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KLCC Go Ride Riders at Lea Valley

ERYCS Round 1 at Lea Valley Velopark

KLCC Go Ride Riders at Lea Valley

Whilst the adult KLCC members were busy with their 25mile TT back in King’s Lynn, a contingent of 5 Go Riders headed down to London for the first round of the Eastern Region Youth Circuit Series (ERYCS). A glorious warm sunny day gave ideal conditions, with riders warming up on rollers in the shadow of the iconic velodrome. All our riders gave a great performance and were noticeably improved compared with the same race last year – practice and training paying off.

First out was Sterling, competing in the U10 category. The race went off hot and Sterling did a great job riding in the bunch for a large part of the race. Despite falling back from the shelter of the bunch in the latter stages, Sterling demonstrated huge determination and carried on pushing hard, not letting the bunch pull away from him. We’re still awaiting results to be published – only the first three places are announced on the day.

Second up was Florence in U12G. The race pace was a bit more controlled with plenty of jockeying for position in the bunch and Florence had to defend her line a number of times to avoid being pushed out. An exciting sprint finish saw Florence pick up second place.

The final youth race contended by KLCC  riders was the U14, with Tye and Bethany both riding. The boys’ race went off a minute ahead, with the girls chasing. The pace in both races was very controlled with both our riders sitting comfortably in the middle of the big bunches. Repeated attacks out of corners kept riders on their toes and heart rates up but none had the commitment to stick, resulting in a bunch sprint finish for both races. Tye looked to be entering the sprint in a fantastic position but sadly got pushed out on to the grass in the second to last corner forcing him to the back of the bunch. Bethany gave it her all  but her position in the bunch coming into the sprint meant that despite spinning out in her biggest gear, she picked up a 5th place. Both riders did fantastically well, with Tye riding in a much bigger bunch than we ever manage to practice at Go Ride sessions back home in King’s Lynn.

The next round of ERYCS is on Easter Monday at the Redbridge Cycling Centre.