Well, we promised you A NIGHT OF BIKE RACES THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU hadn't SEEN BEFORE – AND WE THINK WE DELIVERED. ROLLAPALUZA BRISTOL, SPONSORED BY IRON HORSE, WAS A RIP-ROARING-CROWD-CHEERING-LEG-THROBBING SUCCESS ...
If you missed the build up and are scratching your head thinking, "Roller racing? Que?" let us fill you in. Roller racing is where two bikes with rear wheels running on rollers are raced against one another. You race against your opponent over 500m, with each of your progress being measured by what looks like a two-handed version of the clock from TV's Countdown. Sounds easy, but sprinting for up to 30 seconds is a major test of legs and lungs.
A record-breaking night
Our roller-racing night on 5 November was amazing (and don't just take our word for it, watch the video above and check our some of the reviews and coverage elsewhere on the internet).
A big thank you to all of you who came along to watch, to the massive 71 of you who took part in the races and to race sponsors Iron Horse for providing the prizes. Race organisers, Rollapaluza, reckon that the number of entrants was one of the largest in their – and modern-day roller racing – history.
In the men's competition, 39 racers managed to duck underneath the qualification time and make it through to the heats. One of them was Mud Dock mechanic Duncan Ferris who went on to record the fastest time of the night – and the fifth fastest time ever recorded by Rollapaluza – of 19.75 seconds. When you consider that Olympic legend Chris Hoy's time at this was 19.44 you'll see just how quick Duncan's time was!
Unfortunately, Duncan's undoing came in the final, which was held over 1,000m rather than the more Duncan-friendly 500m of qualification, heats, quarters and semis. Having smashed his opponents in every other round, he lead for much of an exciting final race but was overhauled by eventual winner Marcus Mumford with about 100m to go.
The women's competition saw eight brave entrants post times that put many of the men to shame, and saw Sarah Barber race to victory over Nicky Russell in the final.
Encore!
Suffice to say, we hope that this first roller racing night at Bristol won't be the last. Watch this space and we'll keep you posted about news of round two!
Web links
Visit the website of the race organisers Rollapaluza and event sponsors, Iron Horse:
