Where Brass Bands Meet Bicycles

Cycle Illo Landscape_V1Cycle Illo Landscape_V1Woolly Bike TrailWhere Brass Bands Meet Bicycles: 

Call for Cyclists to Be Part of Yorkshire Festival 2014

The first ever arts festival to accompany a Grand Depart of the Tour de France, the Yorkshire Festival 2014 will bring music, dance, theatre, film and art activities to the region and cyclists are being invited to bring their bikes and cycling skills to be part of it.

There are a huge number of events in the Festival (see attached for full details) and organisers are inviting cyclists, whether they are mountain bikers, road racers or those new to cycling, to get involved. Opportunities include:

Ghost Peloton – Phoenix Dance Theatre & NVA in partnership with Sustrans, present a world first: 50 experienced cyclists are needed to don specially designed, programmed light suits for two live performances in Leeds. They will create beautifully choreographed patterns, riding in formation with the prospect of also becoming a longer term ‘team’ after the initial performance

Delivering a yellow conductor’s baton to brass bands who will be waiting for your arrival to start their ‘Tour de Brass’ concert (some locations are more hilly than others!)

Share your experiences of life on two wheels with Bike Story – your tales will form the basis of a new play touring Yorkshire during the Yorkshire Festival 2014

Send your photos, old and new, to be part of a new exhibition, Bicyclism, at Leeds City Museum

Tour de Force Bicycle Orchestra would like donations of old bikes and parts to give them a new lease of life as a frame harp, handlebar trumpet, thumb piano or singing wheel!

Grab a friend and cycle to one of 60 film screenings of cycling and Yorkshire life films, with Tour de Cinema. 11 of these will be massive outdoor screenings in unusual locations – we’d love to see the outdoor cinema sites filled with bikes!

Hop on your bike to courier songs written as part of the Wish You Were Here project to different locations across North Yorkshire

Join a Rollapaluza competition, part of Leeds’ White Cloth Gallery’s range of Rouleur supported exhibitions and events. Jump on a stationary bicycle to compete in short times races, to an extraordinary atmosphere, music and MC.

Henrietta Duckworth, Executive Producer of Yorkshire Festival 2014, said “The Festival is a brilliant celebration of culture and cycling happening indoors and outdoors in all parts of the county.  The activities will appeal to riders of all ages and abilities so if you’re already a cyclist, take part and get involved; if you’re inspired by the Grand Départ coming to Yorkshire but don’t already ride, come along to experience everything cycling and the Festival has to offer”.

Download the PDF file detailing Yorkshire Festivals Call to Cyclists by clicking here.

Visit www.yorkshirefestival.co.uk to find out all about Yorkshire Festival 2014.

 

The Caledonian Revolution

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome - Glasgow - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

St Andrews Day 2013 and the much awaited Revolution Series rolled back into Glasgow.  Would racing to a home crowd give the Scots some extra firepower?  Given the depth of talent on the start sheet, a fiercely fought battle was guaranteed.

Both the afternoon and evening sessions started with a sombre and respectful minutes silence following Friday night’s tragic helicopter crash in Glasgow.

With the temperature inside the velodrome definitely on the warm side, the afternoon session got underway with both men’s and women’s UCI Sprint Qualifiers.  Dani Khan (GB) once again showed she meant business.  Setting a time of 11.604 in the women’s 200m time trial.  Seeding her in third and comfortably taking her through to the Quarter Finals, where she won her heat against Helen Scott (GB).  In the men’s 200m time trial, Callum Skinner (Scotland) topped the seeding with a 10.346.  Up against Matt Rotherham (GB) in the Quarter Finals, Skinner showed his dominance winning the heat.

The UCI Points Races threatened to be savage and they certainly lived up to the hype.  In the men’s 40km points race Jake Ragan (GB) shone brightly.  Lapping the field twice and finishing with 49 points.  A truly gritty performance.  However, Kalz (Rudy Project RT), Stroetinga (Telegraph Allstars) and McCallum (Rapha Condor JLT) weren’t giving up easily and fought till the end for all available points [finishing with 45, 41, 36 points respectively].

The women’s 25km points race was just as thrilling.  With Ciara Horne (Team USN), Eileen Roe (Scotland) and Nina Kessler (Boels-Dolmans) taking a lap early on.   A few sprints later and Amy Hill (Team USN) pinged off the front taking a lap, placing her at the top of the standings going into the final stages of the race.  With one sprint to go Kessler, Roe and Horne took another lap, scooping up more points [finishing with 54, 52, 51 points respectively].

Khan and Scott once again showed their good form in the 1st round of the women’s UCI Keirin.  Both successfully going through to the final.   In the men’s round John Paul, Callum Skinner and Chris Pritchard (all Scotland) qualified for the final.  Leaving Matt Rotherham (GB) and Kenny Ayre (Scotland) to contest the minor final with Thiele and Kanter (both Germany).

Chris Hoy meets his public - Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome - Glasgow - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Chris Hoy meets his public – Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

The final event of the afternoon session was the Elite Championship Flying Lap.  Ross Edgar (Rouleur) set the fastest time 13.836, with Nico Hesslich (Rudy Project RT) 2nd in a time of 13.850.  Chris Latham (WD40) rounding up the top 3 with 14.040.

During the break between afternoon and evening sessions, Sir Chris Hoy was launching his new HOY Bikes track bike.  Several cycling journos had been invited to take a burl round the track with the Big Yin on the new Fiorenzuola.  I had a brief wee look at the newest black beauty, as entry level track bikes go it’s certainly competitively priced with a beautiful understated timeless style and design.  Which is more than can be said for the display of sartorial elegance from many of the lycra clad journos ;)

The evening session started with the UCI Sprint Semi Finals.  Both men’s and women’s events producing nail biting racing.  Elis Ligtlee (Netherlands) and Dani Khan (GB) winning their heats.  In the men’s Semi Finals Callum Skinner (Scotland) and Robert Kanter (Germany) won their heats.

In the women’s UCI Sprint Minor Final, Rosie Blount (GB) and Helen Scott (GB) snapped up the top two spaces with Jenny Davis (City of Edinburgh) taking  4th.  Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) just outgunned Chris Pritchard (Scotland) and Matt Rotherham (GB) to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the men’s UCI Sprint Minor Final in a time of 11.206.

In a thrilling Final, between the excellently matched Khan and Ligtlee, it was not to be Khans day.  The Dutch rider taking the win.  In the men’s Final the showdown between Skinner and Kanter had the Glasgow audience on their feet roaring support for their home boy, Skinner.  And he didn’t disappoint, snatching the win from Kanter in a time of 10.975.

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome - Glasgow - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Always a crowd pleaser, the women’s Elimination Race engaged and excited the fans.  Emily Kay (Team USN) took a narrow win from Eileen Roe (Scotland).  The Boels-Dolmans rider, Nina Kessler finishing in 3rd.  In the Elite Championship Elimination Race, Jesper Asselman (Madison-Genesis) was victorious against Jacob Scott (HMT-Sportscover).  The 3rd sport taken by Andreas Muller (Madison-Genesis).

For me one of the most exciting parts of the programme are the Future Stars races.  This is such a valuable platform for the development and progression of young talent.

In the Girls 6 Lap Dash, Sophie Capewell (HMT-Sportscover) continued her good form from round 1, finishing 1st.  Lucy Harper and Emily Haycox (both Rouleur) finishing in 2nd and 3rd   – Not bad placing from Emily since she has been battling with ill health and is due to have her pesky tonsils out this week, hopefully she can return to the top of the table after she recovers fully. In the Boys 6 Lap Dash, it was ‘all the J’s’ with Joe Holt (Team USN) taking the win, Joe Truman (Rapha Condor JLT) finishing 2nd and Scotland’s Jack Carlin (Rudy Project RT) rounding up the top 3.

Onto the Girls 5km Points Race and 1st place went to Grace Garner (Team Sky) with Megan Chard (Telegraph Allstars) 2nd and Jessica Roberts (Team USN) 3rd.  Joe Truman (Rapah Condor JLT) finished 1st 4 points ahead of Jack Escritt (WD40) with Matt Walls (Champion System-Club Roost RT) finishing just 1 point down on Escritt in the Boys 5km Points Race.

The Future Stars 5km Scratch race yet again produced some very hard fought aggressive racing.  In the Girls Scratch, Paige Millward (WD40) finished ahead of Jessie Ansell and Lucy Shaw (both Rudy Project RT).  In the Boys Scratch, Joel Partington (Team Sky) took the win from Joe Holt (Team USN) and Tom Rotherham (Rouleur).

The women’s UCI Keirin Minor Final gave the crowds plenty to shout about with two Scottish riders and a GB rider doing battle for places.  In the end it was Scot Jenny Davis (City of Edinburgh) who placed 1st.  Rosie Blount (GB) a close 2nd with Ellie Richardson (Scotland) in 3rd.  Matt Rotherham (GB) and Kenny Ayre (Scotland) finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the men’s UCI Keirin Minor Final.

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome - Glasgow - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

A 4th and 6th place for Khan and Scott in the women’s UCI Keirin Final concluded a really good day and night’s racing for the talented GB ladies.  Scotland once again showed well with a 3rd place for Skinner and a 5th for Pritchard in the men’s UCI Keirin Final.

Rudy Project Racing Team Win Madison TT | Revolution 42 ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Rudy Project Racing Team Win Madison TT | Revolution 42 ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Marcel Kalz and Nico Hesslich of Rudy Project RT took the win in the Elite Championship 1km Madison Time Trial in a sizzling 00:55.472.

Team USN’s Ciara Horne smashed the women’s 10km UCI Scratch Race by lapping the field in a tenacious attack.  Team mate Emily Kay snatched 2nd with Scotland’s Charline Joiner clinching 3rd.  In the men’s 15km UCI Scratch Race, Team Sky duo Chris Lawless and Germain Burton finished 3rd and 4th.

 

Round 2 TV Highlights

If you’re in the UK you can watch the highlights of Round 2 on the new BT Sport2 Channel (not available on all TV services in the UK).

