Racing on the track? You must be bonkers…. oh, all right then
Doug Tincello reports on his first racing experiences at Derby Velodrome…..
So my cycling career has achieved several notable firsts since I found out about WVCC at the end of 2019. I had always sworn a) I would never join a cycling club and, b) I would never race. For those of you who know me, both of these things became achievements last year!! I joined the club in March last year, and have loved every minute of being part of such a friendly and welcoming club.
Then in March, I was persuaded to try timetrialling, and then when the Bruntingthorpe series came about, I was also encouraged to try racing for the first time. Of course, I absolutely loved both and got the bug well and truly, right up until I broke my arm last summer.
You are probably aware that I have been riding on the training sessions at the Derby velodrome for some time, and some of you will have joined for the taster session I organised. For me, track cycling is the purest and most thrilling form of cycling, but I have always been adamant that racing on the track would be a whole order of magnitude more difficult and dangerous due to the nature of track bikes – no brakes, no freewheel. “Never going to race on the track”, I said, mindful of the metal plate in my arm….
So you probably know what happens next…. Last week, I signed up to the BMCR Derby track league and on Thursday rode my first set of track races. I was more than a little nervous before, but yes, reader, you guessed it: I absolutely loved it!!!
We rode two scratch races (20 laps, first past the post), a points race (40 laps, sprint every 10 laps for points in the first 5 places, and double points for the final lap) and an elimination race (aka “Devil takes the hindmost”). The elimination was the race I thought I might fancy, and so it proved. Its a group race, with every second lap being a sprint, and the last rider over the line is eliminated each time.
The BMCR league is well organised, with official commissaires and the big screen lit up. So it felt like the “real thing”. I think I was guilty of giving the other riders too much respect, since this was my first racing, and also because of the presence of Geoff Cooke, ex world champion in the field (and still faster than a wet dog on a Lino floor even at 77!) but the only thing more exciting that seeing my name on the big board when I got eliminated was the fact I finished 5th of 15 in my first every Devil.
It was fast, it was mental, it was exhausting and I loved every second!
And I didn’t die…
