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Saffron Lane Track

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Results
Amateur Men
Sprint: 1. Daniel Morelon (Fra), 2. Peder Pedersen (Den), 3. Gerard Quintyn (Fra)
Pursuit: 1. Xaver Kurmann (Den), 2. Ian Hallam (GB), 3. Viktor Bykov (USSR)
1km: 1. Neils Fredborg (Den), 2. Harry Kent (NZ), 3 Tkac (Cz) / Kravcov (USSR)
1hr Motor: 1. Cornelis Stam (NL), 2. Horst Gnas (WG), 3. Antonio Cerda (Esp)
Tandem: 1. Barth-Muller (WG), 2. Gescke-Otto (EG), 3. Morelon-Quintyn (Fra)
Team Pursuit: 1. West Germany, 2. East Germany, 3. USSR
Professional Men
Sprint: 1. Gordon Johnson (Aus), 2. Sante Gaiardoni (It), 3. Leijn Loivesijn (NL)
Pursuit: 1. Hugh Porter (GB), 2. Lorenzo Bosisio (It), 3. Charly Grosskost (Fra)
100km Motor: 1. Ehrenfeid Rudolph (WG), 2. Theofiel Verschuren (Bel), 3. Pieter De Wit (NL)
Women
Sprint: 1. Galina Careva (USSR), 2. Galinia Ermolaeva (USSR), 3. Valentina Savina (USSR)
Pursuit: 1. Tamara Gerkuchina (USSR), 2. Raisa Obodovsakaya (USSR), 3. Beryl Burton (GB)

Leicester’s former World Championship Venue

1970 - On Monday 10 August 1970 the championships started - but the 1 km time trial was delayed. At first by the rain and then the fact that the new white paint (for TV) was less absorbent so took longer to dry.
Racing did start in the late afternoon - but then the rain came back so the 1km had to go back to the next morning. The final result was Neils Fredborg of Denmark (1:08.82) beat Harry Kent of New Zealand (1:09.21) and Tkac of Czechoslovakia / Kravcov of USSR (1:09.23).
After this faltering start the rest of events went to plan as the weather, though dull and quite cold, was at least dry.

The highlight for GB was the rainbow jersey for Hugh Porter - who almost caught Bosisio with a time of 6:14.99. For Australia it was the win of Gordon Johnson in the pro sprint just two weeks after leaving the amateurs. The only other non-European medals being the silvers for Harry Kent (NZ) and Ian Hallam (GB) plus the bronze for Beryl Burton (GB) stopping a clean sweep by the USSR.

Despite criticisms of poor publicity and high entrance fees the championships went well - even if the additional temporary stands were never filled.

ICS carried extensive coverage of the Championships at the time (see Sep-1970 issue).

And the Worlds made a return visit in 1982 - but that’s another story.

1993 - On Saturday 24 July 1993 the British National Track Championships were held at Saffron Lane. Details here

The Worlds were back in England in 1996, 2000 and 2008. But this time at the Manchester indoor velodrome; which had opened in 1994. This then set the standard required for major track meetings - where the indoor arena eliminated the problems with the English weather. The former international tracks at Leicester and Edinburgh were effectively downgraded. Manchester remained the only track suitable for top-level competitions - even after the Welsh national velodrome at Newport opened in 2003. This was the case until the 2012 Olympic track in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games track in Glasgow became operational.

Gone but not ... 6-Day Races in London Bygone Bykes Simpson Museum Camperdown Track Saffron Lane Track Legrams Lane Track Harlow Track Peugeot Jerseys Huddersfield 2-Day Huddersfield 1963 Doc Huddersfield Photos Tracks in Yorkshire London-Holyhead London-York

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LINKS

Gone but not ...
6-Day Races in London
Bygone Bykes
Simpson Museum
Camperdown Track
Saffron Lane Track
Legrams Lane Track
Harlow Track
Peugeot Jerseys
Huddersfield 2-Day
Huddersfield 1963 Doc
Huddersfield Photos
Tracks in Yorkshire
London-Holyhead
London-York
Cycling Books
ICS Magazine
Bordeaux-Paris
Race Programmes

 

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