Viking Bikes Street Velodrome Super Finals - Canary Wharf
Thursday 10th August saw the exciting Street Velodrome action arrive on the polished granite surface of Canary Wharf’s Montgomery Square.
The Street Velodrome Super Finals saw the conclusion of the overall Team competition, which is based on an Olympic style medal table – the team with the most gold medals from both the male and female categories would win the Series overall.
However, this wasn’t the only title up for grabs – the teams were also competing for two other sub-competitions: The Catch Trophy and the Most Wins Trophy. These rewarded aggressive riding and the most consistent teams across the series.
For the riders themselves, there’s the added incentive that gold medal winners on SuperFinals night are also crowned the individual national champions. Patrick Robinson and Jess Stone were all set to defend their 2016 titles from one of the new crop of riders joining the series.
To add to the mix, qualifying amateur competitors from regional rounds or those who topped the time sheets in the early morning qualifying session at Canary Wharf on the day had the opportunity to race alongside the pros. Riding as part of the pro teams and in front of the crowds and TV cameras, their results contributed to the overall table positions as well. The competition was wide open.
Professional Qualifiers
A good performance in qualifying races offers teams an easier route to the all-important medal races, while also opening up the opportunity to score a much needed Catch Trophy and Most Wins trophy point against the opposition.
The South Coast Rollers did exactly what they had to do and secured pole position by setting the fasted combined time during qualification.
Only four-hundredths of a second separated Team Dublin from securing this position, so as always the race was tight. Team London, with debut rider Harry Molloy, were a close third on home soil.
These three teams would then have the advantage in the first round of the Eliminator races.
The Medal Table
At this stage, overall Team Wigan had three golds, Team Cornwall just one behind with two golds and Team London, South Cost, and Team Dublin all had one gold medal each.
With three golds available to win, the title was very much still up for grabs.
The Eliminator Races
Race 1 and 2 consisted of a head to head between South Coast Rollers and Team Cornwall.
In the Most Wins Trophy, only two wins separated South Cost Rollers from Team Wigan, so having pole position gave Craig and Rowena every opportunity to close that gap as they lined up against the slowest qualifiers, Csaba and Veronika of Team Cornwall. The race allowed them to do just that, and both Craig and Rowena progressed to the semi-finals and drew level with Team Wigan in the most Wins Trophy table.
Race 3 and 4 consisted of a head to head between Team Dublin and Suffolk Saints
This heat saw a mix of results for both teams participating. With Csaba eliminated from the races, Team Dublin’s faint hope of winning overall was now dashed. Suffolk Saints, had any little hope they had ruined with Kara’s early exit from the heats.
Race 5 and 6 saw Team London take on Team Wigan
With two potential winners taking to the track, neither rider was willing to settle for the fastest loser slot. However, Patrick’s experience paid off as he snatched the win and the final guaranteed place in the semi-finals. His win placed Team Wigan back into the lead in the Most Wins Trophy. Meanwhile, Harry’s teammate Anna scored a win against Jess Greaves, so both teams progressed to the semi-finals, still well within the fight for the overall title.
The Semi Finals
With the main contenders now being whittled down, the teams left in the running over overall victory were Team Wigan, South Coast Rollers and Team London.
In Pro-Male Semi Final 1 Craig of South Coast Rollers brought all his power and strength to take on home boy Harry from Team London, resulting in a narrow win. However, this win once again placed South Coast Rollers level with Team Wigan in the Most Wins Trophy. Harry’s relegation to the bronze medal race meant that Team London were now ruled out of any chance for an overall victory in the series.
During the Pro-Male Semi Final 2 Bryn of Suffolk Saints, who was now just riding for his own personal glory, was narrowly beating by Patrick of Team Wigan. Patrick’s win once again placed Wigan back at the Top of the Most wins Trophy by one point.
Pro-Female Semi Final 1 saw South Coast Rollers secure a victory against Team Cornwall, securing Rowena’s chance to go for gold in the Super Final. The Most Wins Trophy was also level once again.
In Pro-Female Semi Final 2 Team Dublin took on Team London, the home crowd’s favourite race. However, Team Dublin seemingly cruised to victory and set up a repeat of the 2016 Super Final Battle with Rowena, which could also decide the overall Series Title.
