Gold medal winners ride into town (From Warrington Guardian)
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Team GB trio Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas and Dani King visit Speedkarting in Warrington
3:00pm Monday 27th August 2012 in News
Geraint Thomas, Dani King and Ed Clancy on the Speedkarting track during their day in Warrington
THREE gold medal winning cyclists swapped their bikes for a different set of wheels in the town centre on Friday.
Team GB trio Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas and Dani King headed to Speedkarting, Slutchers Lane, for a well-earned break after picking up gold medals in the men’s and women’s team pursuit.
Ed, who had a letter from Cherie Blair saying he had grabbed her Union flag after winning gold, said: “We have been so busy it has been really nice to do the things we have put on hold like having a house party and going go-karting.
“We kept going after Beijing in 2008 so it’s nice to stop and enjoy this one after a lot of hard work and before we start preparing for Rio.”
The group said none of them have a special place at home for their medals yet – although Geraint’s gong ended up in a tea pot to keep it safe during a house party – and still cannot believe what they have achieved.
Geraint, who also won gold with Ed during the Beijing Olympics, said: “I think when we are older we will look back and see we were part of something special.
“We grew up as kids dreaming of it one day and now we’ve got two gold medals.”
Dani, who is from Southampton but based in Manchester to train, added she had not stopped smiling since crossing the finish line and realised she wasn’t dreaming when she woke up and saw her medal.
All three have also been coming to terms with being recognised after becoming overnight celebrities during the Olympics.
Ed, who has lived in Newton for the past six years, said: “My neighbours ran across the road when I got home and we have had lots of letters through the door.
“I’m not originally from the area so the reaction has been really nice.”
Geraint, who had also lived in Newton before moving to Altrincham, said: “There has been lots of people stopping us and saying well done.
“In our own little world we didn’t think about the public being bothered.
“It is strange to have builders cheering you whereas normally they are the ones honking us off the road!”
Owner Mike Hollington said he was delighted the Olympians had visited his race track and signed team GB shirts for their wall of fame.
