Torbay Festival of Cycling Criteriums, Velopark, Paignton

Yesterday was the grand opening of the new Torbay Velopark purpose built outdoor cycling circuit in Paignton.

The £800,000 circuit consists of a 1.5 kilometers of ridge and rut free tarmac in a horseshoe shape which can be configured in one of three ways.


The opening day included an afternoon programme of racing and I was racing in the 2/3/4 race right at the end of the day.

A strong breeze had picked up by the time my race got underway and a headwind up the start finish straight meant a fairly slow starting pace.


As the race started to gather pace various attacks began but were quickly neutralised. The pace got higher as the riders got used to the circuit and the race began to split. 


At this point I found myself off the front in a break of four strong riders. Once we all realised we were away we began working well and opened up a considerable gap on the chasers and it was looking like a very promising move.


Unfortunately whilst cornering hard at one of the hairpins one of the riders from the group rolled his tub off the rim and went down hard. This reduction in firepower, in conjunction with some Mid Devon CC riders actively chasing the break down........meant that everything got dragged back together :(


The pace slowed and the race plodded on until another breakaway formed, without any Mid Devon CC riders, a couple of laps from the end. The three riders stayed clear to secure the podium with everyone else trailing and fighting out the bunch sprint.