Culture Clash Roller Race - The Rollers Return!

Shordeditch Town Hall, 11 February, 2007

Report and images: Paul Churchill.

Roller racing: Two cyclists sprint it out side by side on a set of rollers hooked up to big dial whose hands show the progress of the racers as they cover the (simulated) distance.

A female competitor keep her cool (left) - the roller rig is simplicity itself

Saturday night saw the return of large-scale roller racing to London. Held in the fading grandeur of Shoreditch town hall ballroom, the "Culture Clash roller race" harked backed to the sports's heyday in the 50s, replacing the big bands and dancing, which used to accompany the athletic pursuits of professional cyclists, with djs and beer.

Organised by the "Rollapalooza" crew, a group of London bike couriers dedicated to reviving this near extinct branch of cycle sport , this was their largest event yet, most of their hugely popular races are held in small, smoky bar rooms. The city's messengers threw down the gauntlet to teams of cycling journalists (replacing the bankers team who mysteriously dropped out), gym boys and media nodes.

Mark Denton in action

Plenty of racing was on the programme with male and female team and individual events and an all-comers event, which was intended for the spectators to have a go, but it was clear from the lycra present that some serious cyclists had got wind of the evening and fancied bagging some posh cycling kit offered up by sponsor rapha.

In the end the journalists from "Cycling Weekly" dominated the male racing taking both the team and individual prize with Simon Richardson. The female couriers saved their industry from the shame of the male team?s last place (D.F.L in courier parlance) with a fine win. The all-comers prize saw some of the fastest times of the night and was won by Simon of Putney cycles in a very tight final with Mark Denton of the very continental sounding Velo club de Londres.

Plenty of boisterous, good-natured cheering and emcee Buffalo Bill's inimitable microphone style led to a great evening, with the question on everybody's lips being "when's the next one?" Let's hope this sport does make a full-scale comeback and rolls into a bar or club near you.

Courier culture: www.movingtargetzine.com

Sponsor: www.rapha.cc