The Valley Preferred Cycling Center

Carney, Murfet Claim Mike Walter Madison Title

The oldest man in the field teamed with one of the youngest Friday to win the Second Annual Mike Walter Memorial Madison on a beautiful night for racing that also featured the best of the Red Robin Marty Nothstein Bicycle Racing League making their Friday night debut.

American Jame Carney, 42, and Salamander Racing teammate Clay Murfet of Australia  came back from a couple miscues in the initial 40-lap preliminary to take command of the 10-lap final, winning with 56 points over second-place finishers Myron Simpson and Paddy Bevin of New Zealand, who finished with 38 points.

American Olympian Bobby Lea and teammate Jackie Simes IV finished third with 28 points.

“It was ripping,” said Carney, a T-town veteran. “Clay was very strong and the New Zealanders made it hard the whole time.”

Murfet, half Carney’s age, took particular pride in the pairing with the speedy and wily Carney. “He’s the fastest sprinter in the field. He’s the oldest, but he’s the fastest,” Murfet said.”We just really wanted to win.”

American Olympian Gideon Massie set the stage for a fast night of racing from the first heat of the Men’s 10-Lap Scratch Race and later won the final in that event, giving the Red Robin BRL All-Stars some Olympic inspiration for their evening.

“I wanted to make it fun for the crowd,” said Massie, who rides for Bike Religion, also challenged for the 9-Lap Win-and-Out before finishing his evening. “Plus, it was a short night for the sprinters so I figured I’d go for it.”

On the women’s side, returning Rider of the Year Laura McCaughey of Australia made it clear she is looking to retain that title by pushing the women’s field – especially Down Under rivals on the New Zealand national team that includes four World Championship medalists.

“This is the kind of racing I like,” McCaughey said of the spirited women’s field. “There’s much more firepower now because the field is bigger.”

Approximately 80 BRL riders age 9 to 17 participated in the All-Star show, which features the individual leaders from among about 120 participants in the Spring 2010 edition of the same program that produced velodrome executive director and Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein.

“This is always one of my favorite events because it really showcases the talent we have here,” Nothstein said. “Watching these kids race in front of a Friday night crowd really brings back memories for me, but even better, it shows me that we have a lot of great young riders coming through our programs.”

“It’s really fun,” said 10-year-old Brandon Krasley of Emmaus, who will enter fifth grade at Lincoln Elementary School in the fall. “The training is kind of fun and the racing is awesome.”

Full results posted here.