//RACE REPORT: LEC WINTER SERIES - ROUND THREE
With all to play for across a number of age groups, the curtain fell on the 2023/24 Winter Series with a drama-filled afternoon at the iconic Herne Hill Velodrome.
Blue skies and sunshine greeted the riders as they arrived at South London’s premiere venue (apart from Eltham Park, of course) for an afternoon of racing. An expectant crowd joined them hoping for daredevil attacks, fearless riding and podium chasing moves, leaving sated after lap after lap of just that.
The Winter Series has been a great example of how Go Ride events should be this season with strong performances from both experienced and newer racers. The organisers have been delighted to see huge improvement and confidence from everyone brave enough to roll up to a start line. Chapeau one and all.
“Spare a thought for the poor lap counters, trying to keep tabs on some frantic and exciting racing”
Unfortunately, we cannot mention everyone who impressed without packing the internet with more content than an U10s sighting lap, but the results are in and summarised below.
// UNDER 6s
Woody Shearwood from LEC took the win on the day to earn himself third place in the series for the boys, but nobody could stop Brixton BMX’s Louis Lochee-Bayne from donning a woolen crown, winning the series after his second place at Herne Hill. Harry Griffith’s from Lee Valley Youth stepped onto second place on the podium whilst Fred Crawford took third place on the day.
The big showdown in the Under 6s however was in the Girls’ race where Howell-Brook took on Howell-Brook, sister against sister, Elin vs. Alys to see who would stand proud on the top spot of the podium at tea-time. In a result which delighted fans of numberwang (and led to numerous rounds of checking on the results desk), a first place for Alys and third place for Elin meant they both finished on 67 points - sharing the bragging rights and making for a far easier journey home for the Howell-Brook adults. Matilda Puddlefoot split the sisters with second place on the day whilst Tina Cavers from 4T took third place in the series thanks to her win in Round Two.
// UNDER 8s
The U8s Girls race was an LEC affair with four riders in green going for the win. In the end it was Lola Stewart crossing the line first to complete a hatrick of wins and cement her position on the podium. Second place went to Enyo Rackley with Olive Connor in third and Eliza Gillard in fourth - all finishing in the same spots in the series as a whole. Great to see these girls developing as racers on the bike and friends and teammates off.
The drama in this race all occurred in the boys, where Charlie Murphy had a bad fall on the start line and Sebastian Thevenot crashed whilst pushing for the lead. We wish both riders as speedy a recovery as the pace they showed on raceday. (We’re relived to report they are doing well, get well soon boys.) The latter incident deprived the crowds of a fantastic final few laps between Sebastian from Southborough and Kapser Rackley from Limited Edition. Kapser went on to roll in first and took the series win. Caue Bruzzone from Lee Valley Youth took second place and third overall, pipping local Isaac Matthews from VCL into third. Third place in the series went to Arto Cavers.
A special mention for Aash Selimin from LEC. After his debut in Round Two, our first para rider came back for more after learning to ride a two-wheeler in the autumn. His finish on the day secured eighth spot in the overall.
// Under 10s
Not wanting to be overshadowed by their young compatriots, the U10 boys gave us the best race of the afternoon as four riders broke free. The LEC trio of Kein, Daniel and Tejus took turns pushing on the front and raising the pace whilst Ellison Green played a tactical masterclass tucked in in fourth biding his time before someone made their move. It was Tejus who went for it, dropping a huge wattbomb which drew cheers from the crowds on the opening to the last lap. Kien had a big gap to make up but slowly worked on closing it through the tight twisting corners of the inner section until he was nearly on the shoulder of his team-mate as they re-entered the track. Tejus the hare hung on against the hound, taking the win after what turned out to be a perfectly executed move. Ellison from Barking and Dagenham took third. A great showcase of tactical racing, of which they should all be proud. Despite missing out on the day, LEC’s Kien Chu wore the hat on the podium with his teammate Daniel Furlong in second, silent assassin Ellison in third.
LEC’s Victoria de Beule battled back from a startline mechanical to win the U10 girls, but it wasn’t enough to catch the series leader Jessica Evans from Horsham Youth who secured top spot in the series after her third place finish. VCL’s Sophia Matthews used her knowledge of the course to follow her win in Round Two with a second place on Sunday picking up a bronze in the series.
“Tejus the hare hung on against the hound, taking the win after what turned out to be a perfectly executed move.”
// Under 12s
Another packed field in the U12s with fourteen riders taking to the startline. It was Sofia Savarese representing LEC who won the girls’ race, securing not only first place on the day but with it the series win too.
Taylor Green from Barking and Dagenham was leading the boys series going into this round and made sure of top spot with an emphatic win on the velodrome. Second place was firmly up for grabs however and indeed only two points separated the next three riders in the overall. Jacob Matthews from VCL took second place on the day whilst Dylan Plail from Bigfoot took third in his first race of the Winter Series. Back to the overall and it was Jake Kalogiannopoulos riding for Woolwich who nabbed second place, LEC’s Floyd Connor pipping Ben Tremayne into third.
// Under 14s
Despite being the only girls’ representative in Round Three, Edie Wright was cheered through her race by her fanclub in what turned out to be a victory lap as the maximum points gave her the series win and big bobbled trophy. Ana Mason from VCL took second spot overall.
In the Boys race, Oskar O’Rawe from Southborough took the opportunity to jump up the leaderboard and won the series after a first place finish. Riley Mahoney from 4T was second overall with Leo Hughes, also from Southborough third on the podium.
// Under 16s
Our final race of the day saw the U16s Series decider. Aidan Plail from Bigfoot arrived to take first place on the day. Rytis Petruskevicius from LEC saw an opportunity midway through the race to make a break and took it, holding on to secure second place and with it, the series win. Barney Howard from Herne Hill Youth pipped his brother into third spot to take second overall, Elliot rounding out the podium places.
