On 18th April 2014 The SCCU Good Friday Meeting will be departing one historic Olympic Venue for another as it makes a move from Herne Hill to Lee Valley Velopark to help celebrate the opening year of the park and the cycling legacy of London 2012.
The SCCU said in a press release today that the organisers know that many of their supporters at Herne Hill will be disappointed that they will not be making their annual pilgrimage to Burbage Road ‐ and acknowledged that it will be a very strange feeling for them to not be unlocking the gates at 6 o’clock in the morning – but after 110 years of forecast watching the SCCU will not be at the mercy of the British weather this year!
This decision, they insisted, has not been taken lightly. The SCCU has spent several months weighing up all of the options whilst constantly aiming to bring the best afternoon’s racing we can to its loyal supporters.
Herne Hill is a much‐loved and highly respected venue and work to renovate and evolve into a multi‐use facility is ongoing, taking it from strength to strength and elevating it far above it’s Victorian peers. Whilst the Good Friday meeting is undoubtedly a part of the velodrome’s history the SCCU is aware that track racing has moved on over the years and the event also needs to evolve to meet the expectations of the new generation of enthusiasts and supporters.
With this in mind, the SCCU felt that it was appropriate to bring the meeting to an indoor venue. They assured supporters that Herne Hill will continue to be a home of world‐class events and that the SCCU fully intends to expand the number of outdoor‐specific and continental‐style events promoted at the venue, returning to the traditions and racing styles which the venue has hosted for over a century.
It isn’t the first time the meeting has moved indoors. In 2011 it made a one-off trip to Manchester – ironically on a glorious, sunny day – for what we at trackcycling believe was the best meeting – in terms of track action – in many years.
We know this will be a controversial decision – and certainly a difficult one for the SCCU to take – but we support it (and the development of other meetings at Herne Hill, a venue for which we have enormous affection) wholeheartedly.
Event website: http://www.bristowevents.co.uk/GoodFriday.html