Thursday 5th December 2013

For more information on the Revolution and to book your Manchester tickets for round 3 visit: www.cyclingrevolution.com

 

 

Results

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome - Glasgow - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Elite Championship: Flying Lap
1 Ross Edgar – 13.836 Rouleur 10
2 Nico Hesslich – 13.850 Rudy Project RT 9
3 Chris Latham – 14.040 WD40 8
4 Chris Lawless – 14.435 Team Sky 7
5 James McCallum – 14.663 Rapha Condor JLT 6
6 Andy Fenn – 14.886 Telegraph All Stars 5
7 Scott Jacob- 14.988 HMT-Sportscover 4
8 Andreas Muller – 14.385 Madison Genesis 5
9 Scott Davies – 15.610 Team USN 2
10 Julio Alberto Amores – 15.653 Champion System/Club Roost 1

Lizzie Armisted Commentates  - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Lizzie Armisted Commentates – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk


Elite Championship: Elimination Race
1 Jesper Asselman
2 Jacob Scott Team Sportscover
3 Andreas Muller
4 Marcel Kalz
5 Christopher Latham 100% ME
6 Nico Hesslich
7 Lucas Destang
8 Scott Davies Team USN
9 Mark Stewart Team ASL360
10 Christopher Lawless Kuota – Spinergy – GSG
11 Michael Nicholson
Future Stars Podium - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Future Stars Podium – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

12 Andrew Fenn Omega Pharma Quickstep
13 Julio Alberto Amores
14 Evan Oliphant Team Raleigh
15 James McCallum Rapha Condor JLT
16 Oliver Wood Team Sportscover
17 Germain Burton Team De ver
18 Wim Stroetinga
19 Ross Edgar Team IG – Sigma Sport
20 Jacob Ragan Wheelbase Altura MGD

Elite Championship: Points Race
1 Jacob Ragan Wheelbase Altura MGD
2 Marcel Katz
3 Wim Stroetinga

Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

4 James McCallum Rapha Condor JLT
5 Julio Alberto Amores
6 Jacob Scott Team Sportscover
7 Scott Davies Team USN
8 Germain Burton Team De ver
9 Oliver Wood Team Sportscover
10 Andreas Muller
11 Jesper Asselman
12 Nico Hesslich
13 Evan Oliphant Team Raleigh
14 Michael Nicholson
15 Christopher Latham 100% ME
16 Andrew Fenn Omega Pharma Quickstep
17 Christopher Lawless Kuota – Spinergy – GSG
18 Tim Veldt
19 Lucas Destang
20 Ross Edgar Team IG – Sigma Sport

Rudy Project Racing Team | Revolution 42 Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Rudy Project Racing Team | Revolution 42 Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Elite Championship: 1km Madison Time Trial
1 Rudy Project RT 56.001 10
2 WD40 58.993 9
3 Rapha Condor JLT 59.486 8
4 Rouleur 59.692 7
5 Team Sky 1.00.013 6
6 HMT-Sportscover 1.00.360 5
7 Telegraph All Stars 1.00.506 4
8 Champion System/Club Roost 1.01.482 2
9 Madison Genesis 1.03.648 1

Elite Championship: Scratch Race
1 Marcel Kalz Rudy Project RT 10
2 Wim Stroetinga Telegraph All Stars 9
3 Chris Lawless Team Sky 8
4 Germain Burton Team Sky 7
5 Chris Latham WD40 6
6 Andreas Muller Madison Genesis 5
7 Julio Alberto Amores Champion System/Club Roost RT 4
8 Evan Oliphant WD40 5
9 Lucas Destang Team Sky 2
10 Ollie Wood Rapha Condor JLT 1

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Points Race Women
1 Nina Kessler
2 Eileen Roe Ronde Cycling Club
3 Ciara Horne Team USN
4 Amy Hill Team USN
5 Emily Kay Team USN
6 Charline Joiner Team Thomsons Cycles
7 Emily Nelson Bike Pure – LeMond – Aspire Ve…
8 Manon Lloyd Abergavenny Road Club
9 Sarah Inghelbrecht
10 Alex Greenfield Scott Contessa Epic
11 Kayleigh Brogan Team Thomsons Cycles
12 Hannah Walker Matrix Fitness Racing Academy
13 Ella Hopkins Breast Cancer Care Cycling Tea…
14 Corrine Hall Matrix Fitness Racing Academy

Emily Kay - Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome - Glasgow - Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Emily Kay – Revolution 42 | Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – Glasgow – Image ©www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Elimination Race Women
1 Emily Kay Team USN
2 Eileen Roe Ronde Cycling Club
3 Nina Kessler
4 Ciara Horne Team USN
5 Kayleigh Brogan Team Thomsons Cycles
6 Amy Hill Team USN
7 Emily Nelson Bike Pure – LeMond – Aspire Ve…
8 Alex Greenfield Scott Contessa Epic
9 Hannah Walker Matrix Fitness Racing Academy
10 Charline Joiner Team Thomsons Cycles
11 Manon Lloyd Abergavenny Road Club
12 Sarah Inghelbrecht

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Future Stars 6 Lap Dash Boys
1 Joe Holt County Cycles Racing Team
2 Joseph Truman I-Team Cyclists’ Club
3 Jack Carlin Team Thomsons Cycles
4 Tom England
5 Ellis Kirkbride Border City Wheelers CC
6 Thomas Rotherham Sportcity Velo
7 Jack Escritt Velocity WD-40
8 Reece Wood Aire Valley Racing Team
9 Stuart Balfour Ronde Cycling Club
10 Hisham Al-Ramah VC Londres
11 Rhys Britton Cardiff JIF
12 Fabian Brennan Velocity WD-40
13 Matthew Walls Velocity WD-40
14 Karl Baillie Witham Wheelers Cycling Club
15 Joel Partington Sportcity Velo
16 Jack Payne Sportcity Velo
17 Luke Morgan CC Luton
18 Matthias Barnet Edinburgh RC
19 Ben Forsyth Edinburgh RC
20 Joey Walker RST Racing Team

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Future Stars 6 Lap Dash Girls
1 Sophie Capewell Lichfield City CC
2 Lucy Harper Welwyn Whls CC
3 Emily Haycox Cardiff Ajax CC
4 Grace Garner RST Racing Team
5 Eleanor Dickinson RST Racing Team
6 Paige Milward Squadra Donne – Shutt VR
7 Sophie Williams Cardiff JIF
8 Jessica Roberts RST Racing Team
9 Elizabeth Bennett Cardiff JIF
10 Henrietta Colborne Beacon Wheelers
11 Jessie Ansell Wolverhampton Whls
12 Rhona Callander Stirling Bike Club
13 Megan Chard Bush Healthcare CRT
14 Lauren Bate-Lowe Eastlands Velo
15 Samantha Verrill Marton Race Team
16 Bethany Taylor Abergavenny Road Club
17 Sallie Birchall Lyme RC
18 Emma Borthwick Edinburgh RC

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Future Stars Points Race Boys
1 Joseph Truman I-Team Cyclists’ Club
2 Jack Escritt Velocity WD-40
3 Matthew Walls Velocity WD-40
4 Joe Holt County Cycles Racing Team
5 Tom England
6 Jack Carlin Team Thomsons Cycles
7 Joel Partington Sportcity Velo
8 Karl Baillie Witham Wheelers Cycling Club
9 Rhys Britton Cardiff JIF
10 Stuart Balfour Ronde Cycling Club
11 Thomas Rotherham Sportcity Velo
12 Ellis Kirkbride Border City Wheelers CC
13 Hisham Al-Ramah VC Londres
14 Fabian Brennan Velocity WD-40
15 Reece Wood Aire Valley Racing Team
16 Jack Payne Sportcity Velo
17 Matthias Barnet Edinburgh RC
18 Luke Morgan CC Luton
19 Joey Walker RST Racing Team
20 Ben Forsyth Edinburgh RC

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Future Stars Points Race Girls
1 Grace Garner RST Racing Team
2 Megan Chard Bush Healthcare CRT
3 Jessica Roberts RST Racing Team
4 Sophie Capewell Lichfield City CC
5 Lucy Shaw Solihull CC
6 Elizabeth Bennett Cardiff JIF
7 Sophie Williams Cardiff JIF
8 Eleanor Dickinson RST Racing Team
9 Monica Dew Sportcity Velo
10 Rhona Callander Stirling Bike Club
11 Henrietta Colborne Beacon Wheelers
12 Bethany Taylor Abergavenny Road Club
13 Lucy Harper Welwyn Whls CC
14 Samantha Verrill Marton Race Team
15 Jessie Ansell Wolverhampton Whls
16 Lauren Bate-Lowe Eastlands Velo
17 Emily Haycox Cardiff Ajax CC
18 Sallie Birchall Lyme RC
19 Emma Borthwick Edinburgh RC
20 Paige Milward Squadra Donne – Shutt VR

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Future Stars Scratch Race Boys
1 Joel Partington Sportcity Velo
2 Joe Holt County Cycles Racing Team
3 Thomas Rotherham Sportcity Velo
4 Jack Escritt Velocity WD-40
5 Reece Wood Aire Valley Racing Team
6 Joseph Truman I-Team Cyclists’ Club
7 Tom England
8 Stuart Balfour Ronde Cycling Club
9 Karl Baillie Witham Wheelers Cycling Club
10 Rhys Britton Cardiff JIF
11 Matthew Walls Velocity WD-40
12 Hisham Al-Ramah VC Londres
13 Matthias Barnet Edinburgh RC
14 Joey Walker RST Racing Team
15 Ben Forsyth Edinburgh RC
16 Ellis Kirkbride Border City Wheelers CC
17 Luke Morgan CC Luton
18 Jack Carlin Team Thomsons Cycles
19 Jack Payne Sportcity Velo
20 Fabian Brennan Velocity WD-40

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Image www.ChrisMaher.co.uk

Future Stars Scratch Race Girls
1 Paige Milward Squadra Donne – Shutt VR
2 Jessie Ansell Wolverhampton Whls
3 Lucy Shaw Solihull CC

Scratch Race Women
1 Ciara Horne Team USN
2 Emily Kay Team USN
3 Charline Joiner Team Thomsons Cycles
4 Emily Nelson Bike Pure – LeMond – Aspire Ve…
5 Nina Kessler
6 Amy Hill Team USN

Viva La Revolution! – British National Madison Championship & Revolution 39

GB’s sprint team came away relatively empty handed, but it wasn’t through lack of effort.

