Special Reports by Carl, Lorna & Charles
In last week’s newsletter, we reported on how brilliantly our 4 Slipstreamers, Lorna Bowler, Harriet Mellor, Carl Jolly and Charles Page, performed at the Sainsbury’s UK Schools Games that were held in Manchester from the 4th – 7th September.
We also promised you a few reports from our riders, and so without further ado, do enjoy reading about…
Carl Jolly’s Experience: “At the home of British cycling…. I was lucky enough to be a part of the Central track team for this year’s school games. Everyone who’s anyone in track cycling was there: boys, girls and para cycling. It was three days of racing, so naturally very hard. It was a surreal experience as you are required to look after yourself at all times (apart from transport and meals, even we’re not that good). The racing was tough and fast, and in our team pursuit on the final day (possibly my favourite event) we came 10th – with a team of first year U16’s – pretty good! Can’t wait till next year which is gonna be great, maybe even podiums!”
Lorna Bowler’s Experience: “This year’s school games was amazing: the competition, the venue, and the atmosphere were fantastic. I was 1 of 4 girls who got picked within the Central Region, and there were also 4 boys who were picked that we travelled up to Manchester with the day before the 3 days of racing started. When we arrived on the Thursday, we had the opening ceremony which was awesome; but I was more excited to see what events I would be competing in over the next 3 days, so after the ceremony we sat down and were given our events. I was thrilled with what I was given and raring to go…When the racing started I made sure I knew what to do and to perform to the best of my ability. The team always cheered each other on and supported one another all through the games. We were very successful over the weekend, and even with 2 crashes in our team, they were able to pick themselves up and carry on. We all put in some good results and made 11th place out of all the regions. Next year everyone wants to do better!!! I had a great experience at the school games, but its been one of the most challenging things I’ve done! By the time we had reached the day we had to go home, we were extremely tired, but all still mesmerised by the brilliant school games we all had.”
Charles Page’s Experience: “The school games was a fantastic experience with a huge variety of sports involved, the atmosphere surrounding the games was mesmerising. After an amazing opening ceremony and the games had been officially opened, we got our heads down and concentrated on the exciting days of racing to come.Day 1 begun the first of three early starts (5:30), and the schedule incorporated scratch and points for me; however I spent the day trying to get my legs back into track form, which took time with the intense racing involved. With day 1 done it was a task of recovering for the next day. We got to the track and with an Individual Pursuit and Madison there would be a scintillating day of racing ahead. As my partner and I kept our changes on point in the Madison, we felt as though we had a chance; but alas, a crash brought our hopes down. We were now out of the incoherent scrabble for top spot, but we could still fight to stay in touch and so we fought on and managed our goal. The last day left me with one event left, the team pursuit, where the ‘Central Crash Test Dummies’ took the track for one last time as we battled the rest of the field. We were tired but we managed to take a spot, which was above expectations.
This trip to the unknown of the school games was the greatest experience I’ve had and as an athlete I’ve grown with the experiences and bonds built in what I can say is the greatest event in England.”
What a fantastic weekend our riders had! We hope they have inspired you to keep racing, or better yet – start racing if you aren’t doing so already!