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Location: Palmer Park Sports Stadium, Wokingham Road, Reading
Event: 6 May 2012

The Bordeaux- Paris meeting at Reading’s Palmer Park Velodrome is traditionally scheduled for the Sunday of the May Bank Holiday weekend and, traditionally, re-scheduled several times and finally run in September.

That tradition looked like being upheld as black clouds hovered over the meeting but, apart from a few spots of rain, the weather held off and the meeting went ahead. With a programme of scratch races and keirins as warm-ups, the main event was Reading’s unique double header tribute to the old Bordeaux-Paris classic road race. The first part is a conventional scratch race with the first eight riders pulled out for a 60km derny paced race. The non-qualifiers then continue for another four laps to determine the result of the scratch.

Before the senior race, the under 16 and Ladies version of the event saw Daniel Lansley of Palmer Park Velo dominate the early stages before fading to allow Lydia Boylan of Look Mum No Hands through to take the win from Sarah Brook of the Mule Bar Girls and Lansley’s younger brother Matthew who took the final spot on the podium. There was drama in part one of the senior race when Alex Wise of VC St Raphael – who had made a solo break early on – pulled up with four laps to go while in second place behind breakaway rider Will Rudgard of Wolverhampton Wheelers.

With a race distance of 20km – 44 laps of Palmer Park - what should have happened is that the riders race until the bell at 39 laps and then sprint for qualification for the Derny race. Either a bell with five laps showing or a lap board of 40 laps would have worked, but the board showed 44 laps at the start and the bell didn’t come until 43 laps in.

After some debate – and thanks to the availability of a spare derny – it was decided to allow the eight riders who had qualified at the bell and Wise to take the start. The Scratch race was finished off won by Donal Liinehan of Newbury RC and then Wise’s eventful afternoon continued. Less than a third of the way through the race his derny punctured and he was forced to take Karl Freeman of Team Wheel Guru’s wheel – moving out a few laps later as James Holland-Leader of Prestige VC made a move and transferring to his wheel.

When Rudgard was lapped, he was pulled from the race for Wise to take over his derny – but by that point his original pacer Courtney Rowe was back up and running and he rejoined the race and picked up his rider again.

Wise made a move almost straight away, moving to the front of the race but the extreme effort of following a rider rather than directly taking the derny’s wheel had taken its toll and he faded. John McClelland of Prestige VC made his way back to the front, with team mate Holland-Leader behind and Symon Lewis of Elite Edwardes slotting in to third and that’s how it finished with those three riders distancing the rest of the field while Wise fell back but held on to fourth, just ahead of Freeman.

Result

Senior

10 lap scratch
1. Michael BROADWITH Shorter Rochford Exclusive Ranges RT
2. Stephen BRADBURY AW Cycles
3. Symon LEWIS Elite Edwardes

Keirin
1. Martin DAWKINS Team Quest
2. John McCLELLAND Prestige VC
3. Symon LEWIS Elite Edwardes
4. Frazier CARR AW Cyles
5. Will MACKE AW Cycles

Bordeaux-Paris

Stage 1
1. Donal LINEHAN Newbury RC
2. Frazier CARR AW Cycles
3. Tim RYAN Cardiff JIF
4. Mark SMITH Welwyn Wheelers
5. Alexander SIMMONS Swinnerton Cycles
6. Max BROWN Team Zappi’s

Stage 2
1. John McCLELLAND Prestige VC
2. James HOLLAND-LEADER Prestige VC
3. Symon LEWIS Elite Edwardes
4. Alex WISE VC St Raphael
5. Karl FREEMAN Team Wheel Guru
6. Stephen BRADBURY AW Cycles
7. Xavier DISLEY University of Birmingham
8. Martin DAWKINS Team Quest
9. Will RUDGARD Wolverhampton Wheelers

Ladies

10 lap scratch
1. Lydia BOYLAN Look Mum No Hands
2. Sara BROOK Mule Bar Girl
3. Molly MAUNDERS Cardiff Ajax

Keirin
1. Hannah MANLEY For Viored
2. Cheryl OWENS GS Metro

20 lap scratch
1. Sarah BROOK Mule Bar Girl
2. Lydia BOYLAN Look Mum No Hands
3. Hannah MANLEY For Viored

Under 16/ladies

Bordeaux-Paris

Stage 1
1. Joshua MITCHELL Bicester Millennium
2. Molly MAUNDERS Cardiff Ajax

Stage 2
1. Lydia BOYLAN Look Mum No Hands
2. Sara BROOK Mule Bar Girl
3. Matthew LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo
4. Joanne McRae Look Mum No Hands
5. Tom SEFTON Palmer Park Velo
6. Daniel LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo
7. Cheryl OWENS GS Metro
DNF Hannah MANLEY For Viored

Youth

Devil
1. Daniel LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo
2. Joshua MITCHELL Bicester Millennium
3. Matthew LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo

Keirin

Under 16
1. Joshua MITCHELL Bicester Millennium
2. Daniel LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo
3. Tom SEFTON Palmer Park Velo

Under 14
1. Cameron THOMPSON Palmer Park Velo
2. Joseph LINEHAN Palmer Park Velo
3. Sam OLIVER Palmer Park Velo
4. Bethany MAUNDERS Maindy Flyers

Under 12
1. Callum MACLEOD Palmer Park Velo
2. Anna LINEHAN Palmer Park Velo
3. Joshua KNOWLES Palmer Park Velo

Scratch

Under 16
1. Daniel LANSLEY Palmer Park Velo
2. Joshua MITCHELL Palmer Park Velo
3. Tom SEFTON Palmer Park Velo

Under 14
1. Cameron THOMPSON Palmer Park Velo
2. Joseph LINEHAN Palmer Park Velo
3. Bethany MAUNDERS Maindy Flyers
4. Jacob KILBY Palmer Park Velo

Under 12
1. Callum MACLEOD Palmer Park Velo
2. Joshua KNOWLES Palmer Park Velo
3. Anna LINEHAN Palmer Park Velo