A Note from Our Chair, Alison Grant:
“Everyone at Hillingdon Slipstreamers Cycling Club are so proud and delighted that three of our young riders have had their talent recognised by British Cycling, and have been invited to attend the Olympic Development Apprenticeship scheme. This is a first for the club as we have never had three riders picked simultaneously. Not only that, but there is room for more to be considered and is something for other riders to strive for. It is testament to all their hard work and effort, and to their coaches who have helped to guide them and achieve success. In particular I would like to mention Dave George, Slipstreamers Head Coach, who has dedicated many hours of his own time to help all our racers. Congratulations to Lorna, Charles and Harriet. I know they will continue to serve as excellent role models for all our other aspiring racing talent at Slipstreamers.”
A Note from Our Head Coach, Dave George:
“The Performance Pathway”
British Cycling have recently announced a revamp of the Rider Journey, and rebranded their scheme as “The Performance Pathway”. Essentially the route remains the same – from Club to International Podium – but with some additional milestones.Charles, Harriet and Lorna have all shown terrific dedication and focus to rise to the next level of “Olympic Development Apprentices”, or “ODA” for short. As have many before them, they have worked hard at club level, have been selected for “Regional School of Racing” or “RSR” programmes, and shown potential and promise at regional and national level races. By doing so, they have secured one of the highest accolades that an U16 rider can achieve within the sport.The ODA replaces components of the previous “GB Talent Team” programme, and is aimed at finding talented young riders and preparing them for transition to the higher programmes. This year, we have had a phenomenal number of Slipstreamers riders reach RSR level. Including those mentioned above we continue to monitor the progress of Carl Jolly, Kate Shelton, Louis Rose-Davis, Niall Dawkins, Ben Moriarty, Alex Jones, Tom Portsmouth, Ieuan Woods, Peter and Savannah Hewson at this level.”
And Finally, A Note from Our 3 Olympic Development Apprentices:
Lorna Bowler |
Harriet Mellor |
Charles Page |
| “I was so excited when I heard I was an Olympic Development Apprentice!! I have been working really hard over the past year and achieved a lot and this is a real bonus! I have had encouragement and support by Slipstreamers and lots of others have helped me to get where I am today! I know this will push me to my limits but it will also be lots of fun! I can’t wait till the first session later this month!” | “Well firstly, I obviously feel really happy that I’m on it and that it’ll be so much fun meeting up with my other cycling friends more regularly who are also on the ODA. I look forward to the next year ahead because I’ll finally be riding as an Olympic Development Apprentice.” | “After 10 years learning to cycle and race with Hillingdon SS, this is a fantastic chance for me and I am delighted to have been chosen. I am looking forward to being able to expand my skills and improve my racing and all in all I’m extremely hopeful for next season” |