What is a big, multi-coloured, egg-shaped cause for celebration every Easter? That’s right – the Herne Hill Velodrome in London, where, ever since they came up with Easter, god-fearing men (and women) have contested the Good Friday Meeting on their trusty track irons.

And Lo! The stands filled to their modest capacity and the walls became lined all the way ‘round the 500 metre oval. When we pious followers arrived, there was barely space to squeeze in, so we chose a hole in the fan base adjacent to a cycle messenger encampment, heady with the aromas of hash and beer and cigarettes and secondhand t-shirts of the 2003 European Cycle Messenger Championships in Warsaw (for sale for 5 pounds). We found ourselves perched high on the banking of the first turn, a good spot for catching the awkward manoeuvering of the matched sprints and a reasonable, though distant, view of the finish line.

And Lo! The Sun broke away from the clouds and showed his fiery face, stirring the melanin of many a pale spectator. The public address system announced the end of warm-up, clearing the remaining riders from the track.

The first few events were a variety of qualification heats for the afternoon’s sprints. Three riders in each heat would start slowly, eyeing each other until they hit the banking, where one would inevitably lead out, attempting to get a jump on the other two. For qualification purposes, it was most important to win the heat, but also to ride the last 200 metres as fast as possible. The riders with the fastest 200 time would be seeded higher in the coming heats. The sprint qualifiers included the handicapped event, the amateur and then international event. The biggest and faster riders of course, went in the latter.

The real fun began with the Super Elimination event, where 54 riders began the 15 lap race. Each lap, the last two riders across the finish line are eliminated until the final lap, when the bell is rung, and the remaining contestants sprint it out for the win. The action was fairly heated each lap as the stragglers of the group attempted to gain ground, running up the back of the main pack and compressing the field in the last 100 metres. Soon the field thinned out and riders had to be wilier to remain in the race. It was Tony Gibb who out sprinted the pack for his first win on the day.

The following events were a few more qualifying heats of sprints, with each one getting a little better as the better riders were working their way through the elimination heats.

What came next was possibly the main reason for the large crowd. The roar of motors brought our attention to the pack of motorbikes lined up in the center of the stadium. Soon, seven black leather-bound Germans on modified Triumph Thunderbirds were storming around the track. They had black helmets and ridiculous goggles and were standing up, tilted heads forward, holding swept-back bars and looking like the baddies after Harrison Ford in a number of Indiana Jones films. It was time for the motor-paced race. The riders came out and began to warm up on their bikes. Each had disc rear wheels, tiny front wheels, reversed forks, and funny handlebars. They rode outrageous gears (56 or 57 tooth chain-rings, to 13 tooth cogs). When warming up at normal speeds, they looked wholly uncomfortable churning such silly gears.

It all became much clearer when the riders and motor pacers joined up and the race began to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, crackling over the tinny megaphones. The bikes were set up so that each rider could get as close as possible to his pacer’s rear wheel. The pacers stood up to give the greatest draft. The gears they were running made more sense as they kicked up to a cruising speed of around 35mph. The announcer attempted to communicate some information to us, but it was impossible to hear the over the roar of the motorbikes. They raced for 75 laps, sometimes passing three-abreast on the track. What could easily fit 60 riders in the Elimination race was now almost too small for only seven. Apparently, the pacers usually race indoors on track half as long in the six-day races in Germany. Riders made a flurry of attacks near the end of the race, dropping British Stayers Champ Simon Cope, who was visibly struggling to hold the wheel of his pacer. A near-photo finish found Dutch rider Reiner Honig the champion.

More sprint qualifiers happened. More riders qualified. It isn’t that the sprints don’t take skill and athletic ability. They do. The match sprint is where the strongest riders on the track generate the most power. Not only do they ride with clipless pedals, but they have their feet additionally strapped down with double leather straps so that they don’t pull out of their pedals. The trouble is that it only lasts about 11 seconds after they really start to go. The first part of the race is a slow cat-and-mouse game between riders, where each is trying to get the other to lead out. The best riders can come to a complete halt in what’s known as a trackstand, in an attempt to force the others to fall off or lead out (go first). Whoever leads out is generally at a disadvantage as he is forced to eat most of the wind, while creating a draft for his rival.

Luckily for us spectators, the next event, the Point Race, was quite exciting. It featured a large field of riders racing for points over about 25 laps. Riders gained points by being the first to cross the finish line after a bell was rung to signal a points lap. Double points were on offer for the winner of the final lap. Points were awarded for the first 5 places (5 for the winner, 4 for second, etc...). Each bell lap was hotly contested with riders all over the track jockeying for position for the sprint. Tony Gibb took 3 individual laps and second in a few, and second in the final, putting him well above his rivals for his second win on the day.

The next race was the amateur Scratch race, one with no funny rules. The first across the line in 10 laps was the winner. The bunch was mostly grouped for the whole event. Several attempts at breaking away were thwarted by those in the bunch looking for a sprint finish.

The pro Sprint finals followed, and they proved to be a bit more exciting. The eventual winner, Jon Norfolk, squeezed through an impossible hole with 50 metres to go to win by a tyre width! Norfolk joins quite a select list of riders as winner of this race. Past winners include British Olympic gold medalists Chris Hoy and Craig McLean, France’s Arnaud Tournant, and the United State’s Marty Northstein.

The final race on the day was the Golden Wheel Scratch Race. With 1000 pounds on offer for the winner and 60 riders competing, the 20 kilometre race was an exciting one to watch. From the start, attacks began in earnest. Riders would swoop down the banking to gain speed, and sprint away from the pack in an attempt to make a selection of riders from which it would be easier to win. When gaps formed, keen riders would sprint from the pack for all they were worth to attempt to close them. If a strong group of riders got away in this race, a rider who missed the break would be seeing 1000 pounds riding up the track, just out of reach. For this reason each break was eventually caught, even though a couple of digs were put in by strong riders such as Tony Gibb. In the final laps, it all came back together and the group was readied for a bunch sprint, a finish which favoured riders such as Jon Norfolk. In the end, Gibb led out the sprint, and was beaten handily by Norfolk, but was able to hold on for second, still a 750 pound prize, and a fine finish for his stellar day out.

And with that, we left, through the throngs of fans, past the cycle jumble vendors, and through the gates, to enjoy the rest of our bank holiday.

The intrepid web-jockey can find a full report and results at www.goodfridaymeeting.org.uk/.

Tom Dominic