Words NICK CHRISTIAN Photography GEOFF WAUGH
The last venue from the 1948 Olympics still in use is Herne Hill racetrack in South London. Cyclist pays a visit to the anniversary race meet, and learns about its rich history
It’s a glorious July evening in South London. The sun is just about to sink behind turn two of the Herne Hill track, painting a band of pinks, purples and oranges across a cloudless sky. The organisers have gotten lucky. Had it been held on almost any other week this summer, the South London Grand Prix – the first UCI meet to be held here in nearly a decade – would be taking place under a blanket of grey.
As it is, conditions are perfect for bike racing. Although the evening session is still to kick off, it’s already standing room only around the 450m circuit. There’s no spare spectating space to be found against the fence, and in places the crowd is three deep.
Around the back of the clubhouse, bike parking is at capacity. Inside at the bar, they’ve already run out of Herne Hill Track Session IPA at least twice. The aroma of oil-drum jerk chicken draws hungry punters towards the food stand – until they see the queue, which stretches almost as far as Burbage Road.
There wasn’t any Caribbean food on offer when the Olympic cycling events were held here in 1948, although HMS Empire Windrush had arrived at Tilbury Docks from Jamaica some six weeks prior. They didn’t have junior events 75 years ago either, and there was no space for women cyclists to compete at all. Thankfully, it’s all very different today.
Today’s race meeting marks three-quarters of a century since the 1948 London Olympics, the first to be held after the Second World War, and it has welcomed a special guest of honour: 94-year-old Jim Love (see box on p86). Love was a reserve member of the British Olympic team pursuit squad that won bronze, and is the only person here today who witnessed the 1948 event first-hand. He has travelled from Southampton to be here with members of his family, and also the families of several of his old teammates, including the daughter of mercurial sprinter Reg Harris.
When the Olympics came to Herne Hill
Back in 1948, Harris was a star of British track racing, but he wasn’t very taken with Herne Hill, which caused problems with the sport’s governing body. Less than a week before the cycling events were du
