// race report: go ride round #06
A home race for the Green Machine for Round 6 of the South London Go Ride League but it was a change from our regular venue in Elmstead Woods and consequently a very different looking course.
An unseasonably cold day on 20th April at Bexley Grammar meant the short sleeved tops were kept in storage for another race. It did make for a very busy queue at the Coffee & Cake stall tho!
//UNDER 6S
Under 6's got us underway and it was Arlo Williams who got a flying start! While not strictly an LEC rider, Arlo williams is the younger brother of Euan, who definitely is LEC, so the home crowd got behind him. Series leader Woody was stuck behind traffic in the first lap and got a little bit over anxious to reclaim the lead resulting in a big crash on the fastest part of the course. The home crowd were worried as Woody took time to get back up again but with the adrenaline surging he opted to get back on the bike and worry about the bruises later. What a champ! 5th in the mass race but still crucially getting points on the board.
Meanwhile newcomer Fred Crawford (no team) took the flag for the win. Fred was also 2nd in the time trial so clearly a name to look out for. With Arlo holding on to 2nd spot after his tremendous start it was left to our two other LEC riders, Samuel and Leo to battle for the final podium place. Samuel took it, but Leo consoled himself with the fact he placed 3rd in the TT.
The boys TT win was taken overall by Woody by four seconds, cementing his place at the top of the series table.
There was no girls race for this category.
“What a champ!”
//UNDER 8S
On the startline of the Under 8's the marshalls pointed to Woody's unfortunate spill and reminded everyone to stay safe. Thankfully there were no big crashes but there was plenty of action. LEC Coach Jay had come up with one of his signature technical courses, aimed at rewarding more than just big legs!
Time trials were up first and it was Arto Cavers of 4T who came up with a fine win after favourite Kasper (LEC) caught the tape on one of the chicane sections. If the rumour mill is to be beleived, then young Arto has been in talks with LEC about a possible move and with this showing it'd be a massive coup for the Green Machine. Kasper took 2nd and Rupert from LEC took a cracking 3rd place in only his second Go Ride. Louis, Max and James (all LEC) made up the remainder 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.
In the mass race, Rupert went one better with a 2nd place, clearly using the "inside pedal up" skills he's been perfecting at Saturday training sessions, a great showing from him!
Kasper recovered from his TT spill to take 1st place in the mass race and extend his lead in the series. With a commanding lead after three laps over the other boys, his main concern was a battle with old sparring partner and teammate Lola (more on that later!) Arto came in just behind Rupert to complete the podium with the other places the same as the TT.
U8 girls was a purely LEC affair with series contender Emilia Allen of Herne Hill not taking part in this one, and the TT literally couldn't have been closer. Enyo putting in a tremendous lap and the word on the course was that she'd just edged out favourite Lola. Could it be true? It really depended on how many decimal points your stopwatch went to, and the judges opted to err on the side of caution and give them a joint 1st place! Olive had to settle for 3rd place behind her two teammates.
In the mass race, possibly reeling from the TT rumours, Lola set about making sure of the victory. The twisty technical nature of the course suited her smaller wheels better, and once away from the other LEC girls she set her sights on Kasper. With a single lap remaining a back marker in front of Kasper gave her the chance, as Kasper hesitated she went for a small gap and got it, passing both the back marker and the race leader then holding on for the final lap to take the flag first.
Lola will claim the credit for her risky overtake, but it was also sensible from Kasper, not risking his 1st place in the boys cat just to get bragging rights over his colleague! Olive's second 3rd place of the day put her into 3rd place overall in the series!
“Rupert went one better with a 2nd place, clearly using the ‘inside pedal up’ skills he’s been perfecting at Saturday training sessions.”
//UNDER 10S
The recent rivalry between Tejus and Kien was sidelined here as the former found himself stranded abroad due to some crazy weather in Dubai. Back in the cold and windy borough of Bexley, Kien was keeping his powder dry in the early laps as another of the Crawfords, Arthur (Fred's older brother) got away to an early lead.
It was a confident and calculated display as Kien edged himself closer and closer with each lap, and as he sensed Arthur tiring, he flew past and didn't look back. This was also another LEC rider's first group race, Ivo Ralchevski, and he gave a good account of himself given the size difference with most of his competitors! Elias made sure it was a majority LEC podium, joining winner Kien and Arthur Crawford. He will be one to watch next season when he is in the second year of the Under 10's cat!
U10's also saw another big fall with LEC rider Vicente coming down, unfortunately for him on the only concrete section of the course. Another display of grit saw him get back on and finish his final lap to ensure he recorded some points on the board - Well done Vicente!
“He flew past and didn’t look back”
//UNDER 12S
In the boys TT we had another split decision with LEC’s Dylan Hagerty taking 2nd spot by a hundredth of a second over BigFoot’s Jayden Sin! Woolwich rider Jake Kalogiannopoulos took a well deserved 1st place.
LEC rider Floyd Connor leads the series for U12 boys but it's close at the top and one of his main rivals, TT winner Jake , looked to be loving the techincal course that LEC developed, really pushing it thru the chicanes to establish a decent lead. However, disaster struck as his chain dropped allowing Floyd to regain the lead. Disaster then turned to catastrophe (thanks, thesaurus.com) as the chain dropped again and some derailleur hangar trouble meant Jake retired from the race. For his part, Floyd did what any good racer should, he kept plugging away waiting for his opportunity to come. You never know when luck will shine on you, but you have to keeping working hard in the meantime and thats what he did, resulting in a win to cement his place at the top. Another Woolwich Rider, Ben Tremayne took 2nd with LEC’s Dylan following up his excellent TT with 3rd in the group race. Lovely work! LEC’s Euan Williams came in ahead of teammate Floyd in the TT but couldn’t bring the same form into the mass race, finishing 6th.
Lucas Perilla from LEC was all set to score 5th in both the TT and Group race, until a lap to go when some mind games from his agent/Manager/Dad managed to spark some extra life into his legs and he pushed on to nick 4th from the Bigfoot rider in front of him. What was the psychological genius? The promise of his favourite food for dinner that evening. Pay attention parents, they say podiums can’t be bought but for the price of a pizza, 4th place is yours.
In the girls Under 12's, LEC's Sofia was back in scoring form to take 2nd, having missed the previous round. Isobel page leads the overall currently as the only girl to have completed five rides, but another showing like this from Sofia would see her leapfrog Isobel in the table. Unfortunately for Sofia the same is also true of the very impressive Flavia Hitchings of Southborough & District Wheelers, who looks sure to jump to the top of the table if she scores in the next round.
The Girls TT result matched the mass race.
“They say podiums can’t be bought but for the price of a pizza, fourth place is yours.”
//UNDER 14S / 16S
No girls at all in U14 or U16 and small numbers in both boys races meant a combined field for 1 race.
No LEC riders in this one, but Riley Mahoney of 4T was made in Eltham Park South by the Green Machine so he enjoyed the support of the home crowd here. Riley took a commanding lead in U14's and set about trying to catch the U16 leader, but sadly just ran out of laps as he was closing in, much to the local's dismay! Aidan Plail of Big Foot doing enough to hang on and take the flag first.
In the Under 16’s LEC’s Joe McDonagh returned for only his second race of the season, with an eye on qualifying for the London Youth Game later this year.
“made in Eltham Park South by the Green Machine”
//NEXT ROUND
Next up is Round 7 at Crystal Palace park, Saturday 18th May and with Under 12’s and above taking on a new format including the ever popular Elimination race (also known as ‘The Devil’). Get yourself signed up at the link below for some more high octane racing action!
Round 7 Race Details and Sign Up
Coach G
