Awesome day in the sun at the Herne Hill Velodrome last week. Twenty-eight riders from five Haringey primary schools took part in a day of coaching and racing at this historic former Olympic venue.

Children learnt to use track bikes on the banked course, riding close together, swapping turns at the front of the group… culminating in a very close pursuit race. Amazing confidence and ability shown by everyone. As one rider put it: “That was the best day ever!”

The racing didn’t count for League points, so the standings remain the same.

The next event will be grass track racing at Bruce Castle Park on 8th June.

After being snowed off in March, the threat of heavy rain couldn’t prevent Round 3 from happening last Friday, which saw six schools battle it out on a damp and technical MTB course in Finsbury Park.

Fifty-four riders raced with fearless determination through a twisty, narrow track which was often slippery from the morning’s downpour. Some dramatic, close finishes were backed up by impressive bike handling and mercifully few crashes, despite the conditions.

Congratulations to Chestnuts who, making a welcome return to the League, came out on top with 79 points. They took both the Boys 24” races and had riders in the top three in five out of the day’s eight races.

North Harringay were close behind with 74 points, securing both Girls 24” races. Risley were on fighting form in the 26” races, winning one each of the Girls and Boys events. Coleridge and St. Aidan’s took once race each (Girls 26, Boys 26) while South Harringay fought hard to take 2nd and 3rd spots in the Girls 24 & 26.

Full details of race results and points
Total points per school

See the gallery page for photos of the day’s racing.

Round 4 will be at the Herne Hill Velodrome on 18th May.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.

The first race on grass of this year’s League was a cyclo-cross event on Ducketts Common.

Forty-three riders from five schools — including 12 first-time racers — braved the cold to compete on a flat but challenging course with plenty of turns.

North Harringay dominated the day, winning seven out of the 12 races (with Milo, Markian and Lyra taking each of their 26” rounds; Isac winning the first boys 24” race).

Impressive performances by newcomers South Harringay saw them win 3 races (Hattie and Lauren in the 26” category; Tula in 24”). Risley and St. Aidan’s took one race each (Billy in the boys 24”, Kacey in the girls 24”).

Rider of the week was South Harringay’s Hattie who, on her way to her second win of the day, crashed in the first lap. Unfazed, she remounted and battled her way from the back of the bunch to take fourth place on the line.

Finally, special thanks to Coleridge for competing despite only being able to field a team of four boys on the day.

Full details of race results and points
Total points per school

The standings after Round 2 see North Harringay move to the top spot with 233 points:

Round 3 will be at Finsbury Park, on 2nd March.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.

Fast, furious and frantic! Five schools battled it out on rollers in Round 1 of the 2018 League last Wednesday. Some amazing pedalling by riders from years 4-6, many of whom were racing for the first time.

Children from North Harringay, Risley, South Harringay, St. Aidan’s and Coleridge rode track bikes mounted on rollers. Each rider’s speed was projected on a screen in front, as they pedalled 500m — the equivalent to twice round a velodrome track.

Risley swept away the competition with some extraordinary times: Billy managed the 500m in just 32 seconds to record the day’s fastest time, closely followed by Harry (32.8) and NHP’s Milo and SHP’s Luca (33.3 seconds each).

Risley also fielded the fastest Y6 girl, Sinem, at 36.3 seconds, with NHP’s Lyra and Thea (Y5) not far behind with 37.3 and 39.8 seconds.

Yasmin and Cayla from Coleridge and St. Aidan’s took first and second place in the Year 4 girl’s race (45.1, 45.6 seconds).

And some determined riding by North Harringay’s youngest rider saw Stanley take the top spot for the year 4s (39.1 seconds).

Full details of all riders’ times and points

Total school points for the event put Risley at the top of the League standings after Round 1 with 75 points:

Round 2 will be a cyclo-cross race on Duckett’s Common, on 2nd February.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.

North Harringay Primary School secured their third victory in the Haringey Schools Cycling League after an afternoon of grass track racing in the blazing sun at Bruce Castle Park.

NHP began round 5 as favourites to win, having gained a healthy lead in the last two scoring events.

They won five out of the eight races on the final day, and dominated the Girls 24″ and Boys 26″ categories.

They didn’t have it all there way, though, as Risley took both Boys 24″ races and fought back to win the second Girls 26″ race.

Coleridge came very close to snatching third place from St. Aidan’s, who were able to hold on to their podium spot by just one point.

Congratulations to all of the schools who have taken part in the League this year. We look forward to seeing you at the first event in the 2017-18 League in the autumn.

See the results spreadsheet (downloadable Excel file) for all riders’ results and points allocation for round 5.

See also the final school standings page for the League competition.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.

Chestnuts Park saw a busy day of grass track racing in the 4th round of the Haringey Schools Cycling League, with four schools competing in 12 races across four categories.

North Harringay and Risley continued to dominate the racing, though there was some strong riding by Coleridge and St. Aidan’s.

Congratulations to North Harringay Primary for coming out on top and cementing their lead in the overall League standings.

See the results spreadsheet for all riders’ results and points allocation.

See also the current school standings page for the League competition.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.

The League had a fantastic day at the Herne Hill Velodrome.

Four schools took part in a day of coaching on track bikes — different to normal bikes in that they have no brakes, a fixed wheel gear (which means you can’t stop pedalling), and feet attached to pedals with toe clips.

Riders learnt how to start safely from side of the track and control their bikes round the track, coming to a slow, controlled stop by the handrails.

With each lap of the track, riders had to follow lines progressively higher up the banked course. Track discipline was essential — no passing on the inside, and riders making sure they checked behind before moving up to the line on their right.

Everyone showed impressive confidence at adapting to this new cycling environment and the bike control techniques required.

The day culminated in an inter-school pursuit race. Congratulations to St. Aidan’s for beating North Harringay in the final lap to take the win!

The next HSCL event will be grass track racing at Chestnuts Park on 9th June 2017.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.

Four schools took part in the individual time trial at the Finsbury Park Athletics Track last Friday in the second round of the 16-17 League.

Some impressive times were set by all teams, with many riders tackling the event for the first time.

Congratulations to North Harringay for the fastest time of the day: 52.48 secs over the 400m track on a 26” wheel.

See the results page for all riders’ times and points allocation.

See also the current school standings page for the League competition.

The next HSCL event will be cyclo-cross racing at Duckett’s Common on 3 March 2017.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.

Risley Avenue Primary School tore apart the opposition as the 2016-17 League got underway yesterday.

The were joined by North Harringay, St. Aidan’s, Coleridge and Bruce Grove primary schools on  a challenging cyclo-cross course in Finsbury Park.  A day of brilliant, determined racing, with a great ‘get-back-on-the-bike’ attitude being shown by all riders who took some of the corners a little too fast!

Risley took first place in almost all of the individual races, moving straight to the top of the League points table.

See the results page for all riders’ times and points allocation.

Round 2 will be an individual time trial at the Finsbury Park Athletics Track, on 3 February 2017.

Find out more about the Haringey Schools Cycling League. If you’d like your school to take part, see How to Join.