GB’s sprint team came away relatively empty handed, but it wasn’t through lack of effort.

National Madison Championships and Revolution 39 report.

Revolution 39 landed at the National Velodrome at Manchester on Saturday – the National Madison championships made an understated start to proceedings, run during the afternoon before the main event, with a surprisingly sparse crowd privileged to be present to witness some absolutely corking race action, the stadium maybe halfway full for the afternoon programme.

First on track was the qualifying time trial for the Revolution Sprint – Francois Pervis took pole on 10.130, a full tenth quicker than Robert Fostermann, Callum Skinner and Michael D’Almeida, with Philip Hindes a smidge off the pace down in eighth. The opening race of the day was the DHL Future Stars Girls Madison, a knock-out battle straight from the off, but Sky Procycling took the upper hand, putting themselves into a dominant position by winning the first sprint ahead of howies and Raleigh GAC. Sky took the second ahead of howies again this time with Rudy Project taking third, but already an ominous pattern had started to form – Maxgear Racing and FACE made a break but Sky went with them, howies crossing the gap to make a group of four, and with four laps to go FACE made one last big effort to break free but the pack shut them down and it was left to Sky to celebrate their overall victory by nicking the final sprint on the line.

 

British National Madison Championships 2013

Second race of the evening was the National Madison Championship, a 50km slugfest, and it was a battle from the off right the way to the line. Pete Kennaugh and Adam Blythe took the first sprint ahead of Russ Downing and Jonny McEvoy with George Atkins and Jon Mould right on their heels to set the pattern for the major players right from the pistol, but Atkins and Mould threw down the gauntlet with four laps to go to the second sprint – Kennaugh and Blythe went with them, but couldn’t close the gap, with Russell Hampton and Evan Oliphant third, and Downing and McEvoy back in fourth. The lead pair then made a break, putting a lap on the whole field bar Downing and McEvoy who had to work heroically to close the gap, sprint three being comparatively uncontested after the previous 20 laps of effort, Kennaugh/Blythe leading Atkins/Mould and Downing/McEvoy over the line after the catch. Ryan and Paul Whatmough made an effort to muscle in on the action by going early for the fourth sprint, but Kennaugh/Blythe and Downing/McEvoy went with them, Downing/McEvoy edging it on the line. By the halfway sprint five, the leading three teams were fully two laps up on the rest, but James McCallum and Michael Nicholson managed to grab one back with just over a hundred laps to go, Atkins/Mould and Kennaugh/Blythe separated by just 2 points at the halfway mark, 19 to 17, with Downing/McEvoy battling to stay in contention on 13. Kennaugh/Blythe made an opportunistic move as Downing/McEvoy switched but Atkins/Mould charged with just a lap left and managed to hold on ahead of

Adam Blythe and Pete Kennaugh reflect on second place in the National Madison Championship - ©Paul Harris

Adam Blythe and Pete Kennaugh reflect on second place in the National Madison Championship – ©Paul Harris

Kennaugh/Blythe and Downing/McEvoy, which put the two leading pairs on dead level terms. Kennaugh/Blythe launched an attack with 74 laps to go but Downing/McEvoy and Atkins/Mould managed to just tag along, dropping the pack but unable to make another lap up, and they were all back together with 65 laps left to run – four laps later Kennaugh/Blythe launched an assault on sprint seven but Atkins/Mould clung on and countered, edging it on the line to take the lead by two points, Downing/McEvoy then launching a doomed break to try and get on terms. With just three sprints left, Kennaugh/Blythe seemed to catch the others on the hop and took sprint eight with comparative ease to put the two leading teams on level pegging once more, with Downing/McEvoy and Hampton/Oliphant breaking opportunistically with 26 to go to try to get into the mix – the break ultimately failed but they took the penultimate sprint which meant that, with just the final sprint to go, Atkins/Mould led Kennaugh/Blythe by a solitary point. As the laps wound down, Kennaugh/Blythe made a late break that failed, and the pack was all together as they reached the final stages. Atkins/Mould took a very early leadout and it looked as though they might have bitten off a little more than they could chew with Kennaugh charging like a missile down the back stretch but with terrifyingly brave timing, Mould switched perfectly with Atkins on the final turn, driving across the line bare inches ahead of Kennaugh to take the first British National Championships of the 2013 season. It was an absolute belter of a race, and for the whole hour you never knew who the ultimate victors would be.

As the dust settled from the Madison, the sprint stars came out to play in round 1 of the Revolution Sprint. With just the winners to go through, Pervis had too much for Kian Emadi and Craig MacLean to win heat 1, whilst Forstermann just did what he had to in heat 2 to cross the line ahead of John Paul and Louis Oliva. Callum Skinner rode 10.755 to beat Hindes by half a length ahead of Julien Palma in the third, and D’Almeida cruised home in heat four ahead of Matts Crampton and Rotherham.

Race three on the programme was the DHL Future Stars Boys Madison, which put the first crash of the evening into the books in the opening laps. Once everyone was dusted down and the race got back underway, it was IG Sigmasport who took the first sprint ahead of Rudy Project RT, NetApp Endura, Rapha Condor Sharp and WD40 – IG Sigmasport then attempted a break but the pack worked to close them back down, before four teams went toe to toe for the second sprint, IG Sigmasport taking a second win ahead of Rudy Project RT, NetApp Endura and WD40. With four laps to go, Sportscover made a break, but IG Sigmasport were right there on a watching brief, Sportscover taking the final win and IG Sigmasport sealing a comfortable overall victory. Rudy’s brace of seconds was enough for the second step of the podium, whilst the hitherto-pointless Sportscover’s last-gasp win gave them bronze.

If you could squat 700kg, you’d need bottom bracket bracing like this. Robert Forstermann’s steed quivers in fear - ©Paul Harris

If you could squat 700kg, you’d need bottom bracket bracing like this. Robert Forstermann’s steed quivers in fear. ©Paul Harris

Revolution 39

The DHL Future Stars Boys Madison concluded the afternoon session, and there was an hour or so to catch your breath before the action resumed for the evening – and in contrast, if there had been a few empty seats during the National Madison Championships, there was not a single free space in the house when it came to Revolution 39. Proceedings kicked off in suitably flamboyant fashion with the Sprint semi finals – semi one was a French civil war, Pervis going head to head with D’Almeida – the pair put on a trackstand demonstration on the back straight before battle was commenced, former World Champion D’Almeida leading into the bell but Pervis had gas in the tank to ride around the outside and edge it on the line. Semi two saw Callum Skinner, riding for Great Britain A, go up against another former World Champion, the imposing Robert Forstermann – the race saw Skinner lead out from the bell with the man with thunder in his legs right on Skinner’s shoulder, but if Forstermann had thunder, Skinner had lightning – and lightning was the quicker, the 20 year old Scot holding off Forstermann for the whole lap, taking the win and lifting the crowd to their feet. As a way to kick off the main event, it would have been hard to better.

Next up was the Elite Flying Lap, the first Championship event with the results going towards the overall team contest. Evan Oliphant was up first for Raleigh GAC, clocking a 14.765, followed by Jonny McEvoy (NetApp Endura) and Jacob Scott (Sportscover) who both failed to improve. FACE Partnership’s Tristan Marquet took the lead with a 13.912, but Ross Edgar was next up for IG Sigmasport and smashed it with a 13.541. A string of contenders did their best to top Edgar’s time – Adam Blythe (WD40), Adam Duggleby (MaxGear Racing), Franco Marvulli (Howies), Peter Kennaugh (Sky Procycling), Jasper De Buyst (Rouleur) – but it wasn’t until Marcel Kalz took to the track for the penultimate run that there was any movement at the head of the table, Kalz’s 13.798 enough to relegate Marquet to third. However, with Ed Clancy going last, there was always going to be more to the story – the Rapha Condor Sharp JLT man demolished the opposition with a 13.160 to bolster the leading Championship Team’s title assault.

Sim Parrott’s audio interview with Ed Clancy coming shortly

Event 3 in the evening programme was the DHL Future Stars Girls 6 Lap Dash. After a couple of cagey laps to start, things started to heat up, Lauren O’Brien (NetApp-Endura) and Grace Garner (Sky Procyling) jumping the pack to take a slender lead at the halfway point. With two laps to go, the pack had dragged them back, Jessica Roberts (Raleigh-GAC) leading Garner and Lucy Shaw (Rudy Project RT) over the line at the bell, but as they sprinted for the line, it was Garner who had the gas left to take the win ahead of Paige Millward (IG Sigmasport) and Shaw.

Callum Skinner beats Robert Forstemann in the Revolution Sprint... No thighs in this tongue in cheek picture - ©Chris Maher

Callum Skinner beats Robert Forstemann in the Revolution Sprint… No thighs in this tongue in cheek picture – ©Chris Maher

Next up was the Revolution Sprint Losers Handicap Race – a fast-paced 6 lap battle of wits, with a pack of 7 riders there was no place for the normal sprinter’s stalking, it was all go from the off. Julien Palma led Hindes over the line first time round, the pair of them joined by Crampton as they tried to make a bit of a gap, but the pack were never going to let that develop. Kian Emadi tried another break at the halfway mark but again got reeled in, and as they headed into the last lap, Matts Crampton and Rotherham were at the head of the field and travelling fast. Matt Rotherham it was who had kept the most in reserve, taking the win by a length or more ahead of Crampton and Hindes.

