THEY are a band of committed cyclists who helped produce a British champion.
Not Tour de France winner Chris Froome's mighty Team Sky but a club in Hessle where the fast and furious sport of cycle speedway takes place.
Based in Livingstone Road, the Hull Cycle Speedway Club is home to two-time national individual title winner Andy Angell.
Competing on a 75-yard oval track, riders pedal on one-gear bikes with no brakes, using their feet to balance around corners.
Popular in the Forties and Fifties, it later fell into a decline, thought to be caused by National Service call-ups depleting memberships, but enthusiasts such as Hull club president Derek Hilton have kept it going.
Now dozens of men and women, boys and girls, aged from about five to 65 meet at East Yorkshire's only cycle speedway club for regular training nights and compete in matches against other clubs across the country.
Derek said: "It had more or less died out but in 1971 motor speedway came back to Hull and I thought, 'I thoroughly enjoyed cycle speedway, so why shouldn't we try it again here?'
"We had a meeting on the Boulevard car park, which is where motor speedway was, it was Hull FC's ground, and we had 200 kids turn up."
The 1980s brought another fall in popularity, leaving just one club locally, the Anlaby Aces, based at the track in Hessle.
The name was changed to Hull Cycle Speedway Club and attracted the attention of Angell when he was just 12 years old.
Fourteen years later, he has been named British champion twice – in 2011 and 2012 – and will travel to Australia later this year to compete in the worlds after missing out on this year's national title.
"Australia is something to look forward to," he said. "My best result in the worlds is seventh in 2011, which was in America."
Unlike other British cycling superstars, Angell cannot make a living out of the sport and works in Reading for Network Rail, travelling back to East Yorkshire to train as often as he can.
"I've got quite a lot of good sponsors and family have helped out a lot and local companies," he said.
"I work on a shift of four on and four off which gives me plenty of time to do my training on my days off.
"I do a lot of gym work and I have just recently started going out on the road, but the road doesn't tend to be brilliant for this sport.
"It's so short, it's all about short sprints and power so the more you do on a road bike the more power it takes away really, so it's a tricky balance.
"I do a lot of squats and stuff like that but the best thing to get fit for this is to ride the bike but there isn't a track in Reading so I have to substitute it with gym work which is not a bad thing as I tend to enjoy it more when I do ride.
"Last season I was training five nights a week in Hessle and racing on Sunday but you've got to do it if you want to be up there."
Club secretary and senior team manager Andy Schofield, himself a cycle speedway rider for 35 years, is also on hand to offer training advice.
"I stopped racing about seven or eight years ago as I had problems with my hips and I have been involved with coaching ever since," said Andy. "I ended up getting a replacement hip in the end so I don't want to fall off the bike and you need that bit of aggression.
"You are allowed to nudge people to some extent. You can't knock people off the track but you can pass someone by using your elbows and give them a bit of a nudge if they are trying to get by."
Angell agrees that both physical and mental strength is required.
"A lot of it is mental in this game. If something affects you in your mind, it's game over," he said.
"You want to feel confident and if you don't feel confident, you are not committed to actually racing and you're never going to win a race. You've got to get your head in the right place."
While the elite in the sport like Angell travel incredibly quickly – completing four laps in about 40 seconds – anyone can take part and with cycles and helmets available to borrow at the track, the only equipment required is long- sleeved tops and trousers to protect the skin.
There is also a red and yellow card system to protect riders from dangerous moves.
"There are strict rules and while it looks like an aggressive sport, it's not supposed to be," said Derek.
"It's very tightly run, it has to be because of the dangers that are involved."
And far from being intimidating, taking part can actually build confidence, according to Elaine Stockton-Garner, whose 13-year-old son Robert is an up-and-coming member of the club.
"We'd been to Hessle Foreshore and we heard a match going on," she said.
"We could hear all this noise and we thought we'd go and investigate.
"That was on the Sunday, he came on the Tuesday and he has been coming ever since and he's doing really well.
"It's good socially as well, you can see that his confidence has grown."
Elaine is one of a number of family members of club riders who contribute to its running in any way they can, such as helping in the tea room.
Some have been involved in the sport in their youth themselves and are introducing their own children to it while others, such as the parents of another potential future star, 11-year-old Charlie Wade, are new to it but are keen to support the club.
Sponsorship money from local firm Kingston Cycles helps, too, and regular open events are held to encourage more people to have a go and get involved.
British Cycling – the governing body in charge of BMX, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, road and track – has also adopted cycle speedway, adding its red, white and blue colours to the winning jerseys of national champions.
And although Angell might have missed out on the 2013 title, with the worlds a few weeks away and other clubs members hoping to emulate him, it seems Hull will be pedaling future success in this fascinating sport.
Find out more about how Hull Cycle Speedway Club President Derek Hilton revitalised the sport locally in this month's edition of the Journal, out now.
• Pictures of the cyclists in action can be viewed here
