Preston Park - The Place to Be

Can it get better than this? The third Preston Park meet of the season produced another record attendance in fabulous conditions and thrilling battles in all categories. More and more Sussex riders are realising that Preston Park track is the place to be on Wednesday evenings.

The success of the Sussex track league is seen in tonight’s statistics. A total of 81 riders took part, and well over half of those were youths. Competitors enjoyed high-quality racing for all ages, super weather and of course the usual elite-category refreshments.

SENIORS

Just when some of the Sussex regulars were thanking their lucky stars that Sean Yates was away on duty in Spain, along comes Londoner Bryan Taylor to spoil the party for the locals. Lewis Earthrowl-Gould tried to get away early on in the 8-lap opener, with Taylor looking equally eager to escape the bunch. First to succeed in breaking the elastic, though, was Mario Manelfi. His classy style belied his efforts and he managed to stay ahead for three laps, before the peloton reeled him back. With several big guns present – Pete Mitchell, Felix English, Lee Povey, Bryan Taylor, Adam Gent and Christian Yates to name but six – it was encouraging to see some of the other riders mixing it at the front. Jake Butler, Charlie Heffernan, John Powell and Andy Parle all showed well at mid-race, then it was down to the serious business with a £5 prime on offer. Lewis Earthrowl-Gould pocketed this award, then with two laps showing on the board he was joined by Lee Povey and Adam Gent at the head of proceedings.

By now, quite a few had been ejected from the pack, victims of the increased tempo. Nevertheless, there were still around 25 riders in with a shout at the bell, with Christian Yates leading Felix English and Bryan Taylor. We’ve seen some hectic final laps in our time at Preston Park, but this was up there with the best of them. Felix triumphed in front of Bryan Taylor, Pete Mitchell, Adam Gent, Lee Povey and Mark Burgess.

In view of the sheer numbers of riders, the keirins were run as straight finals. Rupert Rivett, Phil Smith and Neil McClelland were the top three in the first B event, then it was the turn of Lee Smith, Oliver Pepper and Rob Dean to take the podium placings in the second. In the first A race, Pete Mitchell won with Lee Povey and Phil Bendall in his slipstream, then an impressive Brock Duncumb-Rogers led home in front of Jake Butler and last year’s B-league winner Martyn Potter.

The 3-lap dash events for Bs were split into two, with first the odd-number riders taking to the track. This was a sedate race for two laps, then all hell broke loose in the scramble for the line. In a tight finish, Oliver Pepper came first, with Rob Dean, Phil Smith, Andy Parle, Lee Smith and Ben Miller next. After an equally close encounter in the even-number contest, youngster Charlie Heffernan came out top, beating Rupert Rivett, Anthony Rogers, Nigel Foskett, Daniel Clark and Neil McClelland.

Two minutes later, the A riders set off for their 3-lapper, and the speed was noticeably high from the off. This prompted Preston Park boss Vern McClelland to say: “This is how the dash should be ridden!” On the second lap Bryan Taylor launched away from the others. Mario Manelfi attempted a lone chase, but alas this was in vain as the Londoner was putting in a capital performance out front. Bryan came home alone in front of the appreciative spectators, then the bunch was led in by Pete Mitchell, with Lee Povey, Felix English, Adam Gent and Mark Burgess just behind.

The B seniors enjoyed half-a-lap start on the As in the 8-lap block handicap, and for a while it looked as if the Bs might just stay ahead. Ben Miller and Daniel Clark were the early animators, and at mid-race Rob Dean, Charlie Heffernan, John Powell, Oliver Pepper and Nigel Foskett showed well at the front. Ben Miller just hung on to take the £5 prime with two laps to go, just before the A-train caught up. While there was a lot of jostling for position in the bunch, brilliant Bryan Taylor seized his moment and broke away on his own, taking another well-deserved win. Felix English took the bunch sprint for second, Adam Gent was third and they were followed by Lewis Earthrowl-Gould, Brock Duncumb-Rogers and Rupert Rivett.

Lee Povey, Charlie Sayer and Christian Yates were first to show in the unknown distance race which ended the meet. After two laps Pete Mitchell took the £5 prime ahead of his clubmate Povey, then one lap later Felix English took off with Bryan Taylor and Lewis Earthrowl-Gould. Phil Bendall tried to get on terms without success, but Charlie Sayer and Jake Butler did then manage to up the pace and join the leading trio. After the bell, Sayer slipped back slightly and the remaining quartet reached the 200-metre mark neck-and-neck. In the end, Taylor crossed the line first for his third win on the night, followed by English, Butler and Earthrowl-Gould. Sayer came fifth and Christian Yates finished sixth.