 

The capacity crowd was then treated to the sight of top-class athletes beating themselves into the ground in the next championship event, the Elite Devil Takes The Hindmost or Elimination Race and it’s often called. With no place to hide, this brutal event (complete with sound effects) was compelling viewing all the way through, but as it drew into the final stages, it seemed Ed Clancy was on the cusp of being knocked out. For maybe the last six or eight laps, the Yorkshireman was amongst the scrabblers at the back fighting to stay in, but time after time he seemed to have just enough in the tank to squirt in front of some other unfortunate as they crossed the line. The last five standing were Clancy, Adam Blythe, Jon Mould (howies), Franco Marvulli (howies) and George Atkins (WD40), and you never knew who would go next. Atkins was first to tumble, followed by Blythe, then Mould to leave Clancy up against Marvulli for what looked to be a desperate final dash to the line, but the Olympic gold medallist had the gas left to ride away from multiple world champion Marvulli on the run in.

Next up was the DHL Future Stars Boys Points Race – Thomas Rotherham took the win for Maxgear Racing ahead of Sportcover’s Levi Moody and Gabriel Cullaigh of NetApp Endura.

Event seven was the first round of the Keirin. Heat 1 saw the on-form Pervis take the win ahead of Oliva and Crampton, with Emadi ahead of a Philip Hindes showing signs of not being fully on his game. Heat 2 was another collective victory for Team GB against The Man With Thunder In His Legs (©Hugh Porter), Rotherham beating Forstermann, Palma, Skinner, D’Almeida and MacLean, and yet again the crowd were cheering to the rafters – the affable German is a popular character, and it should be taken as a sign of the respect given to him that victories against him were so rousingly received.

The next event was the third championship event of the evening, the first round of the Elite Madison 1km Time Trial. Evan Oliphant and Russell Hampton were up first for Raleigh GAC, clocking a benchmark four laps in 61.677, but Downing and McEvoy eclipsed that for NetApp-Endura with a 60.415. Sportscover were unable to better that, but the FACE Partnership’s Tristan Marquet and Moreno De Pauw topped the leaderboard next with a blistering 58.184. IG Sigmasport and WD40 took a tilt at it, the FACE duo remained unbeaten to head the table before the rest of the teams took to the track in the second part of the event.

The DHL Future Stars Girls Scratch Race saw a second win of the evening for Grace Garner, the Sky Procycling youngster beating Jessica Roberts (Raleigh GAC) and Lucy Shaw (Rudy Project RT) to the line.

Pete Kennaugh’s ride in the points race was world class, the Team Sky rider putting two laps on the whole field. -   ©Paul Harris

Pete Kennaugh’s ride in the points race was world class, the Team Sky rider putting two laps on the whole field. – ©Paul Harris

As we headed into the second half of the evening’s programme, the Elite Championship Points Race awaited –it looked an inviting prospect with the likes of Edgar, Clancy and Marvulli in the mix, but Pete Kennaugh came out determined to spoil the party. Kennaugh took the first sprint ahead of Downing and Tom Murray, then dug out blind and made a break, and inside 20 laps, the Sky man had put a lap on the field to the huge cheers of the crowd. Adam Yates took the next sprint but Kennaugh was right there in second ahead of Marvulli – the third sprint was between Clancy and Jasper De Buyst (Rouleur), and you wondered whether the effort had taken enough out of Kennaugh for it to become a race, but then a streak of black touched with blue left the pack again and with thirteen laps to go, Kennaugh had put a second lap into the rest. He even found the legs to lead into the final lap, but couldn’t quite hold off Adam Yates (Maxgear) for the finish, Yate’s five points just enough to stop Kennaugh from scoring double anyone else. Even so, at 28 points to Yates’ 15 and Downing’s 13, it was an incredible display in front of an appreciative audience.

The Revolution Sprint Final was our next show, Callum Skinner taking on Francois Pervis – Skinner led out a tense start, the Frenchman stalking all the way but as they took the final bell Skinner had put the hammer down and won himself the slightest of gaps. Pervis wasn’t going to gift it to him, however, and began to slowly work his way around the outside but it was deadly close and impossible to split the pair of them as they crossed the line to tumultuous applause. The riders had finished one warm down lap and were halfway around another before the picture came up on the big screen – Pervis had taken it by a whisker.

Event 12 was the DHL Future Stars Boys 6 Lap Dash – the pack was three and four abreast heading into the bell, but Tom Rotherham (Maxgear) took the long way round to lead into the final stretch to win going away from Jake Kelly (Rudy Project RT) and Joe Truman (Rouleur).

LtoR: Madison TT: Robert Bengsch & Marcel Kalz of Rudy Project RT blitz the opposition with a sub 50second ride, just shy of the all time champion pairing of Sir Chris Hoy & Arnaud Tournant who set a time of 54.549 in Revolution 20 - ©Chris Maher (www.chrismaher.co.uk)

LtoR: Madison TT: Robert Bengsch & Marcel Kalz of Rudy Project RT blitz the opposition with a sub 50second ride, just shy of the all time champion pairing of Sir Chris Hoy & Arnaud Tournant who set a time of 54.549 in Revolution 20 – ©Chris Maher

We then had the final half of the Elite Championship Madison 1km TT. Clancy and James Macallum were out for Rapha-Condor, their 58.364 putting them into third. Maxgear were unable to make an impression on the riders who had gone before, but Marvulli and Mould managed to put howies into fourth. Sky were next up with Kennaugh and Martin Irvine, and they just managed to top FACE with a 57.934 to set the crowd off once more – Rouleur’s Murray and De Buyst put themselves into seventh overall, and we were left with just Robert Bengsch and Marcel Kalz to go for Rudy Project RT before another Sky win could be celebrated. However, no-one had told Bengsch and Kalz…. The two Germans absolutely tore up the track to clock an astonishing 54.922 to put themselves three seconds ahead of the rest. I’ll say that again – three seconds. The crowd went absolutely ballistic, Hugh Porter (exemplary as ever driving the microphone) almost had a fit, and if there was an award for ride of the night, this might just have been it.

Sim Parrott’s interview with Martin Irvine coming shortly

Next up was the DHL Future Stars Girls Points Race. Grace Garner took the first sprint by a mile, but the next was a tussle between Sophie and Emily Capewell (both of WD40), Sophie coming out on top. The third was a photo with Emily Haycox (howies), Garner and Lucy Shaw (Rudy Project RT) in that order, before Shaw edged the sprint to the line ahead of Henrietta Colbourne (Sportscover) to take victory by a point from Garner, with Haycox in third.

 

We then had the Team Sprint event – with four teams entered, they would compete in pairs with the fastest times taking the win. An All Stars team of Forstermann, Crampton and Dave Daniel lined up in the first heat against Great Britain B, Oliva, Rotherham and Paul, and it was a comfortable win for the visitors in 46.067. Heat two saw Pervis, D’Almeida and Palma as a strong French squad take on Great Britain A in the form of Hindes, Skinner and Emadi – GB A looked strong and it was in the balance, the crowd were hopeful of a home win, but the French rode an incredible final lap to take the heat and the overall in 45.012 in front of an appreciative crowd and a whisker ahead of GB A on 45.037 for second overall.

Revolution 39 | Season 10 DHL Future Stars Scratch Race winner Team Sky's Joel Partington - ©Chris Maher (www.chrismaher.co.uk)

DHL Future Stars Scratch Race winner Team Sky’s Joel Partington – ©Chris Maher (www.chrismaher.co.uk)

The Scratch Race was the final event of the evening for the DHL Future Stars Boys, and like all of the Future Stars races it went to the wire, Joel Partington (Sky Procycling) edging Thomas Rotherham and Joe Evans (Rudy Project RT) to the line.

Next up was the day’s last Championship event, the Elite 10km Scratch Race – newly-crowned British Madison champion Jon Mould was out of the blocks early with Madison runner-up Adam Blythe trying to make a break, but after a long night’s racing they struggled to make it stick and when Jacob Scott tried to bridge the gap, he took the pack with him and the break closed down – Scott tried to push on, but was unable to make more than ten or fifteen lengths before being forced to concede to the inevitable. Early breaks contained, the pace dropped for a few laps before Downing and McEvoy injected some pace, making themselves some space with about five and a half K to go, Oliphant jumped away from the pack with 25 laps to run and managed to bridge the gap, the trio then managing to make a lap on the bunch. As Oliphant was bridging to the leading duo, Marquet and Duggleby also put in a shift to drop the bunch – it was hard going and Duggleby was himself dropped before they could bridge, but Marquet made it eventually to put four riders a lap ahead. Kennaugh tried to make a last-ditch attempt to put himself on the lead lap with 13 laps to go but couldn’t make it stick, but Kalz and Yates did manage to make it across at the death. The pack was all together for the last four laps and it was Marquet who took the honours after a fine ride.

NettApp Endura's Russell Downing leads the bunch midway in the Championship Scratch Race. - ©Chris Maher (www.chrismaher.co.uk)

NettApp Endura’s Russell Downing leads the bunch midway in the Championship Scratch Race. – ©Chris Maher (www.chrismaher.co.uk)

All that remained was for the last two Keirin events. The ironically-titled “minor” final was fought out between Hindes, D’Almeida, Skinner and Emadi. Emadi led Skinner and D’Almeida – the veteran of the field at 25! – into the final bell as Hindes trailed but Skinner had the power left to sweep round and take the win ahead of Emadi, the young Brits taking a quality scalp in the Frenchman. With the three GB A riders in the B final, it was left to the B riders to defend home honour in the final against France and the thundering German thighs of Forstermann – Forstermann it was who led early doors with Crampton, flying under the false flag of the All Stars instead of Union colours, holding a watching brief and even laying back with three laps to run in order to give himself running room, Pervis and Palma of France hanging back behind Rotherham and Oliva, but as they came to the bell, Pervis launched a ferocious attack past the charging Rotherham as Forstermann rallied around the outside, and it was the Frenchman who had his wheel in front, denying Fostermann and Rotherham at the line. As finales go, you couldn’t have written it to be much more of a spectacle.

