The weather played its part but in fairness Cycle Club Ashwell were just delighted to welcome grass-track racing back to their Godschalke Velodrome.
The national grass track series for 2024 kicked off in splendid fashion under sunny skies, with old rivalries were resumed and new ones created.
The competition included talent from all ends of the spectrum, with National Endurance League and National Short Distance adult rides joined on the race programme by Go-Ride, entry level children’s races, and a whole range of fixed-wheel racing in between.
Following some hotly contested short distance heats, the younger children took to the track for some of the most popular racing of the afternoon.
U6 rider Chester drew huge cheers as he joined the older children, with competitive racing coming in the U10 and U12 groups.
Purwell Primary School’s Alfie Lewis was on hot form, winning three of his four races, while Ashwell’s Theo Stokes and Lucy Douillet got on the podium at the end of the afternoon with a gold and silver.
In the fixed wheel competitions, the more experienced racers battled hard in the sweltering heat, with home riders claiming glory across the age ranges.
A tough season of cyclo-cross racing over the winter, followed by a strong spring saw Phoebe Wilkinson and Charlie Brazier both take gold in the U8 races.
In the U12s a tightly packed and closely matched field of riders ended with Oscar Darton coming out on top against club-mates Seb Wilkinson and Toby Guttridge, an all-Ashwell podium thrilling the home support.
Stepping up to the U14 and U16 level brings the challenge of stronger visiting riders and CCA’s Eva Ronayne, Nathan Douillet, Logan Ayers and Jacob Murphy were all making their debuts at the category.
Ronayne did a great job holding on to win the handicap, on her way to overall gold, while Douillet got into the top three.
The racing got tougher as the afternoon went on and the 2k competition had Coireall Marlow and Ayers working together to stay in the running.
It ended with Marlow claiming bronze.
The afternoon finished up with the youth riders enjoying the sunshine and watching the racing as the adults competed in 5k and 8k endurance races.
CCA’s Martin Lawless battled hard throughout the longer distance, just coming up short against a red hot field, while over 5,000m, Julien Douillet took the CCA honours with a well-timed break two laps from the end.
Coaching sessions take place on Thursday evenings at Ashwell for riders aged between five and 18 years of age and places are still available if any budding young riders fancy developing their skills, making friends or having a go at racing.
Contact the club by emailing youth@ccashwell.com
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