The SuperFinals
The next few races were set to determine the outcome of the entire season. The Catch Trophy has seemingly gone the way of the South Cost Rollers, Rowena’s hard work in early rounds had secured an unassailable lead for the team.
However, the trophy for the Most Wins was very much in the balance with both Team Wigan and South Cost Rollers level pegging on 16 wins each.
In the position for the Overall Series Title, only Team Wigan or South Coast Rollers could now take this title. Team Wigan entered into the SuperFinals with a two gold lead over their rivals. There was now everything to race for in the Amateur SuperFinals.
In the Male Amateur Super Final we saw winners from earlier regional rounds, South Coast Roller’s Justin and Team London’s Steve. Both had won their way through the semi-finals, giving their respective teams valuable additions to the Most Wins Trophy title. Justin’s efforts placed SouthCoast in the lead with 17 wins, but more importantly Justin’s place in the Amateur SuperFinals gave them a potential haul of three gold medals.
And he did not disappoint. He stormed to victory over his Team London Rival and now placed SouthCoast Rollers within just one gold of Team Wigan.
In the Female Amateur Super Final, not all regional qualifiers could make the SuperFinals mid-week date so instead a number of wildcards would be allowed to qualify. The fastest of these was young Amber Dyre. As not all teams had amateur female representation, all riders labelled with wildcard status meant results would not influence the overall medal table.
During the Male Pro SuperFinals we saw the two current titans of the sport Craig Maclean and Patrick Robinson. Both had seen gold victories this year, and in qualifying they were mere seconds apart. Two very different athletes with two very different techniques came together with one very same objective – to win gold.
If either rider was successful they would be crowned the national champion. But, to add to the pressure, if Craig won gold it would place the South Coast Rollers at the top of the table. If Patrick won, the title was Team Wigan’s. The stakes had never been higher.
During the race, both riders infringed the Johnson Line, and so the result according to timing would stand. After the timing official confirmed the times the final race victory and the overall series title for their team went to Patrick Robinson and so gave Team Wigan an unreachable two gold medal lead with just one race left to go!
The Female Pro Final meant that South Coast couldn’t win the team title, but Rowena could seal that first gold of her pro career and the Pro Female Champion title. All that stood between her and victory was Jess Stone, the most successful StreetVelodrome rider of all time.
Neither rider wanted to lose their chances of overall victory by riding over the Johnson Line. In a controlled show of speed Jess Stone’s impressive run of victories continued as she crossed the line to win her third title and Team Dublin’s second gold of the season.
So that was a wrap – after five round, 330 flat out competitive laps and countless moments of drama, the 2017 Viking Street Velodrome Series came to a close. The Champions decided and the glory there for the basking.
RACE RESULTS
Male Pro Rider
Gold – Patrick Robinson (Team Wigan)
Silver – Craig Maclean (SouthCoast Rollers)
Bronze – Harry Molloy (Team London)
Female Pro Rider
Gold – Jess Stone (Team Dublin)
Silver – Rowena Price (South Coast Rollers)
Bronze – Veronika Widmann (Team Cornwall)
Individual Champions
Male Pro Champion 2017 – Patrick Robinson
Female Pro Champion 2017 – Jess Stone
Male Amateur Champion 2017 – Jordan Tester
Female Amateur Champion 2017 – Amber Dyre
Most Wins Trophy
1st South Coast Rollers 18 Wins
2nd Team Wigan 17 wins
3rd Team London 13 wins
4th Team Cornwall 10 wins
5th Team Dublin 8 wins
6th Suffolk Saints 7 wins
Catch Trophy
1st South Coast Rollers 4 Catches
2nd Team Cornwall 3 Catches
3rd Team London 1 Catch
3rd Suffolk Saints 1 Catch
3rd Team Dublin 1 Catch
6th Team Wigan 0 Catches
Overall Medal Table
1st Team Wigan 4 Gold 2 Silver 0 Bronze
2nd SouthCoast Rollers 2 Gold 5 Silvers 2 Bronze
3rd Team Cornwall 2 Gold 1 Silver 2 Bronze
4th Team Dublin 2 Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze
5th Team London 1 Gold 2 Silver 2 Bronze
6th Suffolk Saints 0 Gold 0 Silver 3 Bronze
