PP News - 2008

You have heard his commentary most track nights throughout the season and read his reports each week.  But “Mr. Preston Park” Gavin Smith also edits PP News - he really is the voice of Track Racing in Sussex.  Read some of the articles from this years PP news below and follow the links to PDF copies of the relevant issue.

Also from PP News 2008 - A to Z of Preston Park ¦ Frank Blake Remembers ¦ Isaac Christmas - Past Hero

WHAT A FANTASTIC SEASON!

With just two meets to go in 2008, it is time to reflect on what a brilliant season it has been here at Preston Park. Attendances have been consistently high, the racing has been very exciting and the friendliness of the meets has - as always - been second-to-none. We’ve had quite a few new riders this year including the legendary Sean Yates. We have witnessed some wonderful riding by Felix English, winner of the Senior “A” league for the second year running. The youths have done themselves proud in all age-groups, with some aggressive racing. The U16s and U14s have shown that bringing in fixed-wheel riding was the right decision and perhaps this will be extended to other categories at the forthcoming AGM. We are very grateful to AD Cycles of Horsham for providing £10 and £5 vouchers as youth prizes, which have been eagerly received by the winners. For the first time, seniors have had three £5 primes to sprint for every week. And of course we have had the country’s best refreshments available every week, courtesy of Andrea McClelland aided and abetted by Ann and Mandy Burgess.

A special word of thanks to Dave Gerrey for all the hard work he has put in. He set up our website and manages it day-by-day, putting up results and overall points scores within about three hours of the end of each meet. Photos are displayed soon afterwards. Reports go up on the site almost as soon as I’ve emailed them to him. He has established the notice-board system, which has details of the evening’s programme of events, each rider’s handicap, overall points scores and anything else which should be noted. Also, he has been our main judge all season and is now qualified as a commissaire. If that isn’t enough, he is also the league treasurer, handling the registrations, levies, etc, etc. And all that with ruthless efficiency and his approachable manner. So: well done and thanks, Dave!

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LEE IS EURO MASTERS SPRINT CHAMPION

The day started well with a new PB of 11.441 for the 200m time-trial putting me no.1 seed. I was pretty pleased with that time! My first round was against 2 GB riders, Moncrieffe (who I narrowly beat to win the South-East sprint champs last weekend) and Gittins. The races are 3 laps of the Manchester track and I was leading this heat from the front quite slowly and controlling the riders behind me. As we approached the bell I pinned both of them to the top of the track, Moncrieffe tried to attack and pulled his foot out followed shortly by him falling off and bouncing down the banking! Sounded like it hurt!! The judges awarded a re-run so we had to do it all again, grrrr!
 
This time Moncrieffe went flat out from 2 laps out with me sitting behind him, I then popped out with 100m to go and eased past him by the line, still a much harder heat than the first one would have been, doh! Round 2 was against a Greek rider, Rantos, and was a fairly comfortable win which was nice.
 
The semi-finals were epic! They were best of 3 which was lucky as I lost the first one, oops! I was against a rider called Andy Tranter who was last year’s National Champion in our age-group and in heat 1 I led it out but went a little too hard too early with Andy just catching me and winning by 6 inches. I knew I could win by leading out, so in round 2 I got to the front again but kept the pace a little slower this time. I started to wind it up just as we crossed the 200m mark, Andy attacked hard then getting alongside me, then to about half of his bike ahead. I was still accelerating at this point as we were about to enter the final bend, me on the inside Andy outside me and just ahead, I think he could tell I was catching back up and with the inside line was going to win, so he turned sharp left and rode me off the track!! I had to kick back and swerve sharply and was lucky not to crash. It was a blatantly dangerous move and I raised my hand to appeal. The judges reviewed the video and disqualified Andy, making us one-all and through to a third ride. This time I decided to take the back and try and come round. I kept gaining height on the track to push Andy on and we hit the 200m mark going pretty much flat out with me about 2  or 3 lengths behind. I accelerated into his slipstream and had pulled about halfway alongside him by the middle of the final bend. I could tell at this point I was going to win as I was coming past pretty quick and I think Andy knew this too because he decided to turn hard right! We went from the bottom of the track right up to the fence! I had to back off to avoid being smashed into it, Andy was still heading up the track as I managed to swerve underneath him and speed away to take the victory.
 
