DINNINGTON RC

 

 

 

 

Life and Leisure, July 1982

DEDICATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME

 

On Sunday, 27th June, Mel Bradley joined the very special breed of sportsmen who compete in cycle road racing, the speed of their two-wheeled machines dependent not on motorised powers, but upon how much muscles and overall stamina can produce. Dinnington Road Racing Universal Contractors, the or-ganisers of both the 77 mile, 14 lap senior race and the 44 mile, eight lap junior and third category event, were pleased that the day had dawned cloudy, but with a hint that sun could break through. Following a week of rain and heavy storms, the senior race started in reasonably fine weather at 11 a.m. with the 48-strong senior field leaving the Scout headquarters at Sandy Lane, Thurcroft, followed 10 minutes later by 51 juniors. For the first four laps of the senior event, I was to travel around the course in a following car with one of the commi-saries whose job it was to decide if a tail-ender should withdraw, and a St. John Ambulanceman, whose presence needs no explanation. As we travelled up towards Laughton Common it was obvious that the race was to be reasonably well supported, but the riders had to be on their guard for traffic.

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As was pointed out by the race organisers, if we had been in France, where cycle racing is a popular as our League football, the roads could well have been cleared of traffic from the early hours of the morning, but here in Britain riders just have to cope. For the most part, motorists obey local police and the willing band of marshals, but on occasions drivers have been known to ignore red flags with horrific consequences, although, thankfully, there were no such happenings on this well-organised day.

 

As the senior riders swept through the church bends at Laughton on their way to Thurcroft and the end of their second lap, they were at times, according to my transport's speedometer, travelling at 35 to 40 m.p.h. During the changing fortunes of the race, groups varying from five to twelve broke away from the main group and there was even at one stage a split of nineteen before the final pattern unfolded.

 

Steve Wakefield, of Grimsby, eventually won in 2 hours 59.47, but dramatic scenes took place behind him as six riders battled for the remaining five money prizes. During the last lap they tested out a sprint, then in the true spirit of the sport, passed around the water bottles before settling in for the final dash, a cat and mouse affair with a photo finish that gave the judges a few headaches. So what of Dinnington Universal's hopefuls? Well to start with, Stuart Morris and Steve Denton were unavailable.

 

Swinton's Pete Connelly was forced out with gear trouble, Richard Holdsworth, of Maltby, was hit by cramp. This left Doncaster — based Ian Harvey who finished, but had to be content with a place in the main bunch. Dinnington's glory was in the junior race where Aston's Chris Walker, who leads the Peter Buckley top junior in the country series and has represented Great Britain already this season, took first place in 1 hour 53.20.

 

Walker's place, his 10th first of the year, was, however, not certain until the very last, because apart from a seventh lap break by Dean Norton, of Chesterfield, the field of 51 riders remained tightly bunched throughout. This did have its problems and at one stage there were fears that the seniors would catch the rather lethargic pace of the juniors, but thankfully this was avoided. In the end, though, Walker the current North Midlands Junior Road Race champion, North Midlands Road League Champion and Club Junior Champion, showed his form.

 

The day was less fortunate for Dinnington's other two competitors, with Mich Talosi, of Rotherham, escaping a hairy moment when his handlebar stem broke and Steve Machin, of Maltby, becoming another cramp victim. At the end of the day everyone went home happy and one was left to admire the riders who had once again pushed themselves to the ultimate in endurance, whilst gaining little reward apart from self satisfaction.

 

Dinnington Racing Club Universal Contractors did the event proud with prize money, but it goes a very short way when considering that to equip themselves for a full season, track and road race riders could be talking about a figure approaching £2,000 plus. So sponsorship such as that provided by Universal Cycle Centre Maltby and Universal Contractors Limited, Kiveton Park is valuable and dedication is certainly the name of the game if they are to reach the top.

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