by Ellie Coster | Jan 30, 2012
Becca Hunt & Ellie Coster Madison Podium ©Cpoyright Ben Dando/Cycling Shorts.
The madison went really well. My partner Becca Hunt and I were both very nervous for this event because we both wanted to win really bad. We knew we had a good chance of coming in the top three but we had to have a good game plan. We planned to put me in for the three sprints because I am more of a sprinter than Becca. We planned to change as normal during the race then with three laps to go before the final sprint Becca would get in a good position and swing me in. This worked really well because I could judge how quick or slow I would have to go on the boards to make this work.
Once I was in the race I knew I had to watch team 7 which was the pairing of Emily Kay and Emily Nelson of Cunga Bikes. They were our main rivals. I tried to get Emily Kay in front of me for the sprints so I had someone to chase and work towards, this worked for the first sprint as I came around her in the finishing straight to win the first set of sprints. Another tactic that Becca and I had was to make sure once I had crossed the line after the sprint Becca was there ready to come back into the racing line, this meant that I could swing up straight away and rest. Becca got this spot on, every time I 
finished the sprint she was there ready and waiting to get back in the race. We planned that once I had done the sprint, I would have two laps rest, so we would miss a change to give me more time to recover, this meant that I would be fully rested in time for the next sprint. Becca again made sure that she got in the best possible position so that I had the best set up to win the sprint. This meant that we won the second sprint as well. Becca and I were talking to each other at every possible chance in this race, this made it much easier to communicate if I needed more time to rest and recover. After the second sprint my legs were starting to feel heavy now, Becca stayed in the race longer to give me enough time to rest, we just made our last change at the right time 3 laps to go until the final sprint, and once again Becca had got a great position and we were set up for the final sprint. I knew that all I had to do was watch Emily Kay as she was the closest team to us I just had to beat her or finish one place behind her, and we did. We won it by just 2 points. We worked really well as a team, and I think that’s what lead us to the win. We worked to our strengths, Becca is endurance and I’m a sprinter and we used those talents to our advantage.
I felt the rest of the evening went really well, not just for me but for team howies. We had a good team talk before the racing started and we all had to say which races we were going for the win in. I said the 6 lap dash. I set off in this race determined to win it. My teammates knew that the Dash was my race so they helped me in everyway possible. It’s one of my favourites because it is short and fast, it suits me great. We said before we went onto the track that we wanted a 1 2 3 finish in this race for team howies. With 2 laps to go I started to work my way up and get into the right position, Emily Haycoxs of team howies was right on my wheel, which is what we wanted. Then we went, I crossed the line and we got a 1st and a 2nd. This was my first race that I’d won at the Revolutions and it was the one I wanted to win from the beginning so it was a really good race for me overall. It was a great feeling because I’d been getting 2nd and 3rd all through the series and it was nice to win one. After this race, my legs were shot from the madison earlier on and the race I had just done.
Ellie Coster's 6 Lap Dash Win ©Copyright Ben Dando/Cycling Shorts.
Ellie
P.S. Don’t forget to watch the highlights of the Revolution Series on ITV4 7pm on 30/01/2012
by Anna Magrath | Jan 30, 2012
LtoR: Owain Doull, George Atkins, Mark Christian, Simon Yates, Tom Murray, Alex Dowsett
The days cycling kicked off with the National Madison Championships peppered with Sprint Qualification rounds for the final Revolution of the season to be held later in the evening, more information on those sprint events in the Revolution 36 Report (online shortly).
The velodrome didn’t appear to have sold out but it was certainly busy and bustling with a great atmosphere long before the proceedings got underway.
After the crowd were whipped up by the first appearance of the all star cast of Hoy and the sprinters the Madison got under way.
Up first was the boys DHL Future Stars Madison race and 11 teams took to the boards which turned out to be a pretty evenly matched race amongst the top four teams, it was quite a cautious race with every pairing watching for danger signs and some great technique on show, in the end the riders of Team Sky James Shaw and Fabio Close pipped the Chep UK team of Ollie Wood and Jake Womersley one the line. Both teams finishing on 8 points.
Boys DHL Future Stars Madison Champions: Fabio Close & James Shaw ©Copyright Ben Dando/Cycling Shorts.
Next it was the turn of the Girls DHL Future Stars riders talented field. We aren’t used to seeing the all conquouring Emily Kay perform in a Madison at the Revolution so we didn’t know what to expect since she obviously could work in a team but she would have to rely and gel well with her partner Emily Nelson. Kay has been such a powerhouse throughout the season and has managed to take the series win before the season is even over. We suspected she was going for the Madison win to add to her titles, she only need cruise the rest of the evenings races in order to take her place on the top of the podium at the end of the evenings events, so we were positive this was the one for her, but we also knew the likes of Ellie Coster, Melissa Lowther and Rebecca Hunt had something to prove. To me the most dangerous pairing seemed to be Cycling Shorts very own Ellie Coster and her partner Becca Hunt, the two were both in the top 4 of the series championship and if they could join forces and beat Emily Kay and Nelson then they would take a title for the team of howies and each have a top podium for all their very consistent and strong performances throughout the season.
