October 14/08 10:28 am - Forest City Velodrome Festival of Speed report and results

Posted by Editoress on 10/14/08
 

Forest City Velodrome Festival of Speed October 10-13, London, Ontario
Courtesy Rob Good

Three spirited days of racing produced many pairs of sore legs and exploding lungs at the Forest City Velodrome over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Riders were split into three divisions for the weekend. There were nine riders from the United States who competed in the 12 event omnium. The "A" and "B" divisions were made up of Madison Teams who competed in different team and individual events during the competition. From time trials to madison pursuits it was full on very competitive madisons for each group. The non-madison racers had their own omnium that had sprints, chariots, miss & outs, to endurance races built into the program.

During Saturday night's program the FCV invited the youth racers from Bloomer Park just outside of Detroit to come and have some fun with the local youth during the Velo-Kids program that started in the afternoon. Each rider took part in a three event track meet. The primary function of the meet was to introduce all the kids to one another and have some fun on the side. All racers received a prize for their efforts.

How the racing unfolded:

In the "B" division, seven teams contested the omnium with new and experienced racers being paired with other riders of equal ability. This always produces the best racing as the stronger riders will help the less experienced racers on the team.

Early in Friday night's program the two American teams were the ones to beat as 16 year old Nick Console (Detroit) and Joe Brennan (New Jersey) teamed up to lead the combined USA/Canada team of Dan Schueller (Minnesota) and London's Doug Devine. These two teams would battle at the front and push the pace in every event over the three days.

The racing was very close for third in the overall with the young Cadet team of 14 year olds Drew Welsh and Daniel McKenzie-Picot (London) hanging on during the last day of competition to capture third in the standings just ahead of the Alymer team of John Hueston and Emily McKenzie-Picot. The teams who gave everything and a little bit more for fifth and sixth places at the end of the weekend were the womens team of Amy Biskaborn and Amy Armstrong (London) and Brian Kelly/Dina Ridha (London).

The learning and development of skills for these riders is definitely being up graded each time they hit the track. In the end we need more practice with handslings and speed over the next few months.

On the other end of the Festival of Speed format were the "A" teams, these teams were put together 15 minutes prior to the first night of racing. The team composition proved to be a good balance of speed and endurance.

During the 12 events that made up the omnium, the lead changed hands three times. First the sprinters (Joe Veloce & Steve Meyer) dominated (they were fresh on the first day). Then on the second night of racing the combined team of Junior-aged Ryan Aitcheson and Lisa Perlmutter raced their way into the lead. Finally on the last day the team of Madison experts of Mike Renneboog and Scott Lundy gained the advantage and did not look back. The duo dominated the final Madison of the weekend and sealed the deal for the win.

In the battle for second in the overall, the team of Veloce/Meyer was tied in points with Perlmutter/Aitcheson going into the final Madison event. A mechanical on the Perlmutter machine neutralized the teams halfway through the race. With all the riders waiting for the next Prime, John Carden (16 years old) attacked over the top catching the field napping. The lead quickly grew and his partner Vince DeJong finished the attack by lapping the field and taking home the cash that had been put up by the spectators for lapping the field.

This set the stage for the final 10 lap shoot out for second. Lundy attacked, followed by Aitheson and Veloce. All the other teams had blown and it was down to the final few exchanges, a gap formed and the team of Perlmutter and Aicheson crossed the line in second with Veloce/Meyer having to settle for third in the overall.

The other three teams had their own race with in a race over the three days, In the end Team LCW managed to squeak past the DeJong/Carden and Robertson Team for fourth, fifth, sixth.

In the end, all the riders had a great time, spectators were treated to some exceptional bike racing for the three days of the "Festival of Speed".

The FCV will host the Devo Weekend on Saturday November 1st. Make plans today to come to the Velodrome and take the Track 1 session or just come to cheer on the young champions of tomorrow.

For more information on FCV programs and racing .... go to: www.ForestCityVelodrome.ca