Likeable Londoner Bryan was the undoubted winner on the night, with the race programme seemingly Taylor-made for him. He gave an exhibition of classy riding, “using the head as well as the legs” as he put it afterwards. Last year’s A-league winner Felix English now leads the rankings with 44 points, just ahead of Adam Gent (41) and Lee Povey (35). Andy Parle retains top spot among the Bs with 23 points, Charlie Heffernan (20) is second and Rob Dean (19) is third.

YOUTHS

In every youth category, there are fascinating battles taking place this season, and this evening again threw up some great racing from all the age-groups.  

U16/U14

With an 18-up bunch in the oldest youth group, this was an impressive sight in the first event, the joint 4-lap scratch. League co-leaders Louis Brasington and Nick Smith were much in evidence early on, as were Tom Jamieson, Sam Cheesman and Tom Goldsmith. Not wanting to be forgotten, U14s Euan Cattermole, Ashley Dennis, Milo Burdeau and Amy Jacobs all also featured at or near the front. Things stayed largely together throughout, and at the end it was Nick who outsprinted Louis, Tom Jamieson, Sam and Tom Goldsmith in that order, while Matthew Wise rode well for the sixth U16 spot. Top U14 was VC Londres visitor Euan Cattermole, followed by Ashley, Amy and Milo. Sara Gent, enjoying her rightful place in the U14 category, was fifth U14, and London rider Zoe Lewis came sixth.

Kim English, who has voluntarily moved up to U14 from U12, showed a fine turn of speed to take the joint handicap win, in front of Tom Goldsmith, Euan Cattermole, Louis Brasington, Nick Smith and James McCarron.

The final U16/U14 event of the night was a 6-lap points race. The usual suspects in the form of Nick, Tom Jamieson and Louis notched up points after the first lap, while the plucky Euan opened his account in fourth place over the line. Louis and Tom Goldsmith took the next two maximums, with Milo Burdeau doing a great ride to claim points on each of these occasions. Nick ensured a great win with the next three maximums, and Tom Goldsmith rallied well to take second, in front of Louis and Tom Jamieson. Milo was top U14 ahead of Euan, while Ben Gerrey, Jack Oliver-Blaney, Nathan Moore and Callum Cooper all put in good performances.

The overall U16 league remains very keenly contested. Nick Smith has now edged ahead of Louis Brasington by just two points, with Tom Goldsmith further adrift by the same slim margin. Milo Burdeau is still well in charge in the U14 category, ahead of Ashley Dennis and Amy Jacobs.

U12

At the end of the 2-lap scratch race, Gabriel Parle sprinted home first ahead of Jake Marley and Jack Barnett. Amy Barnes was next to finish, and she was followed in by Spencer Thomas and Harris Redgrove.

Five of the above featured in the top-six in the handicap race. Jack finished in front of Amy, Spencer, Harris, Jake and Gabriel.

In the 5-lap points race, three sprint wins and two runner-up spots ensured an ace victory for Gabriel. Jake scored points each time round to take second and Jack was third. Amy, Harris and Spencer filled the remaining top-six slots.

The U12 table is one of the most fascinating at Preston Park, with Gabriel only three points up on Jake Marley, with Jack Barnett within striking distance eight points further back.

U10/U8

Tonight, the U10 and U8 contests were dominated by Luke and Harry Stacey. Luke won the U10 1-lap scratch ahead of Joe Hill and Douglas McCauley, with Ted O’Brien, Ben O’Brien and Matthew Duffin next across the line. Harry then finished first in the U8 race, beating Cory Anderson, Bethany Lewis, Sian Carr, Tom Martin and Charlie Brooker.

Luke took full advantage of his allowance to win the individual handicap event, in which Sam Barnes, Ted, Douglas, Harry and Ben were the next riders to finish.

To round off a great evening for him, Luke also won the block handicap race and took the youths’ £10 voucher donated by AD Cycles. This time, Ted was runner-up and Douglas came third, followed by Ben, Joe and Harry.

Four girls who have all shown improvements since the start of the season and who were riding well tonight are Ferne Leonard, Bethany Lewis, Rosie Marley and Lois Parle.

Douglas remains in front overall among the U10s, with Joe Hill and Ted O’Brien behind him. However, after tonight’s impressive display by Luke, we can expect him to rocket up the table over the next few weeks. Cory Anderson keeps his lead in the U8 competition, in which he leads Harry Stacey and Bethany Lewis.

Report by Gavin Smith, Photos by Sally Page/Daniel Bunbar