Rollapaluza Halloween Night Cross
Rollapaluza Halloween Night Cross
The Rollapaluza Halloween night time cross, held on October 31, at Herne Hill Stadium and supported by Tour de Ville.
After much preparation, discussion and tons of work the night time cross went ahead in thankfully good conditions.The expected storm waited for the next day to hit the London area.
The darkness presented a few problems for the judges and officials as it was hard to spot the riders until they emerged into the lights, and with so many wearing great Halloween costumes numbers were at times impossible to record. The darkness also presented us with a fantastic atmosphere and with so many people dressed up for the occasions it was truly a great night. We heard that the bar and food sold out and it would seem Rollapaluza are happy to do it again.
We loved the fancy dress, especially a special appearance from the rock group KISS and there were plenty of pumpkins.
Seniors
Jamie Newall (VC Muedon) led the opening laps, and was joined by Stu Bowers (Hargroves Cycles) and Matt Holmes (Arctic RT/Premier) at the front. A few laps into the race Newall was to puncture and after an act of kindness by a Dulwich Paragon rider he was chasing hard to get back on terms. As Newall caught and passed Holmes, Bowers pushed on as he built a commanding lead to win.
The battle for fourth was a highlight of the evening. Course designer Phillip Glowinski (VC Londres) raced wheel to wheel (or is that light to light?) with Brian Curtis (Corridori), Gary Lingard (London Phoenix), Chris Metcalfe (Matlock Cycling Club) and visiting Dutchman Enrico Liebe (Tour de Ville).
Glowinski and Curtis enlivened the huge crowd by jumping the beer tent hurdle each time and on the final lap Glowinski just managed to get ahead of Curtis, with Lingard missing out by one second. Only 20 seconds separated 4th from 7th.
Veterans/Juniors/Women
The juniors were set off 30 seconds before the veterans, and thereafter the women's race, again at 30 seconds.
Junior Hugo Humphreys (Mosquito Bikes) soon had a good lead over the rest, but a lack of racing because of a nasty broken hand saw his advantage overhauled by Kevin Knox (Dulwich Paragon). Knox was to go to the head of the race on the last lap. Mick Bell (London Fire Brigade) had checked out the course earlier with his bright red fire engine (honestly he did) and was second veteran and third overall. Matt Seaton (Mosquito Bikes) was next veteran after a long fight with Bell and Gary Bryant (Old Portlians), with the latter out sprinted on the line.
Patrick Scarsbrook (FitFor) placed second in the juniors.
Women
The women's race saw Corrine Hall (Corridori) soon make up the starting delay and she was quickly passing veteran after veteran as she rode to a clear win. Jo McRae (Arctic RT/Premier) was second finishing some 30 seconds ahead of Delia Beddis (Dulwich Paragon), and in turn Elise Laverick (Pearson Cycles) just six seconds off Beddis' wheel.
Go Race
A large group of riders began the Go Race and it was Duane Stander who led almost from to finish. Not far back was event sponsor Jos Van Veldhoven (Tour de Ville) riding a fixed. (it was fun watching his crank hitting technique on the 'Hurdy Gurdy's)
The race itself was well contested and featured many first timers.
Under 12s
The first race of the evening saw an excellent field of under 12 riders. Leading from the front was Dan Tullett (Herne Hill Youth CC) winning with a little time to spare. David Barnes (Palmer Pk) was second followed by under 10, Ben Tullett (Herne Hill Youth CC). Further places were hotly contested and the race got the evening off to a wonderful start.
Youth
Ashley Dennis (VC Jubilee) led throughout to win. Behind him, and not too far back were Kieran Laurie (VCL) and Tom Franklin (HHYCC). Both Laurie and Franklin raced in fancy dress, which didn't seem to hold them back. Emily Barnes (Palmer Pk) was best girl and wore some very bright pink leggings.
And finally..
The crowd were most probably the stars of the evening - rowdy, happy, some very tipsy and left just as much litter as the Belgian's or Dutch contaparts. The Halloween costumes were great also as was the darkness.