It turned out that the top four teams where well matched but in the end the tactics of the howies and Cunga teams were panning out well. No one was prepared to let Emily Kay out of their sight and Ellie Coster was watching her like a hawk throughout the race jumping on the back of her wheel wherever she could. This tactic paid off and after big turns from Becca Ellie had rested legs to put in big sprints. An excellent win by Becca Hunt and Ellie Coster showing great communication, tactics and strength. Nelson and Kay came in second with 8 points, two behind the howies girls.
Read more about Ellie’s race in her blog.
Girls DHL Future Stars Madison Champions: Becca Hunt &Ellie Coster - ©Cpoyright Ben Dando/Cycling Shorts.
The main event of the afternoon was of course the GB National Madison Championships and favourite had to be the pairing of Sky’s Alex Dowsett and IG Sigma Sport’s Tom Murray, with Dowsett only recently back from the Tour Down Under and it would be great to see what form he was carrying. On the downside for Dowsett and Murray they aren’t normally teammates so they would have had less training time. It was a strong field and 100% ME had entered four teams into the championships and they really looked strong for a win. Mark Christian and Simon Yates, and last years silver medal holder Jon Mould and his partner Tom Moses looked like they stood a chance. The only other none 100% ME threat looked like the paring of Adam Duggleby and Alistair Rutherford for Sportscover Altura/Vanilla Bikes.
Alex Dowsett - National Madison Championships 2012 - ©Chris Maher www.ChrisMaher.co.uk
The pairing of Dowsett and Murray had their work cut out because from the start they were being watched. As predicted the 100% ME riders went out tough from the start, but it was the pairing of Christian and Yates that really showed they meant business taking the first two sprints. The thirds sprint went to Dowsett and Murray but Christian and Yates looked well practiced, they were controlling all the moves. At the halfway point Alex Dowsett was slung in to the race by Murray in an attempt to take a lap, this was obviously a danger all the other teams were watching out for and probably dreading as Alex’s strength is his time trailing and letting him get away at this stage was going to be disastrous, the pair knew they had to do something because Christian and Yates were racking up the points with 20 and 100% ME’s Tom Moses and Alistair Slater were looking strong with 10. The lap wasn’t taken easily though, but they mopped up the next sprint points which were much needed before finally taking the lap. Shortly after the pairing of Owain Doull and George Atkins completed the lap. This was a red rag to a bull and Christian and Yates not wanting to lose their grip on the race took the lap back perfectly timed for them to take the next sprint and then grabbing the following one too. These two were on rocket fuel! By now the other teams were weighing up their options but only one team decided to do anything about it, but it was all in vain Doull and Atkins attempted a lap but they just kept dangling like a carrot in front of the field. The race was over and an extremely well deserved win by Mark Christian and Simon Yates.
A great afternoons racing and more to follow in the evening with the final Revolution of the season…. Click here to read the Revolution 36 Report.
Watch the highlights of the Revolution Series on ITV4 7pm on 30/01/2012
Results
Boys DHL Future Stars Madison Championship Results:
1 Shaw / Close 8pts
2 Wood / Womersley 8pts
3 Cross / James 5pts
4 Lawless / Ragan 4pts
5 Scott / Hall 3pts
6 Lewis / Evans 2pts
7 Tanfield / Braybrooke 1pts
8 Shakel / Woolf 2pts -1 lap
9 Robbins / Pitt -1 lap
10 Trolove / Hoyle -1 lap
11 Wiltshire / Cocker -1 lap
Time 17:37.963
Girls DHL Future Stars Madison Championship Results:
1 Hunt / Coster 10pts
2 Kay / Nelson 8pts
3 Lowther / Parkinson 6pts
4 Kinrade / Boyd 5pts
5 Barker / Millward 3pts
6 Garner / Broughton 1pts
7 O’Brien / Armstrong
8 Barnes / Dentus
9 English / Haywood
10 Blount / Gillies -1 lap
11 Haycox / Ansell -1 lap
12 Taylor / Gent -3 laps
Time 20:38.409
Elite GB Men’s National Madison Championship Results:
1. Mark Christian and Simon Yates 100% ME 31pts
2. Alex Dowsett and Tom Murray Sky Pro Cycling/Sigma Sport Specialized 23pts
3. George Atkins and Owain Doull – 100% ME 9pts
4. Adam Duggleby and Alistair Rutherford Sportscover Altura/Vanilla Bikes 14pts – 2 Laps
5. Joe Kelly and Jon Mould 100% ME 14pts – 2 Laps
6. Tom Moses and Alistair Slater – 100% ME 12pts – 2 Laps
7. Doug Dewey and David Sinclair – Terra/GWR – 4pts – 5 Laps
8. Tom Arnstein and Mark Stewart – Equipe Velo Ecosse/Spokes Racing DNF
9. Stephen Bradury and Jack Kirk – AW Cycles/Agiskoviner CT DNF
10. Ian Cooper and Richard Prince – Planet X – DNS
by Felix English | Jan 26, 2012
I’ve sat down to write this blog 3 times now over the past week but failed on each occasion. Finally, sat down with a nice cup of tea and I’m ready to start rambling.
