The University of Derby Cycling Club achieves national success

This was thanks to the continuing growth of the club and the support from the Team Derby Performance programme.

The riders competing at the event received two specific strength and conditioning sessions; four hours of specific track time and support for the weekly track league racing held at Derby Arena. As well as the sessions provided by the performance programme the riders were doing their own individual training on the road, track and indoor trainers.

The event

The primary focus of the team was the team pursuit; the squad was made up of Edward O’Connell, Karl Baillie, William Perrett and Charlie Tanfield. As well as this event the University had riders competing successfully in the Individual Pursuit, Kilometre Time Trial, Elimination Race, Points Race and Team Sprint. The team achieved medal positions in all events that they competed in and broke three BUCS records in the process.

Our success

An incredible team pursuit final took gold in a new BUCS record time of 4:11.6 beating the record by 11 seconds. Overall the team collected 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. This resulted in us winning the overall Team Championships, earning the title BUCS Track Champions.

I am really proud of the mine and the team’s performance at the Championships. As the club has only been around for roughly three years, we’ve improved so much that we’ve gained recognition as the best University in the country for male track cycling which is a great achievement. To not only win the best team competition but also gain BUCS records is a big step for the club, performance team and the University.

Due to the success in the Team Pursuit and the squad smashing the record by 11 seconds a few of the riders decided to continue the training commitment through until 28 January for the HSBC UK National Track Championships. At this event the guys aimed to achieve a good result on the senior national stage where they will be riding against some of the fastest track cyclists in the world.

Notable results include:

• Charlie Tanfield took home the gold medal in the Individual Pursuit to become National Champion
• UDCC came 4th in the Team Pursuit knocking 4 seconds off their PB against a strong field
• Charlie Tanfield came 2nd in the Team Pursuit riding for professional team Team KGF A
• Will Perrett came 11th in the Individual Pursuit shaving 3 seconds off his personal best

A full list of the results can be found here.

What’s next for the Cycling team?

The team’s next goals include the national track championships before moving into the road season and preparing for the BUCS road and time trials held on March and April.