On Sunday, 5th July the third event in the Hertfordshire Summer of Cycling was held on Redbourn Common - the Fete du Velo. The weather was ideal and there was a great village atmosphere with stalls, food & drink, live music and activities for the family. VCC was well represented with entries in the youth, mens and masters race categories.
The Cat 2/3/4 Mens race saw A Another and Marcel Six in action. Unfortunately Marcel dropped out with a mechanical in the opening laps, but Alex hung in for a mid-field finish, in what was a very competitive event.
The Masters race encompassed a broad age-range under British Cycling regulations and included VCC race squad members Nick Coe, Gavin Bench and Jared Millar. Jared finished in 4th position, with Gavin closely behind in the pack.
The final event of the day was an elimination race – which is essentially a race of attrition. After each lap, the last rider across the line is removed until there are only 3 riders remaining. At this point, there is then a final lap to determine the finishing positions. This format creates an interesting spectacle with a sprint to the line on every lap to avoid the ‘drop’. About 25 riders lined up for the event and VCC riders Marcel Six and Jared Millar made it through to the last group of 3 riders. The race came down to the final corner, with Jared opening up the sprint early, managing to keep the pace sufficiently high to hold-off the others from coming around. A great first and second result for VCC!