Location: Gosling Sports Park, Welwyn Garden City, Herts
Event: 23 August 2013
Report: Snowdon Sports/ Peter Waghorn
Junior Kristian Woolf (Prestige VC) dominated a competitive evening of racing at the Welwyn Track League despite lower than expected numbers in the senior categories.
Woolf, from Kings Cliffe in Northamptonshire, controlled the A League events with four victories, including the best race of the meeting which came in the ten-lap team pursuit involving two evenly-matched teams of five riders.
John McClelland (Prestige VC) led the even numbers while Woolf led the odd numbers, and the lead changed almost every lap with the high speed shedding a few riders, but with two laps left a sterling turn by Woolf put his team ahead and they held it to the line.
The B group produced a battle between Ben Smith (Welwyn Wheelers), Anthony Morris (CC Ashwell) and Herts Wheelers pair Brian Evans and Tony Marriott, the four collecting all the league points on offer bar one.
A massive turn out of youth riders led to 31 competing across the three age bands.
In the Youth A category the concluding 6-lap handicap saw the first group of three riders working well together and staying clear of the rest for well-earned points.
The Youth B group produced some close racing and tight finishes, and the 6-lap handicap again saw the first riders triumph - the scratch group closing in on the final lap but Sophie Holmes (Inverse/Cycling Components RT) attacking in the last 200 metres to take a well-deserved win.
A 13-strong Youth C contingent was dominated by Lauren Higham (Welwyn Wheelers) who won the opening scratch race and both three-lap handicaps from the scratch mark with attacking riding, backed up by Sam Asker (West Suffolk Wheelers).
In the final four-lap handicap, the scratch group reeled in the leaders in the last 100 metres but had no energy left to overcome the front group of riders with Jamie Dene (Welwyn Wheelers) winning by inches from the seven-rider group.
Results:
Senior A
10-lap scratch
1 Kristian Woolf (Prestige VC), 2 John McClelland (Prestige VC), 3 Martin Ruepp (Iceni) Velo
10-lap Odds & Evens Pursuit
1 Woolf (Prestige), Alan Trolove (St Ives CC), Joe Gorman (Stevenage CC)
Devil
1 Woolf, 2 Gorman, 3 Trolove
10-mile scratch
1 Woolf, 2 Ruepp, 3 McClelland
Senior B
10-lap scratch
1 Ben Smith (Welwyn Wheelers), 2 Tony Marriot (Herts Wheelers), 3 Julio Davis (Welwyn Wheelers)
10-lap Odds & Evens Pursuit
1 Anthony Morris (CC Ashwell), Ben Smith (Welwyn Wheelers), Brian Evans (Herts Wheelers)
10-lap points
1 Smith, 2 Morris, 3 Tony Marriott (Herts Wheelers)
Youth A
8-lap Scratch
1 Glen Dossett (Welwyn Whhelers), 2 Connor Woodford (Willesden CC), 3 Jordan Mooney (Welwyn Wheelers)
Devil
1 Woodford, 2 Dossett, 3 Mooney
Points
1 Mooney, Dossett, 3 Carl Jolly (Hillingdon)
8-lap Handicap
1 Cai Davies (Welwyn Wheelers), 2 Bradley Clarke (Green Arrow), 3 Josh Wilkins (Rockingham Forest Wheelers)
Youth B
5-lap Scratch
1 Niall Dawkins (Hillingdon), 2 Will Raymond (Welwyn Wheelers), 3 Harriett Mellor (Hillingdon)
Devil
1 Raymond, 2 Michael Parry (Welwyn Wheelers), 3 Dawkins
Points
1 Parry, 2 Dawkins, 3 Toby Miles (Welwyn Wheelers)
6-lap Handicap
1 Sophie Holmes (Inverse/Cycling Components RT), 2 Emily Sinclair (Welwyn Wheelers), 3 Harriet Mellor (Hillingdon)
Youth C/D/E
3-lap Scratch
1 Lauren Higham (Welwyn Wheelers), 2 Sam Asker (West Suffolk Wheelers), 3 Christian Manzi (Welwyn Wheelers)
3-lap handicap A
1 Higham, 2 Asker, 3 Sophie Saberton (St Ives CC)
3-lap handicap B
1 Higham, 2 Saberton, 3 Asker
4-lap handicap
1 Jamie Dene (Welwyn Wheelers), 2 Milly Knight (Lee Valley), 3 Saberton
Please credit www.britishcycling.org.uk and link back if you use any of our race results.
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.