Raleigh GAC's Jessica Roberts & Sportcovers Levi Moody take over the DHL Future Star Champions Jersey at Revolution 39 - ©Chris Maher

Raleigh GAC’s Jessica Roberts & Sportcovers Levi Moody take over the DHL Future Star Champions Jersey at Revolution 39 – ©Chris Maher

With the conclusion of the racing for the evening, all there was left was to tot up the points. Sky Procycling took the championship win on the evening, three points ahead of WD40 who were just another two ahead of howies, which leaves Rapha Condor JLT still at the head of the series table, a healthy 25 points clear of Rudy Project RT who are themselves 20 points ahead of Rouleur in third. In the DHL Future Stars Girls table, Jessica Roberts holds a 15 point advantage over Emily Haycox, and 48 points over third placed Emily Nelson, whilst in the Boys Levi Moody is fully 22 points clear of Tristan Robbins, with Thomas Rotherham 39 points off the head of the table in third. In the Elite class, Ed Clancy holds sway on 88 points after round 3, John Dibben some 28 points in arrears in second and Marcel Kalz in third on 45.

The series leaves Manchester now to head north for the fourth and final round at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on the 2nd of February. If the response of the crowd is anything to go by, sold out in Manchester for the third time this series, if you’re a fan of cycling and you can make your way there, you’d be a fool not to go…

Don’t forget to enter our howies Revolution Series T-Shirt Competition by clicking here.

You can catch the highlights show on ITV4 at 20:00hrs on Wednesday 09/01/2013 and afterwards on ITV Player in the UK, for those outside the UK you can watch an edited highlights show on the Revolution Series website and YouTube channel.

You can download the full event results in PDF format by clicking here.

Revolution Series 10, Round 4 is on 2nd February at The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow.
To find out more about the series and to grab one of the few remaining tickets left for the Finale of the season at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow visit: www.cyclingrevolution.com

 

British Cycling National Madison Championship 2013 50km (200 Laps) – Race time: 59:16.510

1 George Atkins (USN) / Jon Mould (UK Youth) 36pts
2 Adam Blythe (BMC) / Peter Kennaugh (Sky Pro Cycling) 33pts
3 Russ Downing (NetApp-Endura) / Jonny McEvoy (NetApp-Endura) 25pts
4 James McCallum (Rapha Condor JLT) / Michael Nicolson (unattached) 6pts -1Lap
5 Russell Hampton (Raleigh) / Evan Oliphant (Raleigh) 7pts -2Laps
6 Adam Lewis (Wolverhampton Wheelers) / William Rudgard (Wolverhampton Wheelers) 0pts -3Laps
7 Peter Williams (IG Sigmasport) / Tom Murray (IG Sigmasport) 1pt -4Laps
8 Stephen Bradbury (Tomacc) / Jack Kirk (VC Hyerois) 0pts -6Laps
9 Ryan Whatmough (Shepherds Cycles) / Paul Whatmough (Shepherds Cycles) 0pts -10Laps
10 Jack Cracknell (V-Sprint Racing) / James Locker (V-Sprint Racing) DNF

Future Stars Madison Girls 15000m – Race Time: 20:09.486

1 Team Sky 12pts
2 howies 8pts
3 Maxgear Racing 4pts
4 FACE Partnership 0pts
5 Rouleur 1pts
6 Sportscover 0pts
7 Rudy Project RT 3pts -1Lap
8 Raleigh-GAC 2pts -1Lap
9 IG Sigmasport 0pts -1Lap
10 Rahpa Condor Sharp JLT 0pts -1Lap
11 NetApp-Endura 0pts -1Lap
12 WD40 0pts -2Laps

Future Stars Madison Girls 15000m – Race Time: 14:52.973

1 IG Sigmasport 13pts
2 Rudy Project RT 6pts
3 Sportscover 5pts
4 NetApp-Endura 5pts
5 howies 2pts
6 WD40 1pts
7 Rapha Condor Sharp 1pts
8 Team Sky 2pts 0pts -1Lap
9 Raleigh-GAC 0pts -1Lap
10 FACE Partnership 0pts -2Laps
11 Rouleur 0pts -2Laps
12 Maxgear Racing 0pts -4Laps

Revolution Series

Elite Championship Standings after Round 3

1 Rapha Condor Sharp JLT 160
2 Rudy Project RT 135
3 Rouleur 125
4 Sky Procycling 122
5 howies 110
6 Maxgear 103
7 WD40 100
8 FACE 84
9 NetApp-Endura 72
10 IG-Sigma Sport 70
11 Sportscover 57
12 Raleigh-GAC 32

1 Ed CLANCY Rapha Condor Sharp 88
2 John DIBBEN Rouleur 50
3 Marcel KALZ Rudy Project RT 45
4 Simon YATES Maxgear Racing 44
5 Russell DOWNING NetApp Endura 40
6 Andy TENNANT Rapha Condor Sharp 40

DHL Future Stars Championship Standings after Round 3

1 howies 586
2 Sky Procycling 559
3 IG-Sigma Sport 536
4 Rudy Project RT 535
5 Raleigh-GAC 512
6 Sportscover 485
7 FACE Partnership 478
8 Rapha Condor Sharp 462
9 Maxgear Racing 435
10 WD40 434
11 NetApp Endura 409
12 Rouleur 402

Future Stars Girls After Round 3
1 Jessica ROBERTS Raleigh GAC 197
2 Emily HAYCOX Howies 182
3 Emily NELSON IG Sigmasport 149
4 Grace GARNER Sky Procycling 148
5 Lauren O’Brien NetApp Endura 126
6 Victoria KINRADE Rouleur 123

Future Stars Boys After Round 3
1 Levi MOODY Sportscover 206
2 Tristan ROBBINS Howies 184
3 Thomas ROTHERHAM Maxgear Racing 167
4 Joe EVANS Rudy Project RT 162
5 Jake KELLY Rudy Project RT 140
6 Maximilian STEADMAN IG Sigmasport 139

 

Race Results Revolution 39

Elite Mens Flying Lap
1 CLANCY Ed Rapha Condor Sharp 13.160
2 EDGAR Ross IG Sigmasport 13.541
3 KALZ Marcel Rudy Project RT 13.798
4 MARGUET Tristan FACE Partnership 13.912
5 DE BUYST Jasper Rouleur 14.090
6 BLYTHE Adam WD40 14.397

Elite Mens 1km Madison Time Trial
1 RUDY PROJECT RT 54.922
2 TEAM SKY 57.934
3 FACE PARTNERSHIP 58.184
4 WD40 58.264
5 RAPHA-CONDOR-SHARP Rapha Condor Sharp 58.364
6 HOWIES 58.745

Elite Mens Points Race
1 KENNAUGH Peter Sky Procycling
2 YATES Adam Maxgear Racing
3 DOWNING Russell NetApp Endura
4 MARVULLI Franco howies
5 OLIPHANT Evan Raleigh-GAC
6 BLYTHE Adam WD40

Elite Mens Devil Elimination Race
1 CLANCY Ed Rapha Condor Sharp JLT
2 MARVULLI Franco howies
3 MOULD Jon howies
4 BLYTHE Adam WD40
5 ATKINS George WD40
6 YATES Adam Maxgear Racing

Elite Mens Scratch Race
1 MARGUET Tristan FACE Partnership
2 IRVINE Martin Team Sky
3 OLIPHANT Evan Raleigh-GAC
4 MCEVOY Jonny NetApp Endura
5 KALZ Marcel Rudy Project RT
6 YATES Adam Maxgear Racing

 

DHL Future Stars Girls

Points Race
1 SHAW Lucy Rudy Project RT
2 GARNER Grace Sky Procycling
3 HAYCOX Emily howies
4 CAPEWELL Sophie WD40
5 COLBOURNE Henrietta Sportscover
6 ROBERTS Jessica Raleigh GAC

6 Lap Dash
1 GARNER Grace Sky Procycling
2 MILLWARD Paige IG Sigmasport
3 SHAW Lucy Rudy Project RT
4 HAYCOX Emily howies
5 DENTUS Abbie FACE Partnership
6 KINRADE Victoria Rouleur

Scratch Race
1 GARNER Grace Sky Procycling
2 ROBERTS Jessica Raleigh GAC
3 SHAW Lucy Rudy Project RT
4 BROUGHTON Charlotte Sky Procycling
5 HAYCOX Emily howies
6 DENTUS Abbie FACE Partnership

 

DHL Future Stars Boys

Scratch Race
1 PARTINGTON Joel Sky Procycling
2 ROTHERHAM Tom Maxgear Racing
3 EVANS Joe Rudy Project RT
4 BAILLIE Karl Sky Procycling
5 MOODY Levi Sportscover
6 CULLAIGH Gabriel NetApp Endura

6 Lap Dash
1 ROTHERHAM Tom Maxgear Racing
2 KELLY Jake Rudy Project RT
3 TRUMAN Joe Rouleur
4 MOODY Levi Sportscover
5 HOLT Joe IG Sigmasport
6 STEADMAN Maximilian IG Sigmasport

Points Race
1 ROTHERHAM Tom Maxgear Racing
2 MOODY Levi Sportscover
3 CULLAIGH Gabriel NetApp Endura
4 KELLY Jake Rudy Project RT
5 EVANS Joe Rudy Project RT
6 ROBBINS Tristan Howies

 

Revolution Sprint Events

Sprint 200m – Time: 10:662
1 PERVIS Francois France
2 SKINNER Callum Great Britain A

Keirin 200m Time: 10:536
1 PERVIS Francois France
2 FORSTERMANN Robert All Stars
3 ROTHERHAM Matt Great Britain B
4 OLIVIA Louis Great Britain B
5 CRAMPTON Matt All Stars
6 PALMA Julien France

Team Sprint Heats
Heat 1
1 All Stars (Forstermann, Crampton & Daniel) 46.067
2 Great Britain B (Oliva, Rotherham & Paul) 46.415

Heat 2
1 France (Pervis, D’Almeida & Palma) 45.012
2 Great Britain A (Hindes, Skinner & Emadi) 45.037

howies return to the Revolution


howies track team will be returning to the to race in series 10 of Revolution which starts this weekend. Confirmed howies riders for Saturday’s event include Sam Harrison and Owain Doull.
The Welsh brand will be supporting 6 Welsh juniors as well as national and professional riders in four track meets over the winter.

