Ann finds a new love

ANN BOWDITCH plans to go indoors as she extends her cycling career. The national hill-climb champion had her first taste of pursuit racing on Manchester's indoor velodrome and immediately fell in love with it and the thrills of competing on a six-gear bike which has no brakes and on which you can't pedal backwards.

'It's a bit weird,' said the island's top rider, who plans to take in the national 3,000m pursuit championships in the autumn having cut her teeth on the boards last month.

'I did a couple of hours to see whether there was any potential and whether I would enjoy it.

'It was a real adrenaline rush.

'Everything comes at you so quickly,' said the 35-year-old.

'I'd never have thought that, having cycled for over 10 years, I would find a discipline that captivated me more than any other, but I have.

'I can't put my finger on exactly what it was: perhaps the speed or was it the adrenaline rush from being on the limit?

'I've never ridden fixed wheel before except on gym bikes.

'The first thing that struck me was that I couldn't spin my legs backwards which is something I always do when I get on the bike - it's a subconscious thing.

'I set off at an easy pace below the banking just to get used to the fixed wheel and lack of brakes. Stopping was odd: you have to pull back on the pedals, otherwise you go too quickly.

'Once I was comfortable with that, it was time to hit the boards.'

Taking her through this whole new experience is one of her two cycling mentors, the former Olympic medallist and world pursuit champion, Yvonne McGregor.

'?Follow me?, she said, and within a lap we hit the bottom of the boards at a steady pace. I found I was being forced down at the corners so had to compensate and ride higher. I gathered speed and after a few laps got on to the tri bars.'

Within a few laps, Bowditch felt ready to do some timed laps.

Firstly, she did four, flat out from a rolling start.

'To start the effort, I had to ride to about the midway point on the boards and drop down from there. I could feel the G-force around the bends.

'Everything was going past me so quickly, it almost felt a bit surreal. Especially when I started to get tired. I had to concentrate so hard and hold myself together yet keep pushing myself to the end.'

Guernsey's 'pocket rocket' managed an 18-second lap for her fourth, which she was quite pleased with for a first attempt.

'After I gathered my breath and my legs recovered from the shock, I did a further six laps. Again, as I got tired, the hardest thing was to keep in control. I felt so on the limit and knew that an error would be very nasty.'

Next up were some standing starts.

'The gear we selected was a bit big for me so it made the starts tough. Standing into the bends was difficult and I felt I was being forced down into the saddle by the G-force.

'After my second standing start, I made the near-fatal error of stopping to pedal. I got one hell of a kick and thought I was going over the bars.

'Thankfully I didn't and completed the 500m effort.

'I will need to work a little more on my starting technique but I absolutely loved doing them.

'I see a track bike going on the expense account now.'