Track: Howard wins A Final in Reading GP

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As the summer finally arrived, a sun-soaked Palmer Park saw a strong field compete for a round of the National Sprinters League, a Women’s Derny race and a range of endurance events that incorporated a couple of Central Division Championships.

The event opened with the 200m qualifying for the Sprint competition which saw the fastest 12 qualify for the Heats with the remainder of the riders going to the B competition. Simple, on paper, the qualifying session was complicated by the fact that Paul Davidoff and Imogen Farlie of Team Terminator and John Coolahan of Kingston Wheelers all clocked 13.41 to finish equal 12th! The three riders had to be separated through a re-run which saw Coolahan improve to 13.19 and move up the A Heats.

With the matches getting more tactical as the competition progressed, the A Final saw a very tight, physical competition between Cameron Howard of Spirit Racing and Tom Baker of V-Sprint – with the Junior Howard just edging out his more experienced opponent. Sean Mayer of Swinnerton Cycles had edged out team mate Barney Swinnerton in the previous round, but Ieuan Williams was too strong for him in the Minor Final, with the CC Cardiff rider securing 3rd with relative ease.

The B Final was a closer affair with Gawain Baley of Zappi’s CC heading in to the home straight in the lead but with young Team Terminator sprinter Imogen Farlie coming round him off turn 4. Bailey’s strength and experience won through, with Farlie’s team mate Paul Davidoff taking 3rd.

A 12 Lap Scratch provided the warm-up for the endurance riders with Neil Rutter of Swindon RC – who’d been away with Adam D’Arcy-Wykes of VC St Rapahel – holding on for a fine solo win, with John McClelland of Prestige VC pipping Nick Noble of Bristol RC in the bunch sprint.

In the Team Pursuit it was the ‘seeded’ heat which saw the two slickest squads of the day

fight it out for the Central Division Championships with the AW Cycles team of Matt Gittings, Nick English, Alex Peterson and Rob King that edged out Prestige VC’s McClelland, Symon Lewis, James Holland-Leader and Kristian Woolf by 5 seconds.

Woolf and King were also part of a breakaway group – with Noble who picked up third place in the opening 12 lapper - in the Reading GP 20k Scratch. They pulled out the best part of a lap in the closing stages – easing off rather than catching the bunch and getting involved in a messy sprint.

Noble wasn’t going to settle for 3rd again - although it was much tighter this time – pipping King on the line with Woolf taking the win a length or two clear.

A large field for the Women’s Derny required two qualifying heats and in the early stages of the Final it was Corrine Hall of Node 4 Giordana who set the pace early on, until she was passed by team mate Harrier Owen who came through from the back of the field to take up the running. Hall fought back though, and took control in the later stages. Jo Tindley of VC St Raphael lost her motor when well positioned and tried to hold on to the wheel of Janet Birkmyre of Torq Performance, but the pace was too high without a derny of her own. Birkmyre looked as though she might challenge the two leaders with two laps to go, but they eased away to take a comfortable 1-2.

The traditional Reading GP Course des Primes – with a bottle of wine for the leader on each lap, doubled on the last line – saw McClelland take home most of a case, taking the last 4 laps.

The afternoon closed with a Junior, Senior and Under 23 Men’s Keirin and another for Women and Over 50 Veteran Men. Williams added to his third place in the Sprint, taking the Men’s race from Meyer while Lauren Quenby of Newcastle Under Lyme took the Women’s race from Abbie Dentus of Welwyn Wheelers.

Results:

12 Lap Scratch:
1 Neil Rutter Swindon RC
2 John McClelland Prestige VC
3 Nick Noble Bristol RC
Team Pursuit:
1 AW Cycles (Nick English, Matt Gittings, Rob King, Alex Peterson) Central Division Champions4.58.25
2 Prestige VC (Kristian Woolf, John McClelland, James Holland-Leader, Symon Lewis) 5.03.84
Women’s Derny Final:
1 Corrine Hall Node 4 Giordana
2 Harriet Owen Node 4 Giordana
3 Janet Birkmyre Torq Performance
Reading GP 20k Scratch:
1 Kristian Woolf Prestige VC
2 Nick Noble Bristol RC
3 Rob King AW Cycles
Ladies:
Harriet Owen Node 4 Giordana
Central Division Champion
Rob King AW Cycles
Course des Primes:
1 John Coolahan Kingston Wheelers
2 Kenny Ayre City of Edinburgh RC
3 John Coolahan Kingston Wheelers
4 Symon Lewis Prestige VC
5 Kenny Ayre City of Edinburgh RC
6 Max Stedman Palmer Park Velo
7 John McClelland Prestige VC
8 John McClelland Prestige VC
9 John McClelland Prestige VC
10 John McClelland Prestige VC
Keirin:
1 Ieuan Williams CC Cardiff
2 Sean Mayer Swinnerton Cycles
Women’s Keirin:
1 Lauren Quemby Newcastle Under Lyme
2 Abbie Dentus Welwyn Wheelers
National Sprinters League:
1 Ieuan Williams CC Cardiff 11.88
2 Sean Mayer Swinnerton Cycles) 11.95
3 Kenny Ayres City of Edinburgh) 12.13
4 Tom Baker V-Sprint Racing) 12.19
5 Nathan March CC Cardiff 12.27
6 Cameron Howard Team Spirit Racing 12.29
7 Barney Swinnerton Swinnerton Cycles 12.34
8 Neil Rutter Swindon RC 12.75
9 Luke Burton BC Private member 12.81
10 David Jack BC Private member 13.13
11 Lauren Quemby Newcastle RC 13.19
12= Paul Davidoff Team Terminator 13.41
12= John Coolahan Kingston Wheelers
12=Imogen Farlie Team Terminator
A Sprint Final:
1 Cameron Howard Sprit Racing
2 Tom Baker V-Sprint
3 Ieuan Williams CC Cardiff
4 Sean Mayer Swinnerton Cycles
B Sprint Final:
1 Gawain Bailey Zappi’s CC
2 Imogen Farlie Team Terminator
3 Paul Davidoff Team Terminator


British Cycling would like to thank the organising team, officials and everyone else who helped promote this event. Our sport could not exist without the hundreds of people, many of them unpaid volunteers, who put in many hours of hard work running events, activities and clubs.