December 13/10 10:05 am - Forest City Velodrome Weekend Racing

Posted by Editoress on 12/13/10
 

The Forest City Velodrome was the center for racing on Saturday night (December 11th), with many racers coming out despite the third major winter storm hitting London in a week.

Riders hit the boards for sprint qualifying to start the racing program, and in the first seven minutes the hardy race fans witnessed some of the quickest qualifying times of the season.  Sixteen year old Kristofer Ovsenek (Invta-FCV) set quick time of all the racers, with a time of 8.161 seconds (60.875 kph).  The racers were split into two divisions, the fast six qualifiers in the "A" group, all of the other racers were placed in the "B" group to allow eveyone a good opportunity to experience sprinting.

In the end, Junior racers were at the top of both divisions.  Brian Trafford (Ottawa Bicycle Club) outlasted Drew Welsh (Invita-FCV) for the win, with Candice Vemeulen (Invita-FCV) a very competitive third in the "B" final.   In the "A" group sprint final, Mike Nuttall (Cycles London) was up against fastest qualifier Ovsenek.  Both riders know each other very well, as they train with one another every week at the FCV.  The five lap "A" final had Nuttall and Ovsenek swap the lead three times before the sprint started.  With two to go Ovsenek attacked hard and opened up a five metre gap that Nuttall was unable to close, and the 16 year old won his seventh tournament of the winter season.

Next on the race program were endurance races for the youth racers, plus the "A & B" divisions.  The Kids put on another great race, with the 25 laps putting them at their limit of endurance, since most of the kids are under 12 years of age.  The three winners of the Handicaps were Lucas Taylor, Logan McIntyre, and Miles Fullerton.

Miles doubled up with a very exciting win in the endurance race when he outlasted McIntyre by half a wheel at the finish.  In the Unknown Distance race +3 laps, the Kids were paced by Ryan Aitcheson, who had just returned from racing in Europe.  Ryan was on the front so the kids knew the speed to race at, and with three to go Aitchenson came off the track and it was a mad dash to the line, with Exeter's Nathon Finch winning a hard sprint to the finish line.

Other winners of the Endurance racers were Eric MacDonald (Cycles London) and Will Simonds (Invita-FCV).  The Italian Pursuit lasted 13 minutes, with Will Simonds outlasting all the other competitors  to capture the win.

The last event on the night was the Ontario Madison Championships, with seven teams taking to the boards.  In the 15 minutes plus 10 lap affair, three teams dominated the race,  The eventual winners were the Invita-FCV team of Drew Welsh and Will Simonds, who attacked early in the race and, although they missed a couple of exchanges in traffic, were the team to beat.  Brian Trafford and John Hueston (Aylmer Express) came across the line a solid second on the night, and the Cycles London team of the Professor Lorne Falkenstien and young Eric MacDonald were in third.

The next event at the FCV is our annual Christmas Camp between Christmas and New Years.  The next race night will be Saturday, January 8, 2011.

For all the information for the Forest City Velodrome programs, go to www.ForestCityVelodrome.ca .

Full results

Courtesy FCV