CAPITAL cyclist Bruce Croall will go into tomorrow's opening day of the DHL: Edinburgh Grand Prix looking to make his presence felt against some of the more fancied continental riders on show – and believing that a podium finish is not beyond him if he gets his tactics right.
Croall admits that, despite having chalked up several impressive results since switching to track racing three seasons ago, he is still a relative novice. But, having won his first British champions jersey when he took the 400 metres grass track titl
e in Yorkshire last month, he is now ready to challenge the Dutch and Spanish riders and those from around Britain who will be bidding for the handsome trophy that is up for grabs at Meadowbank tomorrow.
Croall confirmed he is in good shape with a good performance in qualifying at a track meeting in Newcastle Under Lyme last weekend, although he concedes that his lack of racing experience let him down in the later stages of the competition. "I was fourth in the qualifying but I ended up outside the top six overall", he explained. "But that was down to my tactics. I am quite happy with how I'm going at the moment and was certainly satisfied with my qualifying ride.
And, underlining his objectives for the weekend, he added: "I don't really know the guys from abroad because last year the Grand Prix was rained off and the year before I was really just starting out at this level.
"But this time I have a target of a top-five finish. If I achieve anything better than that I'll be happy but you just really have to wait and see how it goes on the day."
The greats who have graced the London Road Velodrome over the years – Chris Hoy, Craig MacLean, Ross Edgar and Jason Queally have all competed in recent seasons – will be absent as they continue their build up to the Olympics in Beijing but stiff competition is still in prospect.
The contingent from Holland includes the highly regarded Patrick Bos, the 21-year-old brother of the world record holder Theo and a double medallist at the Dutch Championships, as well as the 20-year-old Yondi Schmidt, who has recorded a similar kilometre time to Croall.
The contingent from Catalonia have become popular visitors over the last few years and will again bring a powerful squad headed by Itmar Esteban, the 25-year-old who was a triple medallist at last year's Spanish Championships and a member of the winning team sprint squad.
Among the British entries are Welsh Championship medallist Michael Partridge and Josh Hargreaves, the English teenager who is a member of the Manchester-based Great Britain Development Squad.
The talented Dundee-based teenagers Kevin Stewart and Jamie Bremner – friends and rivals in the nature of Hoy and MacLean and tipped by many as future stars of the sport – will also be looking to make their mark.
The racing gets underway at 11.00am with sprint qualifying and the knockout stages will take place throughput the day, with the top two contesting the best of three final shortly after 4.00pm.
Also featuring on a packed programme is a busy schedule of distance events that will feature riders from both sides of the border competing for points in the British Endurance League, sponsored by Edinburgh City Council, and several women's races, with local favourite Kate Cullen having returned from Holland to compete and teenager Daisy Sherwood also looking to make a mark.
The stars of tomorrow will contest day one of a six-event youth Omnium, sponsored by Bicycle Repair Man, which continues on Sunday and will offer a glimpse of the hard work done by the coaches at the local kids club, Edinburgh Racers.
The day two schedule also starts at 11.00am and will see all of the leading sprinters back in action, while the distance men will compete in the Derny-paced Derby, a gruelling 15-kilometre contest, sponsored by Charlie Buchanan Motors, in which motorbikes lead the riders around the track.
Admission to the event is free of charge for spectators on both days and there is ample parking beside the Velodrome and in the main Meadowbank car park. Food will be available in the track centre
Croall has urged the people of Edinburgh to support the event, recommending the high speed drama of the Grand Prix event, which sees riders powering round the boards at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, yet only inches apart.
The City of Edinburgh man added: "It really is a fun event to watch. If you want excitement come and watch the sprints."
The full article contains 790 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
