Preston Park (Brighton) Track League

10th of May, 2006; Report by Gavin Smith

PREVIOUS WEEK: Preston Park TL May 3

Seniors/Juniors
After just two meetings, the Preston Park league is already developing into a fascinating battle between the big guns. The Herne Hill regulars who dominated proceedings last week were safely attending their own local league, so attention focussed on the skirmishes between defending champion Lee Povey, his clubmate and young pretender Peter Mitchell, fast-improving Phil Bendall, the ever-present Matt Green and strongman Rob Fuller. Other local riders Sean McClelland, Mark Burgess, Adam Gent, Mario Manelfi, Andy Parle and Stuart Fahey also impressed tonight and are likely to be pressing hard for high overall league placings. There were also outstanding performances from both Gabriella Coates and Sophie Terry among the seniors.

Newcomer Stuart Charnley was unfortunate right at the start of the 8-lap opener. No sooner had Ken Wells's starter's whistle been blown than Charnley's chain came off, earning him the title "The weakest link". Sean McClelland and Mario Manelfi seemed content to police the bunch for the first couple of laps, until Peter Mitchell and Matt Green decided to force the pace. At mid-race, Phil Bendall, Stuart Fahey, Nick Haskell and Adam Gent were all in the thick of the action, but by the bell it was youth Will Fraser who led through with his trademark streamlined style. This was, however, only the precursor to a fantastic sprint by Peter Mitchell who beat his team-mate Lee Povey to the line, followed by Rob Fuller in third spot.

Charnley's bad luck continued in the 500-metre handicap heats, where he was denied a place in the final by the width of Matt Howard's front tyre. Superfast youth Sophie Terry sped through to clearly win the final ahead of Graham Charlton and Gabriella Coates.

Three out of four maximums gave Phil Bendall a clear win in the points race. Stuart Fahey was prominent at or near the front from the outset, but when it mattered, lo and behold there was Bendall leading through to bag his five points. Meanwhile, Matt Green was riding an intelligent race, scooping three runner-up spots and one third. Fahey tried to give the bunch the slip with three to go, accompanied by powerful Mitre team-mate Rob Fuller, as Charnley tried desperately to get up to them. Their escape came to nothing, however, and at the finish Bendall led through in front of Green, Gabriella Coates and Paul Gosling. Bendall had amassed 15 points for a clear win, while Green was on 11 and Stuart Fahey, Adam Gent and Peter Mitchell tied for third on 5.

Due to high speeds, both the two 3-lap dashes (As and Bs) stayed together. Peter Mitchell won a close A-riders sprint from Phil Bendall and Lee Povey, while former ace Paul James triumphed among the Bs from Adam Gent and Anthony Rogers.

The great co-operation between riders and officials which is typical of Preston Park had enabled races to proceed efficiently and left time for the scheduled 8-lap block handicap. The Bs enjoyed six laps of freedom, which ended after a long acceleration by the As led by Rob Fuller. With two to go, it was plucky Will Fraser on the front of the long string of riders, but at the bell it was Matt Green making a neat attempt to break away for an opportunistic solo win. Ever-vigilant Peter Mitchell was having none of that, though, and he took the final sprint ahead of Green, with Phil Bendall third.

With three scratch wins tonight out of a possible four, Mitchell has swiftly taken on top seed status. His solid winter training programme - including gym-work - is beginning to pay off bigtime.

Points: Peter Mitchell 22, Phil Bendall 15, Matt Green 13, Lee Povey 9, Rob Fuller 5.

U16 / U14
Felix English continued his unbeaten run in scratch races, but for good measure he also won the handicap event tonight. The 4-lap scratch was proceeding at a clubrun pace before lively Brock Duncumb-Rogers injected some mid-race pace. The almost inevitable bunch gallop was won by Felix, though Jake Anderson and Brock were not far adrift. Felix is likely to have his allowance slashed after taking the handicap in front of Brock, with Neil McClelland speeding home third. With no attacks in the points race, Felix netted the maximum number of points available and Jake finished runner-up, with George Webster third.

U16 points: Jake Anderson 13, Ben Miller 10, George Webster 10, Imogen Cain 8, Rebecca Gosling 5.
U14 points: Felix English 18, Brock Duncumb-rogers 10, Neil McClelland 8, Dominic Champion 3.

U12
Milo Burdeau showed an excellent turn of speed to win both the 2-lap scratch and the devil, leading home triathlete Matthew Rawbin and top girl Sara Gent on both occasions. Matthew had his revenge in the handicap, where Milo took second and Nathan Moore was third.

Points: Milo Burdeau 17, Matthew Rawbin 16, Sara Gent 11, Nathan Moore 9, Ryan Gosling 6.

U10 / U8
Rival clubmates Kim English and Gabriel Parle shared the honours in the scratch races. Gabriel took the 1-lapper from Kim then it was Kim who won the closest finish of the evening from Gabriel in the keirin. Tobie Court and Nicholas Rawbin both took third positions in the scratch events, and Nicholas dominated the handicap ahead of Gabriel, with Theodora Duncumb-Rogers next in line.

U10 points: Gabriel Parle 16, Kim English 13, Nicholas Rawbin 13, Tobie Court 10, Theodora Duncumb-Rogers 8.
U8 points: Amy Barnes 12, Lois Parle 5, Stanley Earthrowl-Gould 4.

