08.11.08

Manchester Regional Track League Wrap up - 3 wins so far!

The Friday night burn up has been back for 4 sessions so far.  Week 1 on 10th October saw Leeds Mercury veteran Richard Sewell ride a perfect Devil race for a well deserved win.   The following week, Ewan decided to keep the wins in the family, a brilliant lead out by Paddy Douglas took Ewan to the front with one lap to go in the scratch race.  Ewan did a fantastic job to hold off the sprinters to record a great win.  Richard decided to keep some more points in the family and grabbed a great second and third in the 1km scratch and Course des Primes respectively.

On 24th October Iona Sewell was up in the 200m flying start, an event most other people don't really like doing, and recorded a fast 14.472s or 30.913mph!

We hadn't seem him for a year or so but big Damion was back and trounced the opposition in the 1km scratch to record his first win of the Autumn.  Finally on 7th November, even bigger Phil Norfolk grabbed his first place of the Autumn with a well calculated 3rd place in the Devil.

 

08.11.08 

Leeds Mercury's Manchester Velodrome track sessions

The club held it's first session this Autumn a few weeks ago and everyone agrees it was a fantastic morning.  Many thanks to Alan for organising it and to Mike Farthing and Phil Norfolk for being such brilliant coaches!

These are great sessions for first timers as not only will you be amongst friends but the coaches are Mercury members too.  You don't even need your own track bike as they can be hired on the day. Remaining dates are as follows:

                           

                                Sunday November 16th. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

                                Sunday December 7th. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Costs will be around £10 adults and £5 children.  Please contact Alan at alanedmondson@btinternet.com or phone 01132587194 to make your reservation.  Please note that these sessions are also open to friends of the club.

 

7th September  - David Pullan is a champion!!

The club is delighted to announce that young David has won the British Schools Cycling Association U12's Yorkshire and North Regional Hill Climb Championships at Oakworth today . He did a pb of 1 min 56 for his first ride up, this being the fastest time of the day, then did a 1 min 58 for his second go. He richly deserved this win after a string of top placings in BSCA and other events.  Congratulations from us all

 

7th August - We're on Youtube!! 

Well only just!  Chevin Cycles have a very good promo video on Youtube. There's a clip of racing action from Manchester Velodrome and at least one Mercury rider gets a second or so of coverage.  The webmaster thinks that it's him but would like a second opinion!  See the action here, about halfway through http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU-mMeSaiAc

 

7th August - John Oldridge in Lands End to John O'Groats epic

Many of you will know our good friend, John Oldridge, from the Airedale Olympic.  I've just found out that he is aiming to do this marathon ride in 7 days, covering around 140 miles per day RIGHT NOW!!.  He's raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support.  More details about the ride http://www.justgiving.com/JohnOldridge  Good luck John!

 

30.07.08 - TLI Series update

Some fabulously consistent placings, as well as his win, leaves Callum Sewell as top Junior and  4th overall with one event to go. See http://www.yorkshiretliseries.net/  for more details

 

Ex Iron Man Triathlete Seb Horner taking on the Sprinters

In the same series, Seb is proving his power by winning a hotly contested prime lap, as well as taking 2 thirds in the primes.  All to play for with one event left. 

 

Iona Sewell is top woman rider

More good news from the series is that Iona is the best female rider in the bunch.  Good luck to everyone with the final event to come.

 

30.07.08 - Leeds Mercury LVRC Closing Road Race Cancelled

A lack of police permison and/or roadworks on the circuit has led to the cancellation of this event.  Alistair Cameron intends to organise it again next year. 

 

20.05.08 Sewell takes first road Race win!!

Chevin TLI series: Callum Sewell showed the seniors what to expect with some repeatedly aggressive riding, with a clear win on the Bishopwood circuit.  A superb win by Callum, in fine form, and hopefully the start of many more wins.  In the same race Mercury's Seb Horner took third in the prime.  Very many congratulations to Callum from everyone in the club

 

03.07.08 Mercury Youngsters invent new track cycling event

Yes, Roundhay grasstrack on Monday evening saw the young riders invent "upside down" cycling.  This new track event is yet to be ratified by the UCI but it is hoped to become a World Cup feature.

