After the disappointment of having Round 6 rained off last month, the sun finally shone on the League for the last event of the season.
Five schools competed in Downhills Park on a fast course that suited the sprinters — but only if they had the skills to tackle the tight, technical turns effectively.
And there was a lot to race for. North Harringay needed to hang on to their place at the top of the standings. Chestnuts — who’d been having their best ever season — were threatening to push South Harringay out of their way and fight NHP for the top spot.
Some races were settled by the first turn, if riders could get a good start and put distance between themselves and the pack before the riders bunched up at the bend.
Others were fights all the way to the line, with the last tight, narrow turn bringing riders almost to a stop before powering down the the final straight.
All the schools showed impressive bike skills at being able to handle the course with such confidence. There were inevitable crashes, but these became further examples of the riders’ determination and resilience.
North Harringay just managed to scrape ahead of Chestnuts to take the most points of the day, and claim the League title for the fifth time. Winning five of the days’ 16 races, Chestnuts came second on the day, finishing just behind South Harringay to take third place in the title race.
Completing their first season with the League, St Mary’s notched up an impressive three wins, including the Boys 26″ A-final. Risley and SHP both had A-final winners in the 24″ categories.
The event brought to a close one of the most successful seasons since the beginning of the League in 2012. Three new schools have taken part, with the total number of children racing at our events across the year topping 340. Nearly half of these children were racing for the first time.
Events for the 2019-20 season will be added to the calendar once the new school year starts in September.
Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.
Haringey Schools Cycling League 