Brentwood School - Brentwoodian 2020

64 On Wednesdays of Lent Term, straight after period 4, we went to Stratford’s incredible Velodrome. It’s impressive to think that we were able to train on the same track as professionals have competed on before. As we walked up into the centre of the velodrome having come from the changing rooms below, the sheer spectacle of the arena was clear to see. The track is much steeper than I imagined and I knew from that moment on there would be a few tumbles and falls! We grabbed our bikes and put on our clip- in shoes and walked up to the track. We tentatively clipped our feet in and from that moment on we were stuck! Now if the bike fell we fell, there was no getting away - unless you were able to unclip your feet quick enough, that is. With a few falls along the way we gradually got better and better at cycling and within weeks we had become “pros” (well at least, I thought so) as we could perform a variety of manoeuvres and skills! Track cycling was a great experience where we were able to learn completely new skills for a sport we never thought we’d be able to train for. It goes without saying that the training sessions were great fun. One thing that surprised most of us was to what degree track cycling is actually about using aerodynamics in your favour, instead of simply using brute force. Track cycling may seem daunting at first, such as going up the steep banking or using rollers. However, it’s encouraging to see how fast you become used to this with only a weekly hour session. Throughout the total of nine sessions, we tried a variety of track cycling events, such as team sprints, matched sprints, and pacelines. The sprints were particularly enjoyable and very tactical in fact. However, Will Steinberg was certainly a bit too competitive during one session; after one of the races he almost passed out in the changing rooms, and required a little lie down and some water before he was able to get back on his feet again. Another standout moment saw Max trying to be a joker and stop Will Steinberg from reaching the barrier so he could stop and unclip from his bike. Little did he know, his cleated shoes had no grip and he went flying onto the floor! Will, then, unable to avoid him, ran over him with the bike, rolled over and came falling down whilst Track Cycling still attached to his bike on top of him. We were left entangled on top of each other and also entangled in my bike! I hope Max has learnt his lesson - don’t try and run on the track with cleats! There were numerous other fantastic displays of skill and prowess, including James Maltby and William Johnson’s superior skills when riding the rollers, Mia Fursedonne’s superb endurance and turn of speed and the whole team’s cohesive and fluid group-riding, right across the track. I would definitely recommend track cycling to everyone and I can definitely say I’ve picked up a new hobby - I’ll hopefully be looking out for my fellow cyclists on the road soon! Because track cycling is not a usually accessible sport; anyone who’s interested in it can give it a try because no one in the group will have previous experience (most likely). It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we would recommend doing it to anyone with an interest. We would also like to thank Mr Whetnall for making the experience even more enjoyable; our weekly dashes to the train station, which were stressful but hilarious, will be missed. By Will Steinberg and Max Tomlinson