Baudains shows sprint prowess

THE British Cycling Association has been looking at young Guernsey riders to represent Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics. At the annual Chertsey House Dental Group Talent Team trials on the top football pitch at Beau Sejour, 13 junior cyclists raced on a 200m oval circuit.

Organiser David Harry received a message before the event from south-west region Talent Team manager Graham MacNamee which added impetus to the proceedings.

'He emailed to say that he was looking for riders to groom for the 2012 Olympics in London,' said Harry, the Velo Club president.

'He wants to know who our best young riders are so that he can select them for next year's Talent Team.'

It is a training programme for the best young riders in the British Isles. The trials consist of two 64m sprints across the diameter of the oval and a six-lap endurance race that measures out at 1.2km.

All round the country, different regions have carried out this same test.

At Guernsey's trials, the fastest sprinter on the day was Nathan Baudains, who clocked 8sec. on his second run, followed by Josh Owen with 8.1sec. The accolade for quickest endurance rider fell to Ben Burtenshaw, with a time of 2min. 24sec. Matt Osborn finished 1sec. behind to take silver, while third place was jointly shared by Owen and Baudains, who both finished on 2-26.

The overall winner was Burtenshaw, whose combined time was 2-41.7, while Owen and Baudains finished second and third respectively.

The results from the day have been sent to McNamee, who will select who goes on to the next stage, which is a static bike crank test. This measures how much power a rider generates and how much endurance he has. Successful participants then get invited to the third stage, which is a two-day introduction to the Talent Team programme.

In the past, McNamee oversaw the annual event, but for the first time this year, the Guernsey Velo Club ran it.

'This is because we have been accredited as a Go-Ride club,' said Harry.

'British Cycling came over and approved us. We had to prove that we can train young cyclists.'

This accreditation is one of many things that points to the future being bright for Guernsey cycling. The club has its highest membership, with more than 250, and a total of 83 youngsters have been involved in junior events over the summer.

These sessions included under-12s Go-Ride sessions on Saturday mornings at Delancey Park, which saw more than 50 budding young riders turn up. The club has also recently secured sponsorship from KPMG that will be used to fund travel expenses for the U23 team.

'There's a feel-good factor in the club,' said Harry.

'There's also a nice family atmosphere. The increase in numbers makes everything easier as there is more enthusiasm and there are more people to help out.

'It's also great to see the kids ride round Delancey Park. Cycling is a very popular sport at its lowest level as it is a very popular means of transport for kids on the island.

'We want to see that fuelled, to see more kids becoming competitive riders.'

* For more information, go to www.guernseyvelo.org.gg