Many of the pictures of cyclo-cross appearing on this website will show VC Deal riders wearing unfamiliar (to many) purple and white racing jerseys. These are the colours of the London Cyclo-Cross Association and the wearing of their shirts indicates that those riders have been selected for the Association's Development Squad.

The Squad came about because of the Association's concerns that most of its Youth riders failed to successfully make the transition to Junior and then Senior racing, and were then quickly lost to the sport. Prior to the start of the 1999/2000 season the Association's committee approved the establishment of a Development Squad, the object being to identify the areas most promising youngsters and to support, encourage and guide them such that they are better prepared for the demands of Junior/Senior racing.

Youth development having long been a subject particularly dear to my heart, I was appointed to select, manage and coach the Squad.

The primary objective being to secure youngsters long-term participation in the sport, it follows that short-term success is not the major consideration. However, my belief is that youngsters are more likely to continue in their chosen sport if they enjoy at least a modicum of success when moving up. The jump from Youth to combined Junior/Senior racing is so huge that only the very best Youth riders will enjoy that necessary level of success. I have considered it important then to constantly seek to raise the standard of competition within our Association. The better the standard of racing, the more rapid the improvement of the participants.

To this end a squad of up to eight riders is chosen each season, generally comprising those still eligible for the youth category from last years squad, with any available places then offered to the most promising of those others regularly competing in LC-CA events.

The riders selected are provided with a Development Squad race shirt to wear in all events, encouraging team spirit and identifying them to all as being "special". They are encouraged to train and socialise together, and financial assistance is provided for them to compete in national and other major competitions, my theory being that their development will be all the more rapid if regularly competing at the highest level available to them. Also targeted is the annual Inter-Area Team Championships. A weekend is made of it with the squad being funded to stay at a local Youth Hostel overnight prior to the race, the aim being to foster and strengthen friendships and bonds within the squad. This National competition provides a showcase for our efforts and a measure of their success. The Associations record in this event over the last five years reads 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st.

Parents also play a big part, with a team spirit and friendships being formed amongst them as well as the youngsters. Not surprising really since a whole entourage of youngsters, coaches and parents move around the country in support of our aims.

The results attained during the last five, and particularly the four most recent seasons, are proof positive of the success of the initiative and have been beyond our wildest dreams. The standard of competition in the Youth Category of the London League is probably higher than anywhere else in the country. London riders have taken something like 60% of the podium places in all National competitions over that five year period, and with 11 area associations a fair allocation would be just 9% of those places. Those riders who have moved up to Juniors and now compete against the Seniors have enjoyed an unprecedented level of success. A measure of that success is that more London Juniors have been selected to represent Great Britain in International events over the last three seasons than from any other area. Two years ago, three of only five different riders selected were products of our Development Squad and last season two of our riders were regularly selected. We are far and away the greatest discoverers, nurturers and producers of young cycling talent in this country.

The performance of all the squad riders over these last five years has been a source of pleasure and pride to me, but even more so has been the number of VC Deal riders who have been selected for the squad. True, the selections are made by me, and it would be possible for me to favour our own riders. But in fact the opposite is true, and it is harder for a VC Deal rider to make it on to the Squad than for riders from other clubs. I do not want any claims of favouritism levelled at me, nor do I want our riders being told that they are only on the Squad because they belong to VC Deal. Nevertheless from a total of 16 riders chosen over five years, five have been from this club and although that record is bettered by Team Darenth, the longest established Youth Development club in the area, who have provided six riders, the balance has changed over the last couple of years with VC Deal having more riders on the squad than Darenth.

Indeed half of last years squad of six riders, Tom Smart, Alex Paton and Michael Butler are VC Deal riders with Darenth providing just one member. VC Deal are justifiably proud of the major contribution we have made and are making to the development of young cyclists in the country and are proud to be arguably the leading development club in the area. Michael Humphries at Team Darenth would certainly argue, but whilst they have more members, ours have undoubtedly enjoyed greater success. Initiatives such as the LC-CA Development Squad together with British Cyclings Talent Team make a vital contribution to that development and success in competition and we are proud when any of our riders are selected for either or both.