So I was in the final against the second fastest qualifier, Gwyn Carless, and there was only 2 hundredths of a second between us, damn this was going to be close!! I was getting pretty tired by now as well, I had started my warm-up at 8am and it was now 7.45pm and I still had at least 2 more rides to go. I told myself that Gwyn would be feeling the same and thought about all the hard training I had done in the gym and on the bike through the winter with Pete and Mark. This relaxed me and I took to the line feeling pretty confident. Round 1 went really well, Gwyn took the lead with me following him, pretending to attack every now and then to push the pace on and try to tire him a little, with just over a lap to go he was in the middle of the track looking the wrong way so I pounced and dropped under him, he reacted immediately and pulled alongside me and I just matched his pace with him on my hip all the way round to win fairly comfortably.

Round 2, as I was warming up on the rollers I was thinking about standing on the podium collecting my jersey, riding it down at Preston Park, putting my status as European champ on facebook etc when I had to give myself a hard  mental slap and stay focussed! I was getting ahead of myself and that can be very silly, so I took a few deep breaths and focussed on the next ride, running different tactics through my head and getting psyched up for what I was about to do.
 
I took to the line trying hard to ignore the pain and tiredness in my legs. I led and watched Gwyn closely as he followed me, so closely in fact that I did the entire first lap without looking forwards! I started to raise the pace with 300m to go and Gwyn attacked, both of us side by side, I felt this was quite a long way flat out so I let him pass and gain about 2 lengths, then with 125m to go I kicked as hard as I could. I quickly pulled alongside and had enough extra speed to cross the line with my arm raised! I had done it!! A year of training and hard work had paid off, I was European champion! WOW!!!

I would like to thank Mark, Pete and my girlfriend Charlotte for all their support this year with my training and motivation, without them I doubt it would have been possible! Also everybody from Preston Park who wished me well and sent their congratulations, cheers guys

Lee Povey, European Masters Sprint Champion

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YOUNGSTERS STAR IN LOCAL GHS TT HEAT

Nine regular Preston Park youth riders took part in the local heat of the Cycling Time Trials GHS Time-trial competition around the Laughton circuit, with many of them qualifying for the final in September.

PM MEETS THE PM

So that's it, exams finished and a summer with no distractions and nothing to focus on except the National Championships and then the European Championships in Poland. All seems pretty straightforward. So then I get this phone call from someone I've not spoken to before. " Are you busy tomorrow" they ask. "Probably", I say, "Why?" "Well", they say, "just wondered if you could come to Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister."  Now that is something you don't get asked every day.

"Well I think I can squeeze him in" says I ...... Are you kidding? "Oh, my God, I'll check with Mum & Dad but I think I can make it" is the real answer. Quick phone-call to Mum & Dad, lots of "Can you believe it?" and " Why you?" and then even more "Wow, that's brilliant!"

So that evening I'm phoning Peter King, the Chief Executive of British Cycling, to arrange when and where to meet him. Meanwhile we check out the nearest tube station to Downing Street and the best way to get there. The next morning I'm off to Burgess Hill in plenty of time to catch the train to Victoria. Dad (as usual) wants to be there in plenty of time. Thinking that "G" may have a few other things on his schedule I suppose it is best not to be late and we duly catch all of the trains on time and arrive at Downing Street a good 15 minutes before the arranged time and 30 minutes before we are expected at the security gate. Just to be on the safe side, we thought it best to check we were in the right place so we went over to the security gate to explain that we had an appointment in 15 minutes and wanted to check we were in the right place. The policeman asked: "Who is it you are meeting?" "Er, the Prime Minister" "Oh, the main man. Yes, you are in the right place". Can you imagine if we were at the wrong place - better safe than sorry.

Peter King arrives and then the reporter from The Guardian and another from The Express, this is getting surreal. At the appointed time we go through security and I have to show my passport to show that I am "me". We all walk up Downing Street and next second there I am, inside Number 10. I do a bit of mingling and then the Prime Minister comes in. There are some 25 to 30 people in there and all eyes are on the main man who is talking to some of the schoolchildren who are also there. Next it is my turn, I expect a quick handshake and then on to the next in the line but no, the PM is genuinely interested in my training, my main targets for the year and my ambitions for the future, so we chat for over a minute (with everyone else in the room hanging on each word). Then of course lots of photos and a few speeches and all of a sudden it is over. I call Dad who has been waiting outside and we are on the way home. I feel like I haven't stopped smiling for an hour - just like the Cheshire Cat, one big smile.

HAIL OUR YOUNG STAR FELIX!