I posted a bunch of pictures from the first rest day on our team training camp last week, so I’ll kick things off by talking about what I got up to in Lanzarote with Rapha Condor Sharp.
There were a decent number of us involved the camp with 8 riders, John, Ken- one of our teams coaches, Andy- our soigneur, Pete- our mechanic and Camille- our team photographer from SHARP. Straight from the off everyone got on really well and conversation flowed easily from when we got up in the morning to when went to sleep at night. I think this transferred directly into how we rode as a team, even from our first ride together. It was made clear by John from the very start of the week that this camp was to be used to practice and hone our skills riding together properly as a team. There was no intent from anyone to try and prove themselves physically stronger or fitter than anyone else on the rides. If one of us was having a bad day, then the group would alter its pace to ensure that everyone was looked after. This mutual respect made performing and perfecting the technical aspect of our riding a lot easier. We did a series of sub-maximal efforts throughout the week including some through and off blocks and a few lead out sprints. Pretty much everything went to plan, which was surprising seeing as some of the things we were doing can be quite tricky whilst riding in the very strong winds Lanzarote is famous for. Saying that, I let the team down on one of the days… whilst sat on the back of the group I got blown off the road and then couldn’t hop back up again! Whilst it was happening I thought that it was crazy winds and I had a picture in my head of me leaning at 45 degrees, heroically managing to avoid crashing. However, to my disappointment Camille had everything on video. So after being shown it I was disappointed to see nothing crazy happens, it’s just clear that I’m just not very good at riding a bike. We had one other unfortunate moment at the beginning of the camp where Deano’s tyre blew out and sent him flying off the back of his bike! It was a fast stretch of road where we were riding at 50km/h but I think the unlucky Deano got off quite lucky in the circumstances, after only just recovering from an operation on his collar bone and somehow managing to avoid falling on his side and without landing in the endless amount of volcanic rock by the roadside- that stuff is lethal looking! Andy did a great job patching him up each day, but it still looked so painful. Climbing onto his bike each day with wounds the sides of dinner plates on both sides of his ass, made you think twice about complaining how your legs were a little bit tired!
Overall, it was a great camp. Had a good laugh with everyone, felt good on the bike, enjoyed the sun and clocked up some good km’s in the process. I’ve been home now for 5 days and haven’t really been up too much. Took a few days off the bike and then started riding again a couple of days ago.
As well as riding together well, we also looked the part (never sacrifice style for speed was mentioned a few times). We all had our matching custom Condor Leggero road bikes, our Rapha team kit and our brand new Giro gear- Aeon helmets and Prolight SLX road shoes – which are particularly nice, with Easton EC90 carbon soles and 3 Velcro straps, as I was really not a fan of the ratchets that continuously broke on the shoes I had last season!
I’m at home now for a couple of weeks before heading off to Benidorm for our second training camp in early February. I am expecting this camp to be entirely different to the one he had in Lanzarote. Although I’m sure we’ll still be working on the technical stuff, the main objective of the camp is get physically ready for the racing season, which starts a few days after arriving back. I think this one is going to be a bit of a shock to the system and I reckon us younger guys will be doing a bit/a lot of suffering! Looking forward to it though.
My racing programme kicks off with a TT and some road racing up in Manchester. I’m staying up with one of my team mates for the week, so it will us the opportunity to race together as a team for the first time. I then jet off to the Tour of Taiwan in mid-March. The race has upgraded to a UCI 2.1 – which is the highest category race I’ll have ever ridden. The race website mentions teams such as SaxoBank and Europcar could be riding.
I’ll stop myself from rattling on now. Going to go indulge and have a Yakult.
Thanks for reading,
Felix
by Christian Grasmann | Jan 23, 2012
“5 steps to Podium” – Instructions on how to get on the podium at the Sixdays in Bremen, starring the Rudy Project Racing Team with Leif Lampater, Christian Grasmann & Robert Bengsch.
by Christian Grasmann | Jan 20, 2012
Bremem Six Day Image ©Copyright Wim Hoste
The Six Day in Bemem went well for the Rudy Project riders and their partners. Leif Lampater & Iljo Keisse led the 48th edition of the event as they drove the first double of the evening and fought until the very end for the win. Robert Bengsch and his partner Alois Kankovsky were one of the strongest teams and led the overall standings.