Alex from howies said “We’re proud to be part of a nation responsible for producing current Olympic and World cycling champions and Revolution will be a great place for our Welsh team to race against giants in cycling. This years team kit has also been designed with elements of the Welsh flag for riders to fly in…. Pine. Rubber. Lycra and speed. We can’t wait”.

Other teams racing this season are: Team Sky, Rapha Condor Sharp, IG-Sigma Sport, Raleigh-GAC, NetApp-Endura, Rudy Project RT, Maxgear, Team Sportscover, Team WD40, Rouleur and FACE. These teams will bring a number of stars to the track; Sky and Rapha have named Alex Dowsett and Olympian Ed Clancy. The lineup also includes three of our own writers; Tom Murray (IG-Sigma Sport), paralympian Jody Cundy (riding for FACE) & six day rider Christian Grasmann (Rudy Project RT).

Revolution 36 Series Finale Report – Return of the Sprinters

 

[flagallery gid=11 name=”Gallery”]

Click SL (slideshow) or FS (fullscreen)

Gallery Images by Ben Dando & Anna Magrath

The return of the sprinters – series finale.

The last Revolution of the season got get underway on Saturday night. It saw the return of the GB big name Sprinters, representing Sky; Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Matt Crampton and the newly formed British team of V-Sprint with their high quality trio of signings; Pete Mitchell, Dave Daniell and Philip Hindes. These riders and the rest of the British sprinting squad would be pitched in battle against the French team represented by Michael D’Almeida, Mickael Bourgain and Quentin Lafargue. It was going to be an exciting competition for a number of reasons; Sir Chris Hoy hadn’t been seen on the track in the UK for a long while, the Brits have just come out of a heavy block of gym based training and finally because Jason Kenny has recently been bumped up to World Sprint Champion after Gregory Bauge lost his titles due to a UCI ruling. That decision lost the rest of the French Sprint Team (including Michael D’Almeida) their World Champion Team Sprint title which must have been hard to take.
The evening wouldn’t just be about the big guys though, there were some quality endurance cyclists present including Team Sky’s Alex Dowsett and Classic rider Ian Stannard, the crowd pleasing Dean Downing, Claudio Imhof, Cycling Shorts contributors Christian Grasmann & Tom Murray and the Yates & Mørkøv brothers.
The Revolution had sold out a long while ago. Some of the crowd had been present earlier in the day for the preliminary rounds of the sprints which took place around the National Madison Championship event (click here to read the Madison Report in another window).

There wasn’t much to play for in the Girl’s DHL Future Stars overall Championship, Emily Kay had wrapped up her title in the last round with her current total of 270 points. Jake Ragen (218pts) looked like he was going to win the boys competition unless some major incident occurred. The competition was still on for the 2nd & 3rd placings and with only one or two points in it that was were the fireworks would likely happen. Ellie Coster (192pts), Melissa Lowther (181pts) and Rebecca Hunt (173pts) were all in the chase and the Team howies girls (Coster & Hunt) had already taken the DHL Madison Championship earlier in the day from Kay and Emily Nelson. So they all looked hungry for a win; Kay certainly wasn’t sitting on her laurels.
Jake Ragen was leading the boys but he wasn’t 100% safe. 2nd and 3rd positions would be hotly contested as Ollie Wood and Jake Scott were tied on 184 point and Chris Lawless was in 4th with 167 which meant the top 4 positions were being held by two teams (Maxgear and CHEP UK).

The crowd were hungry for some sprinting action and as the teams rolled out for their introductions you could feel the excitement. When Jason Kenny was introduced to the crowd it wasn’t done with a great fanfare but his new title was recognised and applauded by the home crowd and the awkward moment was over for the French team who received their own warm welcome. This was going to be the last time you’d be able to see the British team ride at Manchester before the Olympics, the World Cup in London would be the next and final UK event (which is being held as an Olympic Test Event) before the Olympics.

Revolution 36 - Michael D'Almeida & Sir Chris Hoy - ©Copyright Ben Dando / Cycling Shorts.

 

Sprinting Events

So on with the sprinting… The rest of the the British riders competing with the Team Sky and the V-Sprint guys were Team GB’s Kian Emadi, John Paul and Louis Oliva. earlier in the day the preliminary rounds had taken place and Chris Hoy had come out all guns blazing to take the 200m Time Trial Sprint Qualification in an excellent 10.099 with Matt Crampton in second with 10.125, Pete Mitchell 3rd in 10.230 (a personal best for him which he was clearly elated with) and Jason Kenny only managing 4th with 10.238. It was quite cool at the velodrome in the track centre so that may have had an effect on the afternoon rounds. All three riders looked very comfortable. In the last of the afternoons sprint events; The Revolution Sprint – Round 1, Hoy and Kenny both won their heats in 10.677, with Matt Crampton and Pete Mitchell winning theirs in 10.658 and 10.912 respectively. In the semi finals Hoy was caught napping by Jason Kenny and lost out, he shook his head as he came onto the banking after the finish line. Matt Crampton dispatched Pete Mitchell in their heat. The final

Kian Emadi & Pete Mitchell - ©Copyright Paul Sloper

was easily taken 2-0 by Jason Kenny, he had got into his stride and Matt Crampton was hauled in by Kenny on both occasions. Kenny looked to be on very good form opening up a good gap in the last corner between himself and Matt.

In the Keirin Chris Hoy appeared very focused, he wasn’t going to make any mistakes in a discipline he rules, he sat at the back of the pack all the way around with everyone twitchily watching him and as the race wound up. Hoy powered into the last turn at an amazing pace, I’d love to know what speed he was doing at that point and he came over the top to take the race in style and the crowd erupted.

In the Team Sprint the Teams Sky boys were up against the French team who I have to admit I have no idea where they are in their training schedule, but I suggest going on their past amazing form they aren’t at their best… well how can I politely put it… the British Team of Kenny, Crampton and Hoy (in that order) obliterated the French Team. It nearly all ended in disaster for the British team though when Matt Crampton wobbled off the track momentarily, it turned out that his saddle rail had broken and according to Chris Hoy it nearly ended the race for them as he considered swinging up the track when it looked like Matt might lose control. They came in 3 seconds faster than their rivals with a time of 44.320, the French rolling round in 46.24. I’m sure the French team have a lot more to give and I think we will see a full strength French team at the World Cup in London. V-Sprint put in an excellent performance against the younger Team GB winning in a time of 45.440. This new track sprint team run by James Varnish the father of British Cycling star Jess Varnish looks like it’s going to be a force to be reckoned with, the team have more than proved themselves against the national teams in their first track competition. I will be writing more about the team in the coming weeks.

Before the Elite racing got underway there was a special IG Markets Handicap Race, it featured Alex Dowsett trying to lap a field of competition winners who had won a track track session that took place earlier in the afternoon between the Madison Championships and the Revolution. I’m pretty sure the poor guys hadn’t been told that they would be practicing and attempting to do their first timed lap in the afternoon in front of the whole of the assembled press and pro cyclists that were getting ready for the evening event. They put in a great effort with Sky riders joining them on the track as they practiced. In the evening Handicap Race they were joined by Sean Conway who has been at every Revolution this series raising support for his Cycling the Earth challenge. Needless to say Alex Dowsett won, but it was great fun and what a great memory for those cyclists to take away!

 

Elite Endurance Events

Tom Murray - Derny Race - ©Copyright Paul Sloper

The Elite racing got underway with the Team Elimination and Maxgear seemed to be a well drilled team they were fully aware of each others position on the track and won with ease. Sky had Ian Stannard putting a punishing effort in on the front but it proved too much for his own team mates and he dispatched them out the back ending Sky’s race. In the end it came down to a battle between Maxgear and Rapha; Harry Tanfield was obviously feeling strong he shot of the pack with all the effort

Alex Dowsett Revolution 36 - ©Copyright Ben Dando/Cycling Shorts.

from his team mates (simon & Adam Yates) showing on their faces, he took the win for Maxgear in style.
In the 1km Madison Time Trial the time to beat was set by the first team out; Cunga’s Owain Doull and George Atkin had a time of 59.463 which looked like it wasn’t going to be beaten with just two teams left to take to the track, the pairing of Claudio Imhof and newly crowned National Madison Champion Mark Christian of UK Youth won in style with a brilliant time of 59.036.
The Points Race was won by Alex Dowsett who had had a tough day with the 200 lap Madison Championship (were he took 2nd), he won with 28 points, 2 points ahead of howies Michael Morkov and his team mate Jon Mould who came in 3rd.
Next up was a real highlight of the evening and something I’ve never seen at Manchester a 40 lap Derny Race. In the afternoon break we had witnessed the dernys take to the track for a sort of warm up while we choked on the two stroke fumes with no clue of what was to come. Eight derny bikes circled the track picking up their individual cyclists and cranking up the speed at the cyclists request; the race was great noisy smelly fun, though I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of the cyclists with my lungs burning from the effort and fumes. Dean Downing and his Derny came off the front of the peloton to whip up the crowd with 20 laps to go but he was soon hunted down. Simon Yates seemed to be full of fight even after his long tough day of racing and he beat Michael Morkov to the line.
Michael Morkov had been right up in the standings all night and finally he got his revenge in the Scratch Race, he probably had slightly fresher legs that the British riders who took part in the Madison Championships, but Mark Christian and Simon Yates got away with two laps left in the 10km race. They started to run out of steam only to be overtaken by Morkov. An excellent finish to the elite racing.

 

DHL Future Stars Girls

With the championship already decided the girls were hungry for any win they could take from Emily Kay. Ellie Coster was in fighting form after her earlier result in the Madison, she nearly got boxed in on the final lap of the 6 Lap Dash but Ellie made a space for herself and pushed through to take the win. Team mate Emily Haycox came in second mopping up championship points that otherwise would have gone to Lowther and Kay who came in 3rd and 4th.

Emily Kay - DHL Future Girls - ©Copyright Paul Sloper

Ellie’s howies team mate and cohort in the Madison Becca Hunt won the Points Race with 12pts improving her overall standing but it wasn’t quite enough to overhaul Melissa Lowther (who came in 2nd with 5pts) and get her foot on the Championship podium for 3rd. There’s not doubt the howies team worked hard to protect their positions. In the final race of the evening for the girls Emily Kay fought back and beat Rebecca Hunt to the line. I think howies have to be my girls team of the night, they used their talents and strengths well.