RESULTS
Event 1 - Seniors 8-lap scratch
1. Peter Mitchell, trackcycling
2. Lee Povey, trackcycling
3. Rob Fuller, Brighton Mitre
4. Andy Parle, Lewes Wanderers
5. Matt Green, Crawley CC
6. Paul James, Crawley CC

Event 2 - U10 / U8 1-lap scratch
1. Gabriel Parle, PPYCC
2. Kim English, PPYCC
3. Tobie Court, PPYCC
4. Nicholas Rawbin, PPYCC
5. Theodora Duncumb-Rogers, PPYCC
6. Drew Miller, PPYCC

Event 3 - U12 2-lap scratch
1. Milo Burdeau, PPYCC
2. Matthew Rawbin, Triton Tri Squad
3. Sara Gent, Sussex Nomads
4. Nathan Moore, VC Jubilee
5. Ryan Gosling, VC Jubilee
6. Jaques Court, PPYCC

Event 4 ? Seniors 500m handicap heats
Heat 1:
1. Gabriella Coates, Evans Cycles RT
2. Daniel Clark, Brighton Mitre

Heat 2:
1. Adam Gent, Sussex Nomads
2. Matt Howard, VC Jubilee

Heat 3:
1. Graham Charlton, BC private member
2. Roy Page, Brighton Excelsior

Heat 4:
1. Sophie Terry, VC Londres
2. Andy Parle, Lewes Wanderers

Event 5 - U16 / U14 4-lap scratch
1. Felix English, PPYCC
2. Jake Anderson, PPYCC
3. Brock Duncumb-Rogers, PPYCC
4. George Webster, PPYCC
5. Ben Miller, VC Jubilee
6. Rebecca Gosling, VC Jubilee

Event 6 - U10 / U8 1-lap handicap
1. Nicholas Rawbin, PPYCC
2. Gabriel Parle, PPYCC
3. Theodora Duncumb-Rogers, PPYCC
4. Tobie Court, PPYCC
5. Kim English, PPYCC
6. Drew Miller, PPYCC

Event 7 ? Seniors 500m handicap final
1. Sophie Terry, VC Londres
2. Graham Charlton, BC private member
3. Gabriella Coates, Evans Cycles RT
4. Daniel Clark, Brighton Mitre
5. Roy Page, Brighton Excelsior
6. Matt Howard, VC Jubilee

Event 8 - U12 1-lap handicap
1. Matthew Rawbin, Triton Tri Squad
2. Milo Burdeau, PPYCC
3. Nathan Moore, VC Jubilee
4. Sara Gent, Sussex Nomads
5. Jaques Court, PPYCC
6. Ryan Gosling, VC Jubilee

Event 9 - U16 / U14 1-lap handicap
1. Felix English, PPYCC
2. Brock Duncumb-Rogers, PPYCC
3. Neil McClelland, VC Londres
4. Imogen Cain, PPYCC
5. Ben Miller, VC Jubilee
6. Jake Anderson, PPYCC

Event 10 ? Seniors 10-lap points
1. Phil Bendall, Kent Cycles RC - 15pts
2. Matt Green, Crawley CC - 11
3. Adam Gent, Sussex Nomads - 5
3. Peter Mitchell, trackcycling - 5
3. Stuart Fahey, Brighton Mitre - 5
6. Rob Fuller, Brighton Mitre - 3
6. Mario Manelfi, agiskoviner - 3

Event 11 - U10 / U8 1-lap keirin
1. Kim English, PPYCC
2. Gabriel Parle, PPYCC
3. Nicholas Rawbin, PPYCC
4. Tobie Court, PPYCC
5. Theodora Duncumb-Rogers, PPYCC
6. Drew Miller, PPYCC

Event 12 - U12 devil
1. Milo Burdeau, PPYCC
2. Matthew Rawbin, PPYCC
3. Sara Gent, PPYCC
4. Ryan Gosling, VC Jubilee
5. Nathan Moore, VC Jubilee
6. Jaques Court, PPYCC

Event 13a - B seniors 3-lap dash
1. Paul James, Crawley CC
2. Adam Gent, Sussex Nomads
3. Anthony Rogers, Brighton Excelsior
4. Graham Charlton, BC private member
5. Andy Parle, Lewes Wanderers
6. Daniel Clark, Brighton Mitre

Event 13b - A seniors 3-lap dash
1. Peter Mitchell, trackcycling
2. Phil Bendall, Kent Cycles RC
3. Lee Povey, trackcycling
4. Sean McClelland, VC Londres
5. Mark Burgess, Lewes Wanderers
6. Matt Green, Crawley CC

Event 14 - U16 / U14 4-lap points
1. Felix English, PPYCC - 12pts
2. Jake Anderson, PPYCC - 7
3. George Webster, PPYCC - 3
4. Ben Miller, VC Jubilee - 2
5. Imogen Cain, PPYCC - 0
6. Rebecca Gosling, VC Jubilee - 0

Event 15 - Seniors 8-lap block handicap
1. Peter Mitchell, trackcycling
2. Matt Green, Crawley CC
3. Phil Bendall, Kent Cycles RC
4. Andy Parle, Lewes Wanderers
5. Adam Gent, Sussex Nomads
6. Graham Charlton, BC private member