New Year's Day Cyclo-cross Madison - race report
Jan 4, 2018 15:53:19 GMT
Nigel Wood, Charliecod, and 8 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 15:53:19 GMT
Festive cheer for Dulwich Paragon as the club’s cyclocross riders dominated the annual New Year’s Day Madison, held at the Herne Hill Velodrome in south London.
The Madison - a gift from Belgium in honour of Great Britain’s support during the Second World War - is one of the oldest fixtures in London’s cycling calendar. Winston Churchill himself attended the inaugural event following a strong personal showing in the 1949 Festive 500.
Recent rain and snow made this year’s race a tricky affair, with riders who had made inappropriate tyre selections soon discovering they were in for a challenging afternoon.
Starting inside the track, the route looped out to a series of waterlogged and slippery trails, before returning to the velodrome via the legendary “Big Bob” hill. Riders were then required to negotiate a small forest of Christmas trees, before passing across to a team mate for the subsequent lap.
Early in the day, Milo Summers competed in the youth category. The Velodrome’s grandstand remained surprisingly well populated with parents after the race had finished. As Housewives’ Favourite Dylan Bexley strode up the stairs to sign on, it quickly became apparent why - shivering children tugging at shirt sleeves could not prove sufficient distraction for those mothers seeking some festive cheer for themselves.
The senior’s race started at 1pm, and as James Malone was seeking the sanctuary of his bed, Dulwich’s Dave Rees and Eddie Davies immediately worked their way into a lengthy and ultimately unassailable lead. One spectator was moved to comment on the strength of the father-and-son team’s performance as the pair took victory by a considerable margin. After the race, a local publican was also moved by Davies’s tender age, and applied the UK’s licensing laws to the whole Dulwich squad. As the team decamped to a new venue, Davies was stored safely in the corner with a box of biscuits.
Arriving home in 4th place, Andrew Boyd and Stuart Lynn also excelled. Anticipated fog, the pair had agreed to each wear neon gloves to serve as beacons in the handover area. Whilst the bright weather rendered the tactic unnecessary, Boyd and Lynn later said they were still “pleased” to have taken the trip to Catford Halfords together.
Audax pair Alex Windett and John Cox, competing for Team Rapha-Rat Race-Paragon, came (c.)7th - 10th, while Charlie Codrington, Alan Strang, Bexley, Olivia Campbell, Joe Booth and Ben De Groot etc finished [INSERT RESULTS HERE]. Strang and De Groot were competing in Dulwich colours for the first time this season, and we hope to see them again before the February.
Some hours after the race had concluded, a photograph surfaced online that appeared to show Paragon cult hero Charlie “Coach” Codrington had fallen hilariously into the pile of old Christmas trees. We can only speculate at this stage as to exactly what might have happened - a Codrington family spokesperson said it was a “private matter and the Coach did not have any comments”. We will continue to follow this story as more details emerge.
The next race is at Badlands, Gravesend on Sunday 7th January.
The Madison - a gift from Belgium in honour of Great Britain’s support during the Second World War - is one of the oldest fixtures in London’s cycling calendar. Winston Churchill himself attended the inaugural event following a strong personal showing in the 1949 Festive 500.
Recent rain and snow made this year’s race a tricky affair, with riders who had made inappropriate tyre selections soon discovering they were in for a challenging afternoon.
Starting inside the track, the route looped out to a series of waterlogged and slippery trails, before returning to the velodrome via the legendary “Big Bob” hill. Riders were then required to negotiate a small forest of Christmas trees, before passing across to a team mate for the subsequent lap.
Early in the day, Milo Summers competed in the youth category. The Velodrome’s grandstand remained surprisingly well populated with parents after the race had finished. As Housewives’ Favourite Dylan Bexley strode up the stairs to sign on, it quickly became apparent why - shivering children tugging at shirt sleeves could not prove sufficient distraction for those mothers seeking some festive cheer for themselves.
The senior’s race started at 1pm, and as James Malone was seeking the sanctuary of his bed, Dulwich’s Dave Rees and Eddie Davies immediately worked their way into a lengthy and ultimately unassailable lead. One spectator was moved to comment on the strength of the father-and-son team’s performance as the pair took victory by a considerable margin. After the race, a local publican was also moved by Davies’s tender age, and applied the UK’s licensing laws to the whole Dulwich squad. As the team decamped to a new venue, Davies was stored safely in the corner with a box of biscuits.
Arriving home in 4th place, Andrew Boyd and Stuart Lynn also excelled. Anticipated fog, the pair had agreed to each wear neon gloves to serve as beacons in the handover area. Whilst the bright weather rendered the tactic unnecessary, Boyd and Lynn later said they were still “pleased” to have taken the trip to Catford Halfords together.
Audax pair Alex Windett and John Cox, competing for Team Rapha-Rat Race-Paragon, came (c.)7th - 10th, while Charlie Codrington, Alan Strang, Bexley, Olivia Campbell, Joe Booth and Ben De Groot etc finished [INSERT RESULTS HERE]. Strang and De Groot were competing in Dulwich colours for the first time this season, and we hope to see them again before the February.
Some hours after the race had concluded, a photograph surfaced online that appeared to show Paragon cult hero Charlie “Coach” Codrington had fallen hilariously into the pile of old Christmas trees. We can only speculate at this stage as to exactly what might have happened - a Codrington family spokesperson said it was a “private matter and the Coach did not have any comments”. We will continue to follow this story as more details emerge.
The next race is at Badlands, Gravesend on Sunday 7th January.