 

03.07.08.  Leeds Mercury's Alan Edmondson announce their Autumn/Winter Manchester Velodrome track sessions

The club is delighted to announce that it has secured 3 bookings at the Velodrome.  These are great sessions for first timers as not only will you be amongst friends but the coaches are Mercury members too.  You don't even need your own track bike as they can be hired on the day. The dates are as follows:

                                Sunday October 19th.  9 a.m.-12 p.m.

                                Sunday November 16th. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

                                Sunday December 7th. 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Costs will be around £10 adults and £5 children.  Please contact Alan at alanedmondson@btinternet.com or phone 01132587194 to make your reservation.  Please note that these sessions are also open to friends of the club.

 

25 June - Club events - Cyclocross, Junior circuits and Veterans Road racing

All still to be promoted by the club and help will be needed please.  Check our events page for organiser contact details.

 

25 June - Otley Town Centre Races tomorrow!

Club member Graeme Collin is the nominated organiser for the biggest circuit race in the north.  Look under the events page for his contact details if you can help out on the night

 

25 June - Divisional Road Champs - Pictures added to photo Gallery -

A truly awful day, with bad weather and a tough circuit featuring Bulmer Bank, earlier this month, Callum crashed out, a great showing by the rest of the Sewells and a struggle to finish for Paddy.  New pictures posted courtesy of Larry Hickmott.

 

 

25 June 08  NEWS ITEMS LOST!!

Sorry folks but items from April to June seem to have been lost - The webmaster will try to retrospectively update them soon - Also, I'm sure our hit counter was over 2000 - we seem to have lost a few!

 

MRTL 14 March 08 - No points and 7th overall for Douglas

Oh Dear, this must be the first night in a long time that the club scored no points!  Try as they might neither Phil Norfolk nor Patrick Douglas could get in the top three.  This meant that other riders overhauled Douglas towards the top of table and he finished a creditable 7th overall.   

 

9th March - More success for young David in National Roller Championships

No details yet but David was a fine 6th place in the national U12 championships - well done David!

 

 

MRTL 7th March 08 - Four thirds

One thing's for sure and that's we missed Damion tonight as no one from Mercury qualified for the 500m sprint.  Chasing points was particularly important for Paddy as he has a great chance to do well in the overall.  First placing of the night was for Iona who rode a great final few laps in the group 1 scratch to take 3rd.  This was followed up by Paddy in the group 3 Devil where he worked hard to take 3rd.  Again Iona took another great third in the group 1 1km scratch.   Finally Phil rode a tactically astute group 1 Devil to take our final third of the night.  Paddy looked a little bit below par tonight but fortunately his main rivals didn't score very highly, so he remains in fourth place overall with just 1 meeting remaining.

 

2nd March 08 - David Pullan in Roller Champs success

Young member David took part in the BSCA region roller champs for under 12s. Two 500meter time trials (30.48 , 30.06 ) and a 1km  time trial (1min 06 secs).  He finished joint 3rd overall and had to do a ride off for the 3rd place , he came from behind to only lose it by one hundreth of a second. He is taking part in the nationals Sunday 9th March and we wish him all the best of luck.

 

MRTL 29th Feb 08 - Group 3 Douglas Debut Dominates Devil

The club were fielding only two riders today, Phil Norfolk and Paddy Douglas.  First shock was that Paddy had been "promoted" to group 3.  The second shock for him was finding out just how much faster they were than group 2.  First events of the night were the 10 lap team pursuits but regretfully neither Phil nor Paddy were on the winning side.  At least this week Paddy avoided making a fool of himself in the pursuit!  As the evening drew on neither rider had got any places and the pressure was on Paddy to get at least something, to maintain his placing near the top of the General Classification.  He got his chance in the Devil.  Setting off in second place in the line, Paddy managed to hold this spot (the perfect place for the Devil), throughout, despite other riders variously blasting through to the front to take the lead for a few laps.  Coming into the final few laps the front guy slowed down a bit and Paddy then took over the lead.  On the bell lap he opened up his sprint, fortunately nobody came round him and he took a great victory.

A points wrap up at the end of the night showed that Douglas had dropped to 4th place with only 3.5 points separating the top 4 riders.  It's all to play for with only two meetings left.

