Spalding talent Tilly Gurney picked up two silver medals at the National Grass Track Championships over the weekend.
Accompanied by Spalding Cycling Club’s Andrew Gurney and Barry Drew, Tilly travelled to Biggleswade Cricket Club for what is always a fiercely contested event.
Conditions were extremely hot and the surface in places quite dusty with the lack of grass.
Tilly’s first race was a heat in the 800m – in which only the winner went straight into the final.
She duly avoided having to ride in the repechage, which gives the losing riders from all the heats a second bite of the cherry, by smoothly moving to the front with about 100m left to take the win.
The final was set up to be a battle between Tilly and Jo Smith, who had easily won her heat and has been the national champion for each of the last three years – and that was how it panned out.
Smith was just too powerful in the last few metres, but it was the closest that Tilly had got to matching her out of the number occasions they have competed.
It gave Tilly the silver medal, which is one up from her bronze last year.
The racing was then unfortunately delayed for an hour and a quarter due to an accident in one of the youth races, which involved not being able to move a rider until an ambulance came.
This meant that, by the time Tilly’s second race took place, it was the hottest part of the day.
Her second outing was the ladies’ inaugural 5km National Championship race.
It involved 15 laps and on the third lap Smith, Tilly and one other rider made a break which none of the other riders could keep up with, as they worked together swapping front spot regularly.
On the last lap Tilly and Smith started to distance themselves from the third rider – and by the time they hit the last bend it was a full on race between the two of them.
Yet again Smith found that extra bit of power in the last 20m, to take the gold.
However, two silver medals in one day constituted a very successful outing for teenage talent Tilly.
