Ade Gale Laurels 2026

🏁 LAURELS – DAY 1 ROUND UP 🏁

Bathed in glorious sunshine on the South Coast, Day 1 of the Ade Gale Laurels delivered everything we’ve come to expect from this incredible event – fantastic racing, emotional moments and a brilliant atmosphere throughout.

 

🏆 JUNIOR LAURELS

First up were the stars of tomorrow in the Junior Laurels event and what a showcase it proved to be. The young riders on display showed exactly why the future of Cycle Speedway is in very safe hands.

Noah Lyon, Oliver Banyard and Jamie Randall all pushed hard throughout the meeting, with Noah eventually winning the runoff for second place. 

However, the standout performance came from Luca Woodhouse, who stormed to a sensational 5 ride maximum to take the title and add his name alongside his brother’s on the prestigious Dave Lanning Trophy.

A huge well done to every rider who took part and put on such a fantastic display for the crowd.

 

🏆 VETERANS LAURELS

Next up came the Veterans categories featuring the very best of the Over 40’s, Over 50’s and Over 60’s. Experience, class and race craft were on show everywhere you looked – with many of these riders having raced longer than the juniors have been alive!

In the Over 40’s category it was Poole’s Greg Gluchowski, in his very first year as a veteran, who took a superb victory ahead of Horspath duo David Hemsley and Mark Boaler.

The Over 50’s podium once again featured David Hemsley alongside Leicester’s Mark Whitehead, but standing proudly on the top step was Great Blakenham’s Craig Marchant. A close friend of the late Ade Gale and Richard Clanfield, this was clearly a very special and emotional victory for Craig.

The Over 60’s category produced some excellent racing throughout the afternoon, with Newport’s Lee Galley taking the chequered flag to become the 2026 champion. Exeter’s Dave Murphy claimed second whilst Poole’s Steve White rounded out the podium in third.

A huge thank you to every rider who competed and helped make this such a fitting tribute weekend in memory of Ade Gale.

 

🏆 PINK ROSES SHOWCASE MATCH

The final event of the day featured a very special showcase match as the Pink Roses – an all-star Women’s team packed with the country’s top female talent –  took on not one but TWO opposing teams in a thrilling 3 team contest.

The Laurels Select and Poole Select sides, made up of Juniors, Veterans and Women riders, combined to produce a fantastic spectacle and a brilliant showcase of the depth, inclusivity and excitement our sport has to offer.

Final scores:

Pink Roses – 54

Laurels Select – 59

Poole Select – 67

🏁 ADE GALE LAURELS — DAY 2 ROUND UP 🏁

Another glorious day of sunshine welcomed riders and supporters to Harbourside Park for Day 2 of the 2026 Ade Gale Laurels – and with a huge line up of talent including FOUR current World Champions, expectations were sky high.

Thankfully the racing more than delivered. 🔥

 

🏆 WOMEN’S LAURELS

First up was a truly outstanding Women’s Laurels event featuring current British & World Champion Emily Burgess, current Under 16 British & World Champion Lily Parr, former champions and some of the very best up and coming female riders in the country.

The racing was fiercely contested throughout with the crowd treated to some fantastic action around Harbourside Park.

In the end it was 2022 Laurels Champion Lizzie Rigley-Porter who took a sensational victory with a perfect 5 ride maximum, just edging out Emily Burgess in second place who dropped just one point finishing on 19. 2024 Laurels Champion Lily Parr completed an exceptional podium in third.

A huge thank you to every rider who competed and once again showcased just how strong and exciting the Women’s category is within Cycle Speedway.

 

🏆 GRAHAM SUTTON PRESENTATION

During the interval we had the honour of celebrating someone incredibly special to both Poole CSC and Cycle Speedway as a whole.

After 52 years serving the club as Chairman, Graham Sutton was presented with Honorary President status of Poole Cycle Speedway Club in recognition of his unbelievable dedication and commitment to the sport.

In a surprise presentation attended by riders from across the years, alongside Graham’s wife and family, the club were proud to present a small token of appreciation for everything Graham has done for Poole CSC and Cycle Speedway over more than five decades.

Thank you Graham for helping make Poole CSC what it is today. 💙

 

🏆 ADE GALE LAURELS – OPEN

The headline event of the weekend had all the ingredients to produce something special.

With two current World Champions, two current European Champions, the current British Champion and a stacked international field featuring riders from the UK and Poland, this was always going to be spectacular viewing.

And it absolutely delivered.

The racing throughout the meeting was nothing short of incredible, with the revised event format adding even more drama to proceedings.

Current European Champion Ben Mould and Junior World Champion Kenzie Bennett booked their places straight into the Grand Final as the top two scorers from the heats.

Behind them the battle for the remaining two places became an unforgettable drama as FIVE riders finished level on 12 points, forcing a massive 5 rider runoff for the final qualification spots.

An unbelievable race followed:

 5th – Fez Langoo

 4th – Mark Boaler

 3rd – 2025 Laurels Champion Noah Woodhouse

 2nd – Polish superstar Dawid Bas

 1st – World Senior Champion Lewis Brinkoff

That set up a truly world class Grand Final.

When the tapes went up it was Kenzie Bennett who produced a stunning ride to take victory and claim the Laurels title, making it three consecutive Laurels triumphs after previously winning the Junior title in both 2024 and 2025.

Dawid Bas pushed him all the way for second whilst Lewis Brinkoff completed the podium in third after another superb performance.

💙 A SPECIAL THANK YOU

Many of you will have seen the incredible winners jerseys produced for this year’s event by Myke Grimes at 3318 – Cycle Speedway’s go to shirt designer and supplier.

The jerseys once again looked absolutely outstanding and we thank Myke for not only these fantastic designs, but also for everything he continues to do across the sport helping riders and clubs look amazing both on and off the track.

Many also noticed a special detail included within this year’s jerseys.

This year’s Laurels winners jerseys were dedicated to one of the sport’s true greats, Steve Harris, who we sadly lost earlier this year.

Steve was not only a former Over 60’s Laurels winner, but also a rider for Poole CSC at one stage of his career, and we felt it was only right to honour his memory during this year’s event. ❤️

🙏🏻FINAL THANK YOU

 

We’d also like to thank our incredible sponsors:

Club Sponsor – Fantasy Floors

Event Sponsor – Bournemouth Family Care

Trophy Sponsor – Aiden Laing

 

We would like to say an enormous thank you to our main event sponsor, ex-Poole rider Adam Bardsley of Bournemouth Family Care for his fantastic support of this year’s event.

Bournemouth Family Care was conceived out of a desire to help children and young people facing a challenging time navigating life and/or education. They work in partnership with local authorities and schools to support children and young people overcome whatever barriers are standing in their way.

​They focus their care to enable children and young people to make sense of, and overcome, past experiences and trauma; they aim to establish feelings of safety and security, thus enabling them to gain independent living skills, a sense of happiness and belonging, as well as the ability to dream for the future.

Their therapeutic approach ensures that young people’s talents are embraced and celebrated, with a focus on building resilience to help overcome life challenges.

Such an incredible company helping youngsters in the local area.

We are incredibly grateful for their support of both the Laurels and grassroots sport. ❤️

And finally, thank you to all the volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes all day long. Events like this simply do not happen without your effort, commitment and teamwork.