Cycle speedway is one of six British Cycling disciplines along with road, track, BMX, cyclo-cross, and mountain biking, but it’s likely you have never heard of it.
Cycle speedway was born from the rubble of the Second World War, with children forging tracks from the wreckage of bomb sites in East London in 1946. The sport has never veered too far away from its humble beginnings, offering an affordable route into cycling for children and adults. Soon, the sport spread across the country and cycle speedway today shares many similarities with that of motor speedway.
The 2022 European Cycle Speedway Championships will take place from Friday 29 July to Sunday 31 July, featuring the best riders from around the continent, and it will be hosted by Wigan-based Astley & Tyldesley Cycling Club.
A major player in the development of cycle speedway is Mike Hack, a former Great Britain international rider and one of the founding members of the hosting cycling club. While he accepts where cycle speedway is in comparison to Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) affiliated disciplines, he is determined to continue to do all that he can to increase the sport’s exposure and introduce as many people as possible to it.
Hack told Fen Regis Trophies: “The sport was founded by kids that started their own sport. [They] marked out tracks on bomb sites, mainly in East London.
“That spread rapidly across the country. The kids just built up their own bikes or stripped them down, and the sport developed from then. It’s primarily been grown by riders and ex-riders for the benefit of riders.”
“Cycle Speedway has a low profile,” he admitted. “It doesn’t get that much publicity compared with the other cycling disciplines.
“The five cycling disciplines which British Cycling run are road, track, mountain biking, and BMX, which are all UCI affiliated but is the national governing body and they’re also all Olympic disciplines, so they get good funding from UK Sport, Sport England, media partners, commercial sponsors etc.
“The other discipline is cyclo-cross which isn’t an Olympic discipline, but that’s a UCI discipline. So, they are sort of number five on the pecking order and cycle speedway is pretty much number six.”
Hack added: “Locally, we’re well known, well respected, but nationally cycle speedway misses out when it comes to national media.”
What is Cycle Speedway?
If you are familiar with motor speedway you will soon understand the rules of cycle speedway. Four riders begin from a standing start on a dirt track riding bikes with no brakes, suspension, or upright handlebars. Generally, races last no longer than 50 seconds, but there is a lot of enthralling action packed into four laps of the dirt track that makes this an exciting spectator sport.
In the UK, there are around 40 cycle speedway clubs with tracks generally located in public parks, recreation centres, and sports complexes. Other countries where cycle speedway is present include Poland, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, and Sweden.
The bikes that riders use are comfortably more affordable than the likes of those used in the velodrome, which would easily set you back more than £15,000. Hack says that ensuring that cycle speedway is affordable and accessible is crucial.
“It’s the lowest cost cycling discipline,” says Hack. “Our competition entry fees are kept low. You can buy a top spec bike for about £600, which when you compare with other bikes you are talking four and five figures.
“It’s entry-level. It’s affordable. We cater for all. It’s a really good sport to get involved with.”
Astley & Tyldesley Cycling Club are ensuring that everyone can sample cycle speedway without breaking the bank, which is important in the current cost of living crisis. From £4 a week, members can make use of the club’s own bikes – that means that newcomers can give the sport a go for the price of a cup of coffee.
Hack said: “We have stock of 50 club bikes of all different sizes, ranging from balance bikes to full-size bikes.
“Any rider coming along, they can borrow one of our bikes and when riders come committed, we encourage the riders to buy their own bike…there’s no barrier to participation for any newcomers.”
“It’s all to make sure that it’s as accessible as possible,” he added. “We run club training sessions, we have different groups. There are different competitions; there’s different age levels, ability levels, and there are female-only competitions as well.”
European Cycle Speedway Championships
Of everything that Hack and the club have achieved since the club’s formation in 1989, hosting this year’s European Cycle Speedway Championships is right up there. The International Cycle Speedway Federation (ICSF) had to cancel the championships in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and announced that Astley & Tyldesley Cycling Club would stage the event in 2022.
It will be the first time that the European Cycle Speedway Championships has been held in the North West of the country and it will all take place on a track that has been recently developed. Hack and a couple of his friends built the club’s original track, largely using their own funds, which underwent a big redevelopment in 2016 through British Cycling’s Facilities Fund.
“Three of us had a vision and we started the club in November 1989,” he said. “We built the original striker ourselves on a shoestring budget, and then we just gradually developed it over the years.
“It’s a genuine community club which is open for all…it’s not exclusive, there’s no discrimination. We genuinely welcome people, people from all backgrounds.”
For more information on cycle speedway and how you can get involved, please visit either the dedicated page on britishcycling.org.uk or visit Astley & Tyldesley Cycling Club’s website, where you will also be able to find out more information on the European Cycle Speedway Championships.