 

Future Stars Boys

The boys still had a lot to fight for. Ragen had to ride intelligently and take points to defend his possible series win, while Jake Scott and Oliver Wood had podium places to defend and try to improve on. As the racing got underway with the Scratch Race, it was clear it was going to be a tough fight for the top podium step. With 14 laps to go Chris Lawless tried to get away but no one was feeling charitable so he was hauled back in. Charlie Tanfield and James Shaw then had a go but to no avail. The final attack came from Luc Hall but with two laps to go he didn’t get far and was swept up and beaten to the line by Jacob Scott of CHEP UK which moved him into the 2nd in the Championship standings.
In the 6 Lap Dash Ollie Wood won with Adam Lewis and Jake Ragen in 2nd and 3rd. Jake Scott only managed 13th which took him back down to 3rd overall in the series.
The final of the Boys events was the Points Race and Jake Ragen wasn’t taking any chances, he and his team mate Chris Lawless mopped up as many points as they could coming in 1st and & 2nd respectively with 11 and 8 points, but the boys from CHEP UK had a dilemma because both wanted to improve their podium position and they also needed to work together against the Maxgear pair, in the end they came in 3rd and 4th with Jake Scott taking 3rd position. I think Maxgear were my boys team of the night but it wasn’t enough for them to take the championship from CHEP UK who had been consistent all season.

 

The End of The Series

At the end of the Revolution series we saw Emily Kay winning the Girls DHL Future Stars Championship in style for the 3rd and what will be her final year (as she turns 17 in the summer). Emily won all but three events in the whole series (if I’ve counted correctly). We know she will move on to bigger and better things so remember the name! Congratulations

DHL Future Stars Boys - ©Copyright Paul Sloper

Emily! Ellie Coster came in 2nd place, her hard work and consistant riding made all the difference. The boys competition was won by Jake Ragen a full 38 points ahead of Ollie Wood, but it was a hard fought contest to the end with a number of thrills and spills along the way that scuppered a few other hopefuls. Congratulations to you too Jake!

I spoke to Ellie after the event about how the Rev’s have gone for her and what’s next, “Obviously I’m over the moon with mine and Becca’s [Hunt] Madison win this afternoon, and to win the 6 Lap dash was also great. I have had a busy season and am now well into my winter training programme. There is always room for improvement. I have just got to remember that it is the end/beginning of my season so I wont be going my best right now, my racing is going quite well for the time of the year. My favourite event is sprinting but in the Rev’s it would be the scratch race. My aim for next season would initially be to continue to improve on my sprinting times. I am working towards holding onto my current title of winner of the u16 Girls Omnium Series and ultimately to gain titles in the National Championships in August. I intend to return next year and I aim to win the Revolution Championship title.”

The team competition in the DHL Future Stars competition was won by Emily Kay’s team CHEP UK which also contained the 2nd and 3rd placing riders in the boy’s competition (Ollie Wood & Jake Scott). howies were 2nd thanks to high placed Ellie Coster, Becca Hunt, Matt Cross and Owen James.

The Elite team competition was won by Maxgear Racing who had been the best team on tactics and the Yates brothers played a big part in that. CHEP UK struggled in the Elite team competition, initially they looked like the favourites but they didn’t have any elite riders in the 3rd Revolution of the series due to illness. Their title hopes ended then, but they didn’t give up. Team Sky didn’t quite shine in the competition, they didn’t have consistent results except when Alex Dowsett was on the track. Team UK Youth had a good good start to their first season but they did fade in the last two Revolutions.

The Elite rider of the season was Simon Yates closely followed by his brother Adam. Upon receiving their bottle of bubbly on the podium Simon decided to give the photographers a bit of a soaking which I’ve never seen at and indoor track before and it was quickly followed by the photographers moving faster than I’ve ever witnessed… even when there’s a promise of a juicy shot of Vicky Pendleton they’ve not moved that fast! Simon enjoyed the moment grinning from ear to ear.

At the end of the evening when all the fuss had calmed down I grabbed a word with Chris Hoy, I will post his thoughts online shortly.

Cycling Shorts. would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers of the Revolution; Bethan Turner, Face Partnership, National Cycling Centre, Adam Tranter, British Cycling, Stewards and not forgetting the cyclists and crowd for making such a memorable season, in my opinion the best so far! Roll on series 10!

Watch the highlights of the Revolution Series on ITV4 7pm on 30/01/2012

You can also watch online via ITV Player by clicking here.

Race Winners | Full Results
Revolution Sprint – Jason Kenny
Future Stars Boys Madison – James Shaw/Fabio Close
Future Stars Girls Madison – Rebecca Hunt/Ellie Coster
Future Stars Girls 6 Lap Dasg – Ellie Coster
Revolution Sprint Losers 6 Lap Dash – Mikael Bourgain
Team Elimination – Maxgear Racing
Future Stars Boys Scratch Race – Jacob Scott
Cycling Weekly Keirin 1 – Chris Hoy
Cycling Weekly Keirin 2 – David Daniell
Future Stars Girls Points – Rebecca Hunt
Points Race – Alex Dowsett
Future Stars Boys 6 Lap Dash – Oliver Wood
1km Madison Time Trial – Team UK Youth (Christian/Imhof)
Future Stars Girls Scratch Race – Emily Kay
Derny Scratch Race – Simon Yates
Future Stars Boys Points Race – Jake Ragen
Scratch Race – Michael Morkov
Team Sprint 1 – V Sprint
Team Sprint 2 – Team Sky

Revolution Championships Series Results
1. Maxgear Racing – 685 pts
2. Sky Procycling – 654 pts
3. Howies – 636 pts
4. Chep UK – 624 pts
5. Team UK Youth 619 pts
6. Rapha Condor Sharp 559 pts
7. Rouleur 549 pts
8 Cunga Bikes 433 pts

Future Stars Series Results
1. Chep UK 1238 pts
2. Howies 1156 pts
3. Maxgear Racing 1047 pts
4. Cunga Bikes 991 pts
5. Rapha Condor Sharp 966 pts
6. Rouleur 865 pts
7. Sky Procycling 842 pts
8. Team UK Youth 730 pts

Future Stars Boys Series Results
1 Jake RAGEN Maxgear Racing 291 pts
2 Oliver WOOD Chep UK 258 pts
3 Jacob SCOTT Chep UK 250 pts
4 Chris LAWLESS Maxgear Racing 220 pts
5 Adam LEWIS Cunga Bikes 215 pts
6 Jack HOYLE Rapha Condor Sharp 207 pts
7 Matt CROSS Howies 186 pts
8 Jake KELLY Rouleur 172 pts
9 Owen JAMES Howies 171 pts
10 Tristan ROBBINS Team UK Youth 160 pts

Future Stars Girls Series Results
1 Emily KAY Cunga Bikes 342 pts
2 Ellie COSTER Howies 249 pts
3 Melissa LOWTHER Chep UK 245 pts
4 Rebecca HUNT Howies 243 pts
5 Megan BOYD Maxgear Racing 198 pts
6 Emily NELSON Cunga Bikes 189 pts
7 Megan BARKER Rouleur 172 pts
8 Lauren O’BRIEN Chep UK 168 pts
9 Charlotte BROUGHTON Sky Procycling 157 pts
10 Abby-May PARKINSON Chep UK 144 pts
 
For a full list of results Click Here.
 
 
 
 

Revolution 35 Report

 

[flagallery gid=9 name=”Gallery”]

Click SL (slideshow) or FS (fullscreen)

Cycling Shorts turns Paparazzi at the Revolution.
Words by Anna Magrath, Images by John Allen

The crowds started spilling in to the velodrome, and with just 15 minutes to go the velodrome was packed. A really excellent turnout for the first Revolution of the new year and, considering there was another major cycling event taking place on the same weekend [British Cyclo-Cross Championships], it was great to see a sell out crowd.
Tonight we’d see the Revolution debut of Luke Rowe in his new Team Sky colours and a tantalising tandem omnium between GB and the Netherlands, I think I recall a distant memory of tandems competing within a Revolution, but if it happened it was a long time ago…. it was going to be great to see them in action.
There was a slight hitch in the proceedings for Cunga as they were missing all three of their élite riders, so the pressure was on their Future Stars riders. It just so happens they have the current DHL Girls leader Emily Kay and strong riders like Adam Lewis and Emily Nelson in their ranks, but it was a tough evening for the team in their half empty pen.
Heading into the 35th Revolution the overall standings were led by Team UK Youth with 370 points followed by Maxgear racing on 341.
The yellow jerseys in the DHL Future Stars Championships were still being held by Emily Kay and Jake Ragan, Emily will win the championship now by a huge margin, she’s won every race of the season, lets see what treats tonight holds in store…
The first race of the evening was the Elite 10km Scratch Race, spread out over 40 laps of the track the riders got off to a fast but evenly paced start Luke Rowe went off the front of the pack to test everyone and was joined by a Team UK Youth rider for a while, but both decided not to persist and rejoined the peloton. With 1km to go Luke put in another attack, this time with Jon Mould of Howies, this looked more promising, but in the end Jon couldn’t match the pace so Luke was left on his own.He took victory in 11:46.581 soaking up championship points, with Marcel Kalz of CHEP rolling in in second place and Russ Downing taking 3rd for Howies.

Luc Hall And Chris Lowsley Williams of Maxgear Racing - ©Copyright John Allen/Cycling Shorts.

In the DHL boys competition there was a lot to play for. Ollie Wood was snapping at the heels of Jake Ragan in the overall standings, Ollie with 122 points and Jake on 143. Ollie showed throughout the evening that he had no intention of letting Jake out of his sight! In the DHL 5km boys Scratch race Jake led out towards the finish line but Ollie pushed on. Ollie came over the line first in 6:05.144 with Jake having to settle for 2nd and Owen James 3rd. It was a fast paced race from the start, everyone was eager to make an impression early on.
In the boys elimination scratch race Oliver Wood was the last to be eliminated witch was costly. It left Ragan and Chris Lawless to fight it out for 1st and 2nd respectively. Maybe Ollie pushed too hard in the earlier race, but elimination races are tough.

