Dudley Track Open Grand Prix
11th & 12th July 2009; Halesowen A & CC
ManorAbby Stadium; Report and pictures Richard Robotham
The sun shines on Manor Abbey as the Freewheelers race around the track in the West Midlands.
The Halesowen A & CC’s 70th Year anniversary two day Dudley Grand Prix Track meeting was delayed by a rainy morning on Saturday. The event was about to start when another sudden heavy downpour at 1.00 pm saturated the track and was once again unsafe to ride. Regrettably, the organiser, Martin Bridgwood and chief commissaire Phil Pollard made the decision to abandon the meeting on the Saturday.
Sunday morning’s weather showed more promise as the overnight heavy rain was blown away by windy conditions which helped to dry the track to allow the start of a full days racing. Sunday’s program was amended to include the British Cycling Sprinters League from the previous day.
British Cycling Sprinters League
Matthew Haynes gets the better of local rider Tom Gregory in the Sprint final.
Matthew Haynes (City of Edinburgh RT) set the fastest time in the Sprinters League Flying Time Trial at the start of the meeting. Halesowen A & CC’s up and coming riders Tom Gregory and Tom Baker were in good form when they set blistering times of 12.08 and 12.19 to respectively.
Results Flying Time Trial
Matthew Haynes City of Edinburgh RT 11.84
Tom Gregory Halesowen A & CC 12.08
Lee Povey Team Terminator 12.18
Tom Baker Halesowen A & CC 12.19
Jamie Bremner City of Edinburgh RT 12.39
Ben Elliott VC St Raphael 12.39
Jamie Streather VC St Raphael 12.62
Jack Hibberd MJS Racing 12.74
Keith Williams Port Talbot Whs 12.99
Ben McCullogh Young City of Edinburgh RT 13.00
Phillip Farley MJS Racing 13.23
Jason Streather VC St Raphael 13.64
Paul Gittins Ferryhill Whs 14.37
Round One of the Sprint proper saw Matthew Haynes (City of Edinburgh RT), Tom Gregory (Halesowen A & CC), Ben Elliott (VC St Raphael) and Jamie Bremner (City of Edinburgh) all go safely through to next round, leaving the remaining riders battle it out in the Repecharge heats for the last two places. Junior rider Gregory showed excellent sprinting skill when he met the experienced sprinter Ben Elliott in the Round Two Heats.
With Elliot leading out the three riders, Gregory turned on the speed when he hit the 200 metre mark chasing Elliot around the last bend and they battled side-by-side all the way down the home straight with Gregory overtaking Elliott on the line to secure his place in the final with Matthew Haynes the winner of the previous round two heat.
Ben Elliott up against the purple machine in an early round of the sprint.
Tom Baker (Halesowen A & CC), Lee Povey (Team Terminator), Jamie Bremner and Ben Elliott all made it through to the Minor Final. In this, the four riders kept a close watch on each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, it was Elliott who charged off the front as they completed their first lap and kept ahead of the others. Lee Povey only came along side as they headed down the back straight, but Elliot was just too strong and took the win from Povey. Matthew Haynes dominated the Final with Tom Gregory taking the lead from the whistle and keeping Gregory at bay all the way to line.
1st Matthew Haynes City of Edinburgh RT Winner of the Texaco Cup
2nd Tom Gregory Halesowen A & CC
3rd Ben Elliott VC St Raphael
4th Lee Povey Team Terminator
5th Tom Baker Halesowen A & CC
6th Jamie Bremner City of Edinburgh RT
7th Jamie Streather VC St Raphael
8th Jack Hibberd MJS Racing
9th Keith Williams Port Talbot Whs
10th Ben McCullogh Young City of Edinburgh RT
11th Phillip Farley MJS Racing
12th Jason Streather VC St Raphael
British Cycling Women’s Omnium
Podium for the Women's Omnium L-R: Lucy Garner, organiser Martin Bridgewood, Emily Kay and Janet Birkmyre.
Time Trial
The first event of the day in the Women’s Omnium was the 500m Time Trial. Janet Birkmyre (XRT Elymcycles.co.uk) took the lead in both the event and the Omnium with a time of 39.18. Her nearest rival’s time was set by Jenny Davies (City Of Edinburgh RC) with a 40.01.
Scratch Race
The 20 lap Scratch race was the second event in the Omnium. Hayley Edwards (Halesowen A & CC) attacked several times in the early part of the race and was successfully chased down each time. The women stayed together until 5 laps to go when Emma Paterson (London Dynamo) and Jayne Paine (Willesdon CC) broke away, gaining 60 metres from the front of the bunch over the next few laps.
The rest of the field didn’t seem to want to work to pull them back however Emily Kay (Halesowen A & CC) could see that the two leading riders were flagging and decided that with three laps remaining that it was the right time to bridge the gap. Her solo attempt paid dividends as she made contact with the leaders just before the bell went for the last lap. Emily Kay didn’t hesitate or sit up and she just carried on straight past the leaders. Jayne Paine managed to tuck in behind her back wheel, but Emma Paterson dropped back to the bunch. Emily Kay continued at maximum speed down the home straight to a deserved victory.
