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National Indoor Cycle Speedway Championships

If you've never seen Cycle Speedway before, this video captures some of the excitement of this sport which is so unlike any other strand of cycle racing, with its strong team structure, frequent physical contact, short but incredibly intense races and in its atmosphere.

View in HD on Vimeo - HD Indoor Cycle Speedway

Every winter Cycle Speedway's top riders swap their outdoor shale tracks for the polished floor of a major sports centre for the National Indoor Championships. Studded tyres give way to slicks, but otherwise there are few changes to the standard kit this branch of cycle sport uses.

Two very full days of competition produce team and individual champions in a range of age and gender categories, but for the purposes of this video report we concentrated on the Senior Men and Women, whose finals ran on the Sunday afternoon.

For the uninitiated, championships are settled over a series of heats in which riders compete against each other in different combinations of four riders at a time, riding off a series of different start lanes. Races generally favour riders on the inside lanes, with riders seeking to maximise their returns from these draws and minimising their losses in the outer lanes.

The sheer angle and speed the bikes can be cornered at has to be seen to be believed and the skill levels border on the supernatural as riders weave between each other changing direction almost at will. A powerful start is a clear advantage, but the range of tactics on display is at odds with the brevity of races which last well under a minute. Indoor or outdoor, you haven't lived if you've not seen this unique form of racing!

Our thanks go to Tom Doyle and Neil Howarth for their help in gathering on the bike footage and to Fred Rothwell for providing expert advice on the racing.

REPORT

Above: Andy Whitehouse's images from the Senior Championships. Click the Image links below for galleries from the Veteran, Team and Women's competition.

Veteran | Images

A faultless performance by Paul Timms ensured the popular Birmingham rider rode away with the indoor Veteran Champion title. Excellent bike handling and a little lady luck bought the rider a 16 point maximum from his four rides. Horspath's Mark Janes took runner-up spot only dropping one point on the day and that was to Timms in the fourth heat. Third place went to Stoke Whiterock's Errol Thaw who ended the day with 14 points, dropping his points again in heat four to Janes and Timms.

Women | Images

Rachel Edge added The 2010 Women's Indoor Individual title to her outdoor Women's title with a fine example of cycle speedway riding. Taking a 20 point maximum the Horspath rider showed why she is the top female rider in 2010. Joint favourite for the title, Lucy Whitehead (Leicester) rode well to secure 18 points and a run off with Sheffield's Laura Watson who arguably rode her best meeting to date to secure a place in the run off but a strong ride from Lucy Whitehead ensured the silver medal was going back to Leicester.

Senior Individual | Images

A classy outing by Poole's Tom Reed secured the Senior Individual title. Already taking the Under 19 title the previous day, a second champion's jersey was heading southbound after four wins and a second place against the sport's top indoor riders. A final heat win by Leicester's Craig Marchant saw a three-rider run-off for the runners-up spot. Horspath team mates Steve Harris and 2010 outdoor individual champion Mark Boaler lined up with Marchant for the final heat but a powerful gate from Boaler saw him take the heat win over Harris with Marchant trailing in third.

Team | Images

For the second year running Horspath took the Indoor team championship title. A typical team effort from the Oxford side ensured the title would be theirs again. A maximum 16 points from Mark Boaler and with Steve Harris only dropping one point from his four rides, it would prove too much of an uphill struggle for old adversaries Wednesfield Aces to make inroads into the Horspath total. Third place went to Bury who trailed the Aces by only six points at the final count. A spirited performance from a young Stockport side made for a excellant final to round off a very long cycle speedway season.

RESULTS

British Indoor Veterans' Final:

Paul Timms (Birmingham) 16, Mark Janes (Horspath) 15, Erroll Thaw (Stoke) 14, Mike Burgess (Horspath) 13, Mick Aris (Wednesfield) 12, Gary Colby (Norwich) 11, Chic Mackie (Edinburgh) 9, Rob Absalom (East Newport) 8

British Indoor Women's Final

Rachel Edge (Horspath) 20, Lucy Whitehead (Leicester) 18, Laura Watson (Sheffield) 18, Lauren Hookway (Exeter) 16, Michelle Whitehead (Leicester) 14, Tiffany Collins Hethersett 14, Rebecca Davies (Newport) 12, Jenna Whitehead (Leicester) 12, Olivia Horsley (Horspath) 12, Carly Grimes (Hethersett) 11, Charlie Ellitts (Wednesfield) 10, Natalie Timms (Birmingham) 9, Vicky Brown (Sheffield) 9, Sophie Tullock (Newport) 7, Georgina Healey (Stockport) 7, Chloe Whitehead

