He may not have won the coveted track board trophy at Six Day London, but Sutton cycling star Andrew Bradshaw is determined to experience more of the same after racing in front of the biggest crowd of his career at the Lee Valley VeloPark.
Bradshaw finished 14th in the U21 Talent Cup at Six Day London last week, as he rode with Denmark’s Magnus Rosing in 40-minute Madison races on each of the first three days of the event.
And after rubbing shoulders with the likes of former road world champion Mark Cavendish and Olympic gold medallist Peter Kennaugh, Bradshaw was motivated to come back to Six Day London as part of the pro ranks, one day.
“It’s good fun, it’s a strong set of riders. The Belgians have ridden well across all three days so it’s hard to compete with them,” he said.
“Just to come down and ride with a crowd watching you is nice and it’s a change, it’s definitely a learning experience but that’s what you come from it.
“The speed of it is amazing, you can learn a Madison but with 16 pairs on the track at those sorts of speeds and with riders of that calibre you pick up tips.
“There are guys getting in the way of other good guys so adding all those things you learn how to mix it up in the big bunches.
“It’s nice when you look in the crowd and you see someone you know, being near home I know a few more people than the foreign guys do.
“When the guys are taking the lap, the crowd are cheering them on so it adds something special to it.”
The competition was won overall by Belgium’s Bryan Boussaer and Jules Hesters as they came back from a second-place finish last year to dominate in 2017.
Winning all three races, they took the victory by two laps from their nearest competitors and former professional rider, and winner of the 2004 Paris-Roubaix race, Magnus Backstedt only had good things to say about the quality of the U21 field at Six Day London.
“There were some really special performances in there and some really strong riders from all over Europe,” he said. “It’s great to see there are some young British riders coming up too, and the future looks very bright.
“It’s great to see that so many young riders want to ride at a Six Day and I hope they can build on the event because it means a lot to them to have something to aspire to and work towards – an event like this is always special to be a part of.”
Tickets for Six Day London 2018 go on general sale on November 1 at 11am.
For more information go to www.sixday.com