Adam Lewis got the boys points race off to a good start taking 5 points in the first sprint, Jake Ragan looked attentive to all the moves but got caught out and Chris Lawless, Owen James and Gabriel Cullaigh got away and tried to take a lap, in the end that was the order they came in with Jacob Scott taking 4th thanks to his early scoring.

All in all a very exciting night for the boys. The points have been shared around a bit and the fight will be on at the last Revolution for the championship podium. Jacob Scott and Ollie Wood are tied on 184 and Jake Ragan has 218, Chris Lawless is on 167.

Tandem Sprint Omnium
The tandem Sprint omnium got underway with the sprint flying lap. Four teams took part, two GB and two Netherlands.
Representing GB were Barney Storey & Neil Fachie and the punchy Craig MacLean with Anthony Kappes. The Dutch teams consisted of Patrick Bos & Rinne Oost and Yorick Bos & Bonnhof. The dutch riders finished in 13.535 (P Bos/Oost) and 13.898 (Y Bos/Bonnhof), but with the GB pairing of Storey & Fachie knocking nearly half a second of that time it was obvious that Maclean and Kappes who were the final pair on the track were going to grit their teeth and try to power round, and they didn’t disappoint. They came in over a second faster than the slowest pairing at 12.830 averaging 70kmph. A great start to the proceedings.

Patrick Bos & Rinne Oost -Tandem Sprint - Revolution 35 - ©Copyright John Allen/Cycling Shorts.

Match 1 – Both the British teams won their races against the Dutch Rabobank riders, Storey and Fachie being the fastest in 10.644.

Match 2 – In the second of the omnium matches we saw the GB teams up against each other – Maclean and Kappes took the win over Storey and Fachie. In the Dutch battle Patrick Bos and Oost beat their fellow countrymen.

Match 3 – Maclean & Kappes beat Patrick Bos & Oost, while Yorick Bos & Bonnhof jump Storey & Fachie but the GB team take the long way round and it pays off. The overall winners of the Tandem Sprint omnium were Craig Maclean and Anthony Kappes.

Ronnie O'Sullivan - Image ©Copyright John Allen @Cycling Shorts.

John who was with me on photography duty had been A.W.O.L. for about half an hour and turned up camera in hand, “I’ve just papped Ronnie O’Sullivan” I looked at him puzzled since I thought he’d been in the team enclosure snapping away, I didn’t think he’d quite make it down to the Crucible or the nearest snooker hall and back, but I remembered that earlier I’d told him of the delights of the Dutch pancake stand so it was feasible he’d taken a detour of some sort and got lost, after all we had just spent the past hour being teased and tormented by the visual and aromatic feast laid on for the VIP’s, their 3 course meal always gets delivered and served from the edge of the media enclosure (I’m convinced it’s done deliberately to torment us with our packed lunch style nibbles). I certainly didn’t recall Ronnie being a cyclist or a fan. “Erm… Are you sure?” I said, “Well I think so, he was a long way off but this character with a cap on caught my eye. At first glance I thought it was Dean Downing watching his brother on the track.” (this did seem a more logical conclusion). I looked up and there was Ronnie, talking to Steve Peters of Team Sky under the scoreboard! So dear readers that is Cycling Shorts first ever paparazzi moment, it will probably be the last. So thank you John!

 

Emily Kay & DHL Future Stars Girls - ©Copyright John Allen/CyclingShorts.

Meanwhile back on the track…
DHL Future Stars Girls Points Race 5km
The girls competition was a lot more divided than the boys, everyone was chasing Emily Kay and throughout the evening she knew she wouldn’t have allies in the peloton or in a break away but she never let that bother her, she knows when to conserve her energy and she has a strong sprint ready when she needs it, Emily is always very focused cool and calm.
The rest of the top girls were bunched quite tightly together in the championship points so 2nd place is where the competition will be.
In the points race Emily let a few points slip, Rebecca Hunt pushed for a well deserved 5 points on the 3rd sprint of the race but Emily charged back for the finishing sprint to the line. Emily 1st with 18 points, Rebecca Hunt 2nd with 8 points and Ellie Coster 3rd with 6.

In the girls scratch race Melissa Lowther left the pack early on and managed to stay away, but with just 6 laps to go they were all back together and Emily Kay pipped Ellie Coster, Rebecca Hunt and Megan Boyd to the post.

You may be tired of my repeating her name but you don’t get tired of watching her. In the girls Elimination race Kay does it again with an amazingly fast finish over Rebecca Hunt, Emily Haycox takes 3rd.
By the end of the evening Emily’s domination was obvious, she could have been on a different scoreboard. There wasn’t much separating Megan Boyd, Rebecca Hunt, Melissa Lowther and Ellie Coster, but Emily has 78 points over her nearest rival Ellie Coster. All the girls at the top of the rankings have great strength and talent and obviously have great futures ahead of them but the fight is on for the 2nd & 3rd Championship positions now.

Elite Riders Elimination Race - Revolution 35 - ©Copyright John Allen @ Cycling Shorts.

Elite 1km Madison Time Trial
The Madison was one team short (Cunga) so the remaining seven teams fought it out. All eyes were on former Madison Champion Luke Rowe with partner Andreas Muller for Sky but the CHEP UK pairing of Jon Dibben and Marcel Kalz came in with a blistering 58.422 pushing Sky into 2nd with 58.537.

Elite Team Elimination
Rapha and Maxgear Racing fought it out for the crown. It was quite an edgy race with a number of teams struggling with riders bunched at the back of the peloton dangling in the danger zone. Maxgear pushed hard and true to their name maxed a rider out in order to get the other two over the line in first place. There was quite a gap between them and the first Rapha rider across the line.

Australian Pursuit
In the Australian pursuit Chris Opie of Team UK Youth put in a sterling effort from the gun but Luke Rowe fought back and took the win over Robert Bengsch and Chris Opie who started to fade towards the end got 3rd.
Points race 15km
With 6 laps to go Jon Mould of Howies was leading on 15 points with Luke Rowe on 10. Jon added to his lead and won with 25 points over Luke’s 20 after the two of them lapped the field, Marcel Kalz (CHEP) got 3rd with 8 points.

I spoke to professional cyclist and Cycling Shorts writer Tom “Minty” Murray to get his thoughts on the evening, “The atmosphere is always great at the Revolution but tonight seemed a level up, maybe it was the added excitment of those tandems, they had me on my feet watching anyway!”
“My focus now is firmly on the up coming road season, I haven’t done as much track this winter, tonight was my first time on the track since the October Revolution so as to focus more time on getting ready for the road for 2012. Next up I am away for two important training camps with the rest of the IG-Sigmasport team and away to Italy in February”.

 

At the end of the evening I caught up with Revolution favourite Christian Grasmann who rides on the Revolution Maxgear team and played a major role in their success during the evening particularly in the Team Elimination win where his skill and experience shone through. Maxgear are now leading the Series Championship.

Revolution 35 - Maxgear Racing lead the Championship - ©Copyright John Allen @Cycling Shorts.

Cycling Shorts: How did it go?

Christian: I really enjoyed myself tonight I love racing in the Revs. I’ve done it a lot over the years and I’m always amazed at how great cycling is doing in the UK, the hard work that’s put in by the Revolution organisers and by Team GB.

CS: How is cycling doing in Germany as a sport?

Christian: We are so far a way from this level in Germany – and I’m dreaming that this same feeling will come back to German cycling, it would be nice for both countries interest in the sport to be at the same level in public popularity at the same time. So that’s my aim to help bring this same experience to German cycling while also racing well myself. I’d like to continue to do the Revolutions in the coming years. My team Rudy Project Racing Team is now in it’s 3rd year. I try to bring the same style and experience to the spectators and supporters that the British have, but we still have a way to go!

CS: You must be pleased with the team tonight…

Christian: My Revolution team Maxgear and I could now win the overall championship so it was a great race day for us. The youngsters did a super job. For me. Revolution and racing in the UK is the biggest motivation and a reason why I love this sport so much.

 

Dont’ forget the Revolution highlights are on ITV4 at 7pm on Monday 9th Jan 2012

 

For more information on the Revolution Series and to book tickets please click here.

 

Results:

10km Scratch Race – Luke Rowe Team Sky
DHL Future Stars 5km Scratch Race – Boys – Ollie Wood
Revolution Tandem Sprint Omnium Round 1 – flying lap – GB Maclean & Kappes 12.830
DHL Future Stars Points Race – Girls – Emily Kay Cunga Bikes
1km Madison Time Trial – CHEP UK
DHL Future Stars Elimination – Boys – Jake Ragan Maxgear Racing
Revolution Tandem Sprint Round 2 – Match 1 – Heat 1 GB Storey & Fachie 10.644 Heat 2 NED P Bos & Oost 11.497
Team Elimination – Maxgear Racing
DHL Future Stars Scratch Race – Girls – Emily Kay
Revolution Tandem Sprint Round 2 – Match 2 – Heat 1 GB Maclean & Kappes 11.136 Heat 2 P Bos & Oost 11.211
Australian Pursuit – Luke Rowe Team Sky
DHL Future Stars Points Race – Boys – Chris Lawless Maxgear Racing
Revolution Tandem Sprint Round 2 – Match 3 – Heat 1 GB Storey/Fachie 11.683 Heat 2 GB Maclean/Kappes 11.293
Points Race – Jon Mould Howies
DHL Future Stars Elimination – Girls – Emily Kay
Revolution Tandem Sprint Round 3 – Team Sprint – GB 33.328

Overall Points Leaders after three rounds:
Team Championship Leaders – Maxgear Racing
Future Stars Girls – Emily Kay
Future Stars Boys – Jake Ragan

For full results of the 35th Revolution download the pdf here.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Subscribe for 10% Discount!

Join our mailing list to receive the latest cycling news and updates from our team. Receive 10% off your first order placed in our online shop!

You have Successfully Subscribed!