The favourites Robert Barkto and Peter Schep in the final chase around the track pushed the duos of Franco Marvulli & Marcel Kalz and Leif Lampater & Iljo Keisse into second and third respectively. Bengsch and Kankovski sailed in in 5th place. Myself and Rafal Ratajczyk finished overall in 8th place.
“The cresults last night weren’t bad,” said Leif Lapater, “we knew there would be strong competition from Bartko/Schep and Marvulli/Kalz.”
In the Team Elimination it came down to an early battle of the top three teams. Lampater/Keisse won against Bartko/Schep and also the Swiss German duo were able to increase their score. Leading up to the sprint the top three teams remained the same but were joined by Marc Hester/ Andreas Müller. Leif Lampater and Iljo Keisse attacked again with about fifty laps to go, but were pursued by Marvulli/Kalz and Barkto/Schep. “We tried everything, but the other two teams were paying attention,” commented Leif.
With 20 laps to go only Robert Barkto and Peter Schep had the strength left for a final attack and won the final round. Marvulli/Kalz who were the only team to crack the 300 point mark (318), pushed Leif Lampater and Iljo Keisse into 3rd place with (291 points).
On 26th January, Leif along with last years winner Roger Kluge will be at the start of the Berlin Six Day Race. Robert Bengsch, the winner of the Bremem Six Days in 2011 will form a pairing with Marcel Kalz (this years second place in Bremem), a powerful team. “Leif and I will give everything in Berlin,” said Robert Bengsch.
Full race results are below the German translation.
In der ersten Nacht übernahm Leif Lampater zusammen mit Iljo Keisse die Führung der 48. Bremer Sixdays , sie fuhren die erste Doublette des Sechstagerennens ein und kämpften bis zuletzt um den Sieg. Auch Robert Bengsch gehörte mit seinem Partner Alois Kankovsky zu den stärksten Teams und führte zwischenzeitlich die Gesamtwertung an. Die Favoriten Robert Bartko/ Peter Schep erfuhren in der finalen Jagd einen Rundenvorsprung und verwiesen das Duo Franco Marvulli/ Marcel Kalz und Leif Lampater/ Iljo Keisse auf den zweiten und dritten Platz. Bengsch/ Kankovski fuhren auf den 5. Gesamtplatz, Christian Grasmann belegte mit Rafael Ratajczyk den achten Platz.
„Die Voraussetzungen vor der letzten Nacht waren nicht schlecht“, wusste Leif Lampater, „wir lagen mit den stärksten Konkurrenten Bartko/ Schep und Marvulli/ Kalz in der Nullrunde“. Im Mannschaftsausscheidungsfahren kam es dann zu einem vorgezogenen Duell der drei führenden Teams. Lampater/ Keisse gewannen vor Bartko/ Schep und dem schweizerisch-deutschen Duo und konnten ihren Punktestand erhöhen. Auch das Derny-Finale entschieden der Irschenberger und sein belgischer Partner für sich, jedoch hatten Bartko/ Schep und Marvulli/ Kalz mit mehr Punkten in die große Jagd. Bis zu den Wertungssprints blieben die drei führenden Teams sowie Marc Hester/ Andreas Müller gleichauf. Leif Lampater und Iljo Keisse attackierten knapp fünfzig Runden vor Schluss erneut, wurden jedoch von Marvulli/ Kalz und Bartko/ Schep verfolgt. „Wir haben alles probiert, aber die beiden anderen Teams haben gut aufgepasst“, so Lampater. Knapp zwanzig Runden vor Schluss hatten nur Robert Bartko und Peter Schep die Kraft für den letzten Angriff und schafften den finalen Rundengewinn. Marvulli und Kalz, die als einziges Team die 300-Punkte-Marke geknackt hatten (318 Punkte), verwiesen Leif Lampater und Iljo Keisse auf den dritten Rang (291 Punkte). Am 26. Januar geht Leif Lampater mit dem Vorjahressieger Roger Kluge beim Berliner Sechstagerennen an den Start. Auch Robert Bengsch, der Sieger der Bremer Sixdays 2011, wird in Berlin mit Marcel Kalz, dem diesjährigen Zweiten in Bremen, ein leistungsstarkes Team bilden. „Leif und ich werden auch in Berlin alles geben“, so Robert Bengsch.
Standings Name Nat. Result
1 SCHEP/BARTKO 293
Robert BARTKO GER
Peter SCHEP NED
2 MARVULLI/KALZ 318
Marcel KALZ GER
Franco