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East Point Velodrome Association Grand Prix Series
Dick Lane Velodrome, September 6, 2003
Carney wins benefit race
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More than 1200 people came to watch Jame Carney wrap up a stellar season with a win in the season finale of the East Point Velodrome Association Grand Prix series at the Dick Lane Velodrome Saturday night. The Velodrome, which has seen three riders go on to the Olympics from it's ranks, was closed as of midnight September 6th by the city after 29 years of racing. Citing for structural problems with turns three and four of the track, the city was forced to close the facility until it could either be repaired or demolished. The East Point Velodrome Association, Inc. a Georgia non-profit formed and dedicated to manage the velodrome, will be submitting a proposal to the city of East Point which will include a long term lease and financial and structural solutions on how to fix the sagging track.
The racing action was intense with a field of 29 riders, including 2003 US track Rider of the Year Jame Carney, US Postal rider Kenny Labbé, (who heard of our struggles from cyclingnews and wanted to help), South African Sprint Champion Morné Blignaut, and a star studded field of home local and southeast heroes. Jame Carney won the unique Omnium racing format by only one point over University of Florida rider Dan Larsen, Jittery Joe's rider Chad Hartley and 2003 DLV rider of the Year Tony Scott.
The EPVA raised close to $6000 for the night, providing a good start to raising the estimated $20,000 needed for temporary fixes to the track. Facing a daunting task EPVA estimates that the velodrome will need $100,000 - $150,000 over the next 2 years to repair the neglected facility. A tax deductible fund has been established, and the EPVA is now ready to accept donations to fix the Velodrome. Donations of all amounts will be accepted; however, they are asking that riders who use the facility donate $250 or more. Help us save one of the most used tracks in the United States which saw more than 2,000 participants use the facility in 2003.
Racing started off with a 10 point a lap, the pace of which proved just how fast the night would be. With 5 events total (Point A Lap, Sprints, Unknown Distance, Miss-n-Out and the finale Points Race), riders were competing not only for individual glory but the overall omnium that has points escalating as you go and has laps taking precedence over points. Also competing was a strong women's field, a jam packed amateur field and the crowd favorite Bicycle Little League. (kids aged 9-12) who raced their first miss-n-out. Tyrell White, Tyler White, and Jessica Smith were the Little League stars tonight.
Morné Blignaut proved too powerful in the sprints, easily winning his heat, and blowing past Jame Carney and Nathan Rogut in the finals. Coming into the ever popular miss-n-out Blignaut had a slight lead over Carney, University of Florida rider Dan Larsen and Jittery Joe rider Chad Hartley. With 29 riders in the field the action was heated, lots of elbow, helmets and high knees to keep the riders on their toes. The aggressive riding eventual proofed a little to much for Blignaut who was relegated to sixth for passing under the blue line. With one event left Dan Larsen had a slight advantage over Carney, who by the way signed a 6 hour no pay deal to ride for "The Bike Shop of Hiram, GA" who has been a large supporter of the velodrome.
The points race proofed to the best race of the night. Very fast and very aggressive with Hartley trying early and often to break the field. Eventually getting almost a half lap. Nathan Rogut was the first to bridge the gap, with Carney and local strong man Tony Scott of Genesis Scuba coming up next. The break eventual swelled to 5 with Larsen, who realized his victory was in jeopardy, made the juncture. The group worked well until Carney made a move that was countered by Scott. The acceleration move proved too much for Rogut, who eventually lost ground and fell back to the field. Coming into the last lap the break was almost to the field and Scott, realizing he needed laps and not points, pushed hard to catch the field with meters to go to the finish. At the line, Carney took the final sprint to overtake Larsen in the standings.
Photos
Images by Jason Spruill
- South African Morné Blignaut in action.
- Carney, Hartley and Larsen blazing on the 34 degree banking.
- Carney, Blignaut and Nathan Rogut line up for the sprint finals.
- Morné Blignaut, who the night before set a 11.02 200 meter time on a slow track, wins the sprint finals.
- DLV 2003 rider of the year, Tony Scott, takes a pull.
Results
1 Jame Carney 33 pts 2 Dan Larsen 32 3 Chad Hartley 26 4 Tony Scott 14 1 lap behind 5 Morné Blignaut 36 6 Nathan Rogut 14 7 Chris Knetsche 12 8 Tommy Mulkey 6 9 John Murphy 7 10 Pete Antonvich 5
