City Cycling Club Track Challenge

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track_prog (2).pdf

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Venue - Bellville Velodrome.

Date - Friday 14 December

Time - 7.00pm

 

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Winners of the Tramway Shield December 2011 - Team Intellibus with meeting sponsors

 

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THE TRAMWAY SHIELD

Way back in 1898 the Tramway Company of Cape Town donated the princely sum of £50 to City Cycling and Athletic Club to purchase a trophy, from Vaughtons Ltd of England, to be known as the Tramway Shield. To this day the Tramway Shield is a hotly contested event among South Africa’s top track cyclists.

 

Due to the Boer War the Tramway Shield got off to a delayed start and was first contested only in 1903. In those days it was a mile race competed for by cyclists with fashionable curly moustaces which matched their curly handlebars!

 

Then along came another war, the First World War, and the Tramway Shield was not competed for between 1914 and 1919. From 1920 to 1936 race format remained but in 1937 it was changed to a four man team pursuit race where riders of each team would take it in turns to pace each other over one mile.

 

Then along came another war, The Second World War, and the Tramway Shield went into hibernation again this time from 1941 to1944. From 1945 to this day the Tramway Shield has been held as a 4 man team pursuit with the Paarl based Yorkshire Wheelers holding the record time.

 

In 2004, for the first time, the Tramway Shield took on the exciting format of the Team Sprint. This event was held over three laps of Bellville Velodrome a distance of 750 metres. In the Team Sprint each team lines up 3 abreast on the track two held up by officials whilst the lead out man starts at the bottom of the track in a starting gate. All three riders start together with the second and third man slotting in behind the lead out man as quickly as possible. After one lap he peels off and his job is finished, the second rider completes another lap and then peels off to let the third rider compete his third lap on his own. Fastest team wins.

[Thornman]

Looking forward for this event. Going to be some good racing, can't wait.

[butafly]

interesting story about the trophy

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[SeanMort]

See you there