There has been bicycle racing on a Good Friday at Herne Hill Velo for over a century. 2014 saw the Southern Counties Cycling Union shifting the highlight of the South London track season over to the Lee Valley Velodrome.
Initial personal thoughts were one of tremendous loss for such an iconic event being staged at an equally iconic former Olympic venue.
But putting on a bicycle race takes a little bit of planning.
And then some…
The outdoor set up at Herne Hill is wonderful when the Good Friday Weather Gods are smiling. A Transpontine downpour can lead to heavy losses for the tireless work of SCCU.
Oh - and last year was chuffing FREEZING.
And so a shift across town from one Olympic venue to another one under the closed roof of Lee Valley made complete sense.
And whaddya know - Good Friday 2014 was characterised by dry, warm spring weather.
Hey hoe.
Out with the old etc.
This doesn’t mean the end of Herne Hill racing - far from it. The old track has seen recent investment. There was even a pre-meet meet down at Burbage Road on Good Friday.
Many of the Velo Club Londres club members then made the trip out East to volunteer over in Stratford for the afternoon. The London cycling community is as inclusive as it is strong.
And so zero degrees for 2013 to a slightly stuffy 2014 Stratford track.
This was my first visit to the Lee Valley Velo.
WOH!
As soon as you walk inside the majestic structure you instantly recognise the surrounds from the endless broadcast pictures. But nothing prepares you for the truly beautiful curves and flow of the Lee Valley design.
I very kindly had a free media pass from the good folk at SCCU for the day. It gave me access to the entire track - the sacred inner well, behind the scenes and even the locker room for the racers.
“Are you a rider?”
…enquired one of the volunteers as I made my way to the sign on desk.
ARF.
A wry smile, and then a confession of only in my dreams, etc. With Olympic Gold medal winner Ed Clancy also racing, I would have been in good company.
I made my way into the well of the track and tried to capture some of the atmosphere. This was a tense period ahead of the first 3pm roll out. Safety pins were being fumbled as nervous fingers and thumbs attempted to pin on the race numbers to the various international livery on show.
And then…
*shhh*
Hear that?
That’s the beautiful humming buzz of a pelaton of track bikes majestically warming up around the track boards.
“Do you want to go on the track?”
…asked the very kind Mr Media Man.
As a rider? As a snapper?
Nope, on both accounts. Safety first, etc. I know my place.
“We need some riders for racing”
…came the first announcement over the Lee Valley PA.
Whoops.
Trying to marshal and keep on schedule an ambitious programme of rides is no mean feat. The organisers for the Good Friday Meet managed the perfect combination of efficiency with a relaxed feel for the riders.
And then we were off with the Open Sprint 200m Time Trial.
Chapeau!
The proud red, green and yellow livery of Brixton Cycles had a strong showing. Erik Kimmel took the title with an impressive 10.813 sec timing for a track sprint. His 66.5 kmh is something that I don’t often see in my own Strava dashboard.
Race face tactics first came into play for the White Hope Sprints. Playing cat and mouse on the banking is all part of the fun.
The Golden Wheel Scratch saw pelaton junctions being broken, and the re-connected once again. The sizable Good Friday crowd showed plenty of support, cheering the lone rider losing the pack, and then somehow managing to make the join once again.
And then he got lapped.
The Derny Paced Race was just BONKERS.
The traditional Herne Hill big bikes would have been a little too Petrol Head intensive for an indoor track. Instead we had nine derny men each pacing an individual rider.
Teamwork is key here. Ed Clancy certainly had it with his derby dude. A late sprint finish saw the pair time their approach to the finish line to perfection to take the title. Even the derny man was puffing and panting come the presentation.
Phew.
Balls of steel were needed for the Elimination race. The last two riders in the pack get dropped every two laps. It’s a ride of chance: do you work your legs and ride safely at the front, or conserve your energy and live dangerously on the back wheel?
It was all too much for the over-enthusiastic Mum cheering on from the inner well. I got caught up in her quest to cheer on her young lad. Thankfully (I think?) he got dropped after the first four laps.
And relax.
More derny daftness followed with the keirin, and then a slight misunderstanding in the Super Elimination final.
“YOU ARE OUT!”
…came the PA announcement for the rider who crossed the line with a victory salute, completely oblivious to the fact that he had been dropped in the previous sprint.
Thanks for coming, etc.
Ed Clancy was back for the Points Race, the event that is only outdone by the Madison when it comes to understanding what the chuffers is going on.
Yer man Ed put in a good show, but it didn’t stop some other riders being able to dine out on the tale of how they managed to out-point an Olympic Gold medal winner.
Chapeau!
Basketball duties over at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park meant that I missed the final few races.
No worries - I departed Lee Valley Velo completely won over by the decision to shift the Good Friday Meet away from the Herne Hill history.
Many, many thanks to SCCU for staging such an impressive meet.