 

Clayton Velo Spring Classic - 24th February 2008

The opening road race in the north featured some truly awful weather with wind and cold rain trying to dampen the spirits of the hardy souls who took part.  Leeds Mercury were represented by Paddy Douglas and the most of the Sewell clan, all in fact, except Mary.  This handicap road race set off at a blistering pace with some of the 4th cat riders fancying their chances of catching up with the elites.  After a few laps all the groups were working hard with various riders getting dropped in the bad weather.  Eventualy the speed and experience of the Elite riders paid off as they caught all the groups.  The Re-cycling team taking all the top places at the end of the race.  A creditable performance by the Mercury riders, especially Iona Sewell who was participating in her first road race.  

 

MRTL 22nd February - A Double for Norfolk

The night got off to a great start for the club when Phil Norfolk rode a tactically superb group 1 Devil to take a fine win, his first of the season.  Next up Paddy Douglas worked hard to take third in th egroup 2 scratch race.  After a round of 500m qualifiers Phil was in the group 1 scratch.  He showed that his win in the Devil was no fluke as he sped round the final laps of the scratch and came round some fast finishers to blast through the line with another great win.  There was some very dodgy riding in the group 2 Devil but luckily nobody crashed.  Paddy showed his stamina again by taking second in the event.  He holds on to third place overall despite only scoring 3 points tonight.

 

MRTL 15th February - Paddy's Pursuit Pandemonium!

This week the organisers decided to run a  team pursuit event for each group. Group 1 went well with Iona and Richard on the winning side, unfortunately Phil was on the losing side.  For group 2, Paddy nominated himself to be the all important lead off man, giving a great talk to the rest of the team about how to ride the event and how it could be won.  Come the start though, it all turned bad for the Mercury man when he more or less froze when the start whistle went, consequently there was major confusion as the team went round him to limit the damage, but it was just a matter of time before the other team caught the hapless Douglas team.  Hanging his head in embarrassment and shame he muttered something about expecting a gun, not a whistle, to signify the start of the race. DOH!!  Rounding out the team pursuits, Callum was on the group 4 winning side.

First "normal" race of the night saw Richard taking a solid third in the group 1 points race.  Paddy regained a bit of composure and managed to get second in the group 2 scratch race.  Probably the best Mercury racer of the night was Callum in group 4, who took his first placing in this toughest of groups, with a superbly ridden third place in the Devil.  All the Mercury riders drew a blank in the 1 kilo race but next up, Phil got a great second, his first placing of the year,  in the group 1 scratch race.  The night was rounded out with a decent second place for the still embarassed Douglas in the group 2 Devil.

 

MRTL 8th February - 3 riders, 3 wins!

Half term meant that the usual complement of LMCC was severely depleted, with just Damion, Phil and Paddy holding the fort.  Damion's first race since last Autumn was a superb demonstration of sprinting speed when he beat the bunch to win the group 1 scratch.   Next up, Paddy left his effort late to take two second places in the final 2 sprints of the group 2 points, enough for 3rd overall.  Damion mis-timed his effort slightly in the group 1 1km race but still took a good third.  A great piece of positive riding near the front saw Paddy scorch round the last lap of the group 2 kilo, overtaking 2 riders and managing to hold off the bunch for a great win.  Damion followed this up with a lap taken in the Course des Primes.  His next race was the points race and he picked up some good early points.  However with 2 laps to go Damion looked totally out of position, but never write off the big fella, he moved towards the front and came round the final few sprinters in the last half lap to win the final sprint, with enough points to win the race as well!!  Finally, Paddy rode a good Devil race to take second place.  A great night for the club. 

 

Leeds Mercury Overshoes - we have a couple of pairs of overshoes in club colours for sale, as usual at cost price.  Should suit size 40/41.  Contact the secretary for details.

 

MRTL 25th January 2008 - No wins!

In what must be one of the only sessions in the last 12 months or so, the Mercury came away without a win!  It wasn't for lack of trying as Paddy Douglas was second in the scratch, third in the 1km and took two laps in the Course des Primes.  Ewan took a great third in the Devil but overall we came away with no victory! 

 

MRTL race report 18th January 2008 - One win and plenty of placings

After the Xmas break it was back to racing.  Individual objectives vary at this time of year with many people hoping to burn off some excess fat after over indulging in recent weeks.  For others, including this author, a good safe set of races with no cowboy riding or crashes is the objective.  First rider to place for the Mercury was veteran Richard Sewell who rode a great group 1 Devil to take second, a very good ride for someone recovering from the flu.  He followed this up later by taking a lap in the Course des Primes, where his daughter Iona, took a great second place.  It looks like Paddy Douglas has at last got over his aversion to going near the front in the 1km race and he managed to take third.  Later he rode a very postive Devil race to beat the field and take his first win of the year.  Big trouble for Phil Norfolk tonight when bike problems forced him to sit out all but the first race.

