competition, the biggest one outside of the Olympics. I don’t really have a favourite out of the Sprint or Keirin as I like them both as much as each other for different reasons”.
Asked how she came to be a sprinter, Jess replied “I got into sprinting because my dad and I thought it was what I was best at. I have always liked the track racing stuff since I was little and when I got to junior level, I had to pick an area to concentrate on and I decided on sprinting.”
As well as her family being over the moon their daughter has been selected for the home Worlds, Jess explained that she has had a lot of positive reaction from friends who tell her there’s no pressure on her and advised her to just go and enjoy the experience. “They were all as shocked as me!”
Good luck to David and Jess at the World Championships and enjoy the experience of being amongst the best in the World!
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