Felix English shot to prominence here at Preston Park last season when he took the senior “A” league by storm and won it at the age of just 14. This season also, he has dominated the league to such an extent that he has an almost unassailable lead with only 9 meets to go. Felix’s incredible speed is matched by his endurance, so he goes well in sprints as well as the longer races. To the trackside observer, he has also improved tactically. And while Felix has certainly got ambition (see interview below), he’s also extremely likeable. He is sure to go a long way in cycling, and we wish him “all the best” in his endeavours.

INTERVIEW WITH REIGNING SENIOR CHAMP FELIX ENGLISH

As we approach the halfway point in the season, Gavin Smith caught up with Felix to ask a few key questions.

GS: Will you be able to ride all the remaining meets at Preston Park this season?

FE: I certainly intend to ride as many as I can, but I won’t be able to make them all.

GS: Can you please list the highlights of your 2007 season?

FE: Well, I won the BC National Track Series overall, 3^rd National Scratch Race, 1^st national Hill climb, 1^st National GHS TT Champs and of course 1^st in the Preston Park ‘A’ Track League.

GS: You’re already in the lead at PP by a long way and you won the league scratch championships recently. What are your aims here for the rest of the season? 

FE: Well it depends, I hope to win the seniors overall again, and I would like to win the points champs again too, and maybe even the sprint if I’m lucky! Other than results, I’d like to continue trying to make the racing fast and exciting.

GS: What are your general aims for 2008?

FE: Apart from the above, I’d like to win the National Circuit Race Champs, win several jerseys at the National Track Champs, and hopefully represent GB at either the Assen Youth Tour or at Interland track meets. Also, to top it off, gain selection for the Olympic Development Programme.

SEASON JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER!

After having 77 riders in Week 1 and 59 in the very cloudy and cold Week 2, another record was set in the third meet when we registered the amazing total of 82 riders. There were even quite a few people in the stands! So, things are most definitely looking up.

Those among you who have only been coming here for the past four or five years will no doubt think this is nothing unusual. However, back in 1999 when we began attending, you’d expect to have around 15 seniors and maybe 5 under-12s – 20 or so riders in all.

With various initiatives and the hard work of a small band of dedicated Preston Park stalwarts, things have improved to the very healthy state we are in today.

Felix is leading the top senior league from Pete, Adam and Lee, but the top two will not be able to attend all meets, which leaves a fascinating scenario. The senior “B” league is too close to call with Charlie in the lead. As for the youth leagues, U16 is headed by Nick with a tiny 4-point margin, U14 is led by Milo with just 3 points in hand and U12 has Gabriel ahead by only 3 points. U10 Douglas (8 points clear) and U8 Cory (23 points clear) appear safer.

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DHL NATIONAL SPRINT SCHOOL by Ben Gerrey

29^th February marked the beginning of this year’s DHL National Sprint School held at Newport.  Every week is helped by another of DHL’s top riders. The first week was with Craig MacLean and Jess Varnish.  During our first week we learnt about the 200m flying time-trial and were then given the challenge of writing about it in less than 100 words.  This was my winning entry, chosen by Craig himself:

Although only the last lap’s timed, all 3.5 are important. Start on the blue line of the back straight until the home straight where you ride to the fence. Next lap, ride near the fence but cut the corners, raising speed. Then ride at the top of the bend, gaining free speed into the back, taking you into the final bend, your legs should be painless.  Approaching the home straight, stand up and sprint, diving through the start line, now your legs start to hurt.  Reach your fastest in 50m; stay on the black line, your legs will tire.

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  PPYCC & VC JUBILEE RECORD-BREAKING  

  SPORT RELIEF RIDE

On Saturday 15 March 11-year-old Gabriel Parle of PPYCC took it upon himself to organise members of his club into a record-breaking performance in support of Sport Relief. Gabriel says that he woke up one morning realising that he could help others whilst enjoying himself and keeping fit. He dreamt up the idea of promoting a mass ride around Preston Park track with all laps completed counting towards an overall total. He hoped to create a new record for the greatest distance covered on the track in two hours. Certain that others would want to join in, he invited VC Jubilee who helped pursue the goal of a record-breaking attempt for charity.

On the day Gabriel was joined by over 40 young cyclists who succeeded in setting a new record. At the end of the two hours they had covered a total of 1766 laps - a total of 1013 km (630 miles). VC Jubilee’s Ben Gerrey made the largest personal contribution by completing 96 laps in the two hours, next year aiming to make his century. The efforts of the members, many of whom were under 10 years old, raised over £200 during the event with further personal sponsorship still to come in.

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