The Derby Divas

I have mentioned before that my cycling is mainly of the Tea Shop Tours variety but not all cyclists follow my excellent example.  Last year some of the members of my club, Derby Mercury RC,  entered the LVRC National Track Championships. Derby now has its own velodrome and many in our club have been inspired to take up track cycling, gain the necessary accreditation and race in the Track League.... with some very encouraging results. So much so they entered the LVRC National Championships held at Newport last October and came back with quite a sizable medal haul.

Not to be outdone, some of the ladies in the Club also decided to take up Track Cycling and entered the Track League, again with quite a degree of success.  So, inspired by the veteran men's effort last year, the Derby Divas were formed and are aiming for the Masters Track Championships to be held in July, again in Newport.


Now this is a significant step up in class from the local league and some serious training and dedication will be required.

Track cycling is to cycling what 'track and field' is to athletics, with racing for a wide range of riders and body types, from short, timed, solo sprint races to long high endurance bunch races. Track cycling is all about speed, technique, tactics and nerve; all the things I lack which is why I admire the efforts of those brave enough to compete.

The Divas formed last year and were prominent in the local Track League where often they could be seen hunting as a pack......

..... before pouncing for the kill.

All of this requires plenty of desire and grit, especially in the solo events when the legs are shrieking for you to stop.

But fast times require the power to be applied from the off...

..with the coach keeping a benevolent eye on your technique

I am looking forward to following their progress and  the Russian Steps exercises should in particular be a really great photographic opportunity...indeed I could almost, though only almost, feel sorry for what lies in wait for these girls.

Thank you ladies for inviting me along to watch.