│
Location: Warmi Way, Mildenhall
Event: 27-29 August 2011
Richard Meadows (Pendragon) is this year's British Cycling's National 8km Grass-Track Champion.
He outfought a high-class field at the Mildenhall Cycling Rally on Sunday, to take the gold medal ahead of John McClelland (Agiskoviner) and Martin Smith (Chesterfield Couriers) watched by an enthusiastic crowd lining the whole of the 250m track.
This is a title he has won before in 2008 at the York Rally and Meadows is a regular competitor at Mildenhall where he also won the 8km Mini-Milk race in 2009. This was one of many highlights at what was the 25th rally. Also on the grass on Monday was the Mildenhall Rally 25th Anniversary 25-lap Grand Prix with the 25 top selected riders contesting the £250 prize list. Meadows also dominated this event, scooping the £100 first prize from Adam Duggleby (Science in Sport) and Matthew Fenton (Cottingham Couriers).
Alan Trolove, from local club West Suffolk Wheelers, took the honours in the Devil Take the Hindmost, for the riders not selected for the 25-lap Grand Prix, as he did in the Devil held on Sunday. All three days of the grass-track racing was of an exceptionally high standard with nearly 150 riders competing and even the juveniles on the Saturday produced some exciting and close racing, which bodes well for the future of grass-track racing and cycling in general.
Despite the best attempts by the weather with heavy showers to dampen their spirit, cyclists in their thousands flocked to the rally held in and around Riverside Middle School, Mildenhall. At times they were four and five deep around the grass-track, as well as those looking round the Trade Show, which had over 25 companies and cycling organisations represented.
"We were full to capacity on the rally campsite, with nearly 400 pitches occupied, as well as many more staying at local campsites, B&B's, guest houses and hotels in Mildenhall and the surrounding area," said Mark Burchett on behalf of the organisers Mildenhall Cycling Club.
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.