British Indoor Open Final

Thomas Reed (Poole) 20, Mark Boaler (Horspath) 17, Steve Harris (Horspath) 17, Craig Marchant (Leicester) 17, Mike Morgans (Horspath) 16, Lee Aris (Wednesfield) 15, Chris Parish (Bury) 14, Dylan Radcliffe (Stockport) 12, Chris Jewkes (Wednesfield) 9, Mikey Hewitson (Edinburgh) 9, Chris Timms (Birmingham) 9, Ben Higham (Stockport) 7, Mark Carmichael (Horspath) 7, Sam Smith (Wednesfield) 7, David Carmichael (Horspath) 6, Ben Scranage (Bury) 5

British Indoor Team Championships

Horspath 54: Mark Boaler 16, Steve Harris 15, Mike Morgans 13, Mark Carmichael 9, Dave Cramichael 1
Wednesfield 43: Lee Aris 12, Chris Jewkes 11, Sam Smith 10, Matt Beharrell 8, Terry Norman 2
Bury 37: Chris Parish 13, Ben Scranage 11, Tom Doyle 7, Neil Howarth 4, Gary Hollingsworth 2
Stockport 16: Dylan Radcliffe 7, Ben Higham 4, Matt Lush 4, Warren Mee 1, Jack Lush 0

British Indoor Under-13s Final

Jake Neighbour (Swindon) 19, George Horsley (Horspath) 17, Matthew Haddock (Sandwell) 16, Adam Phillips (Astley & Tyldesley) 16, Richard Fellgate (Ipswich) 14, Richard Hudson (Sheffield) 14, Will Tidball (Exeter) 13, Matthew Hill (Ipswich) 13, Ross Knight (Kesgrave) 11, Luke Whitehead (Leicester) 11, Lee Kemp (Bretford) 11, James Elston (Bury) 9, Sean Bennett (East Newport) 8, Ethan Greenslade (Swindon) 7, Callum Goward (East Newport) 7, Oliver Riley (Norwich) 6

British Indoor Under-16s Final

Dylan Radcliffe (Stockport) 20, Matt Beharrell (Wednesfield) 19, Scott Millward (Sandwell) 16, Mathew Lush (Stockport) 15, Joe Kemp (Bretford) 14, Ricki Johnson (Sandwell) 14, Ashley Hill (Ipswich) 14, Matthew Coulter (Horspath) 13, Jack Harrold (Newport) 12, Jack Lush (Stockport) 11, Zac Payne (Horspath) 10, Jack Smith (Horspath) 10, Jake Read (Stockport) 9, Matt Haddock (Sandwell) 8, Lee Clarke (Horspath) 7, Matthew Smith (Sandwell) 3

British Indoor Under-19s Final

Thomas Reed (Poole) 19, Lee Smith (Sandwell) 19, Nathan Groves (Birmingham) 18, Paul Heard (Birmingham) 15, Mark Carmichael (Horspath) 14, Dylan Radcliffe (Stockport) 13, Scott Millward (Sandwell) 11, Sammy Hearn (Poole) 11, Wayne Clarke (Horspath) 11, Mathew Lush (Stockport) 10, Joe Kemp (Bretford) 10, Ben Higham (Stockport) 10, Ben Mould (Birmingham) 10, Jack Lush (Stockport) 9, Ben Collins (Hethersett) 7, Leyton Glover (Poole) 6

British Indoor Junior Team Final

Poole 42: Tom Reed 14, Sam Hearn 10, Leyton Glover 10, Matt Elston 8
Stockport 42: Dylan Radcliffe 16, Ben Higham 12, Matt Lush 8, Jack Lush 6, Jake Read dnr:
Horspath 39: Mark Carmichael 12, Wayne Clarke 9, Matt Coulter 9, Jack Smith 6, Zac Payne 3
Birmingham 27: Nathan Groves 10, Paul Heard 10, Ben Mould 7
Tom Reed (Poole) beat Dylan Radcliffe (Stockport) in championship tie-break race