 

 

Into the Archives!

2007 race results and most of the 2006/07 news items have now been archived.  Contact the webmaster if you need any old news or results

 

CYCLISTS WANTED FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

 

I've been contacted by Eva Detko, a Phd Researcher at Leeds Met University, Becketts Park Campus, Headingley, Leeds.

She is looking for approx 15 male cyclists aged 18-40 to take part in cycling and nutrition recovery research at Leeds Uni, Becketts Park Campus.

Cyclists taking part will benefit by having results from lab tests that will help them better understand their own levels of recovery.  A cash sum is paid when the study is completed.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM MANCHESTER TRACK LEAGUE AFFECTING YOUTH RIDERS

In 2008 ALL youth riders, including youth "A" riders, will require dispensation from British Cycling to ride the MRTL. This dispensation must be presented with your racing licence when signing on.
We have been instructed to implement a "no dispensation card - no ride" policy from the first track league meeting on 18th January. You must produce a 2008 card, a 2007 card won't suffice, at all future MRTL meetings. For a dispensation card contact Paul West at British Cycling HQ.
Youth "B" riders can now ride at the MRTL provided that they get dispensation from British Cycling, and they are over 14 years old (14 is the minimum age for membership of the MRTL)
There will no longer be gear checks for youth riders at the MRTL. All youth riders can ride any gear that they choose.
No entry on the line Friday nights. Entries close at 5pm on the Sunday before the meeting, and can't be accepted after this time.
Definitely no entry on the line, by phone, or by e-mail for the 1st meeting of the session - Friday, January 18th.
 

MRTL 30 November 07 - A hat trick for Ewan!!  Three Mercury riders were in the 200m timed sprints at the beginning of the evening and in this author's opinion they posted some pretty decent times.  First up was Iona Sewell recording a 14.565s ride, next was big Damion posting a 13.3s time and finally fast lad Callum who did a 13.019s.

Then what a night for the young Mercury racer Ewan Sewell.  In the last number of weeks he'd threatened to do some great rides but quite often attacked too early.  Tonight he seemed to get his tactics together from the start and attacked at the end of the 16 lap scratch race, held of the sprinters and took his first win.  Ewan then rode a masterful devil race to out manouvre his rivals and take another great win.   Not to be outdone, Damion Clark got a great lead out from Patrick Douglas in the 1km devil and outsprinted the rest to take his first group 2 win.  Ever improving Iona Sewell moved towards the front of the race in the group 1 course des primes to finish a great second over the line in the final lap, the race having been run at 27.3mph!  It was something of a family affair in the 16 lap points race where the Sewells came to the front of the race and seemed to be working for Ewan.  The tactics paid off as he was able to accumulate enough points to take his third win of the night, whilst his sister, Iona finished a very creditable fourth.  A great night for the club, a great night for Ewan.

MRTL 23 November 07 - wins getting harder to come by!  No-one from the Edmondson family and no Damion Clark tonight meant that we were at around half strength in terms of numbers.  The first event of the night was the group 1 Devil and Phil Norfolk took a comfortable second place.  Callum took the first sprint in the group 4 points race but this wasn't enough to give him an overall placing in a race run off at 28.9mph.  Next race was the group 1 1km scratch and there was a great second and third for Ewan Sewell and Phil.  In the group 2 1km race Patrick Douglas moved to near the front from the start and got towed round second in line until a lap to go.  At this point he attacked and surprisingly (mostly surprising himself!) held off the sprinters to take a great win.  He followed this up by a second place in the devil to round out a fairly quiet night for the club. 

19.11.07 Clothing Order - Lots of winter tops, among other items, just ordered.  The supplier will deliver early in the new year, should be w/c 3rd Jan.

17.11.07 Leeds Mercury web site read worldwide!!  The webmaster heard last night that we are read as far away as the United States.  If you are reading this from overseas please send us a quick message that we can post.  Our best wishes to all overseas readers.

Track training day 17th November  - The club would like to thank organiser/coach Alan Edmondson and coach Mike Farthing for providing a great session today.  39 riders, young and old, signed up for the session that was split across novices and experienced riders.  Lots of positive comments were received and we look forward to another great session on Sunday 9th December.