Pursuit
The two leading Omnium riders Janet Birkmyre and Emily Kay, came head to head in the last heat of the 2km pursuits. Janet Birkmyre started strongly edging ahead a little over Emily Kay, but with a little encouragement from her parents from the side of the track, Emily Kay picked up the pace in the last few laps and pulled back Janet Birkmyres lead and posted the winning time of 2.47.36 from Janet Birkmyre 2.48.05.
Sprint Races;
The Omnium positions at the end of the Pursuits determined the heats for the Sprint Rounds. Janet Birkmyre, Emily Kay, Lucy Garner (Leicestershire RC), and Hayley Edwards all won their respective heats making it directly through to the Semi Final round. The minor finals were split into three heats with 13th to 15th places contested by Daisy Sherwood (City Of Edinburgh RC), Nicci Meadows (DNA Cycles) and Louise Haston (Unattached). 
Lucy Garner defeats ace sprinter Janet Birkmyre.
This was an easy unchallenged win for Daisy Sherwood. The 9th to 12th places were contested by Jenny Davis (City Of Edinburgh RC), Emma Paterson, Emma Baird (Unattached) and Jayne Paine and in this race Jenny Davis won this heat by overtaking the lead out rider Jayne Paine. The final for 5th to 8th places was contested by Cassie Gledhill (DNA Cycles), Mellissa Bury (Sportcity Velo), Cheryl Owens (GS Metro) and Charline Joiner (City Of Edinburgh RC). Charline Joiner lead from the start, constantly checking over her shoulder for possible attacks, but held on to take first place.
Semi Final 1. Hayley Edwards was drawn against Janet Birkmyre for Semi Final 1. Hayley lead them out at a slow walking pace for the first lap and a half keeping Janet high against the boards. Janet marked Hayley very closely and wasn’t surprised when Hayley attacked just before the 200m mark. Birkmyer kept her cool though passing Hayley with ease on the home straight.
Semi Final 2. Emily Kay lead out Lucy Garner for the second semi final. Emily kept Lucy at bay for most of the race but Lucy passed her with ease to take the win.
3rd and 4th Places. Using the same slow, keeping high on the track tactics from her semi final race, Hayley Edwards led out her club mate Emily Kay. Emily kept her head, overtaking Hayley in the last 100m to secure 3rd place.
1st and 2nd Places. Lucy Garner led out Janet Birkmyre in the final of the sprint. Once again the Commissaire Starter followed them around the track to ensure a brisk walking pace for the first half lap. Janet Birkmyre took her chance jumping down the track to take the lead along the back straight, Lucy Garner fought back hard, out sprinting Janet down the home straight to take first place.
Points Race;
Although Janet Birkmyre won the first sprint in the Points race, her efforts throughout the days racing had taken its toll and she soonn tired very quickly and was struggling to keep up with the rest of the field before finally being lapped on the very last lap of the day. Emily Kay however featured in all of the sprints, winning the most points whilst Melissa Bury had a strong ending to the race taking the final 5 points and ending the race second overall.
Overall
1. Emily Kay Halesowen A & CC 11
2. Lucy Garner Leicestershire RC 17
3. Janet Birkmyre XRT Elymcycles.co.uk 18
4. Cassie Gledhill DNA Cycles 30
5. Jayne Paine Willesdon CC 31
6. Melissa Bury Sportcity Velo 32
7. Hayley Edwards Halesowen A & CC 41
8. Emma Patterson London Dynamo 43
9. Daisy Sherwood City Of Edinburgh RC 44
10. Cheryl Owens GS Metro 47
11. Nicci Meadows DNA Cycles 58
12. Louise Haston Unattached 64
13. Emma Baird Unattached
14. Jenny Davis City Of Edinburgh RC
15. Charline Joiner City Of Edinburgh RC
British Cycling Endurance League - Billy Jones Trophy
Matt Bailey, Bryan Taylor and Matt Haynes.
Paul Gittins (Ferry Hill Wheelers) and Jack Hibberd (MJS Racing) made an early attempt to break away from the main field after only two laps, however, Hibberd tired quickly, dropping back to the main field after only one lap. Gittins was soon swallowed up again by the main field. The high tempo split the race into two groups between the two primes both won by Jamie Rogers (Scunthorpe Poly CC) who drove the field along for most of the race.
The two groups came back together with the riders each taking a turn at the head of the race. With three laps to go, Oliver Davis (Dinnington RC) broke away from the main field, increasing his lead to 80 metres but the following train led by Bryan Taylor (VC Londres) and Matt Bailey (Halesowen A & CC) came over the top of him on the last bend, and unable to find any strength to fight back, Davis came fourth while Taylor was first across the line. This was Bryan Taylor’s second win of the Billy Jones Trophy winning it previously in 2003.
1st Bryan Taylor, VC Londres
2nd Matt Bailey, Halesowen A & CC
3rd Matthew Haynes, City of Edinburgh RT
4th Oliver Davies, Dinnington RC
5th Simon Lewis, VC Londres
The day's racing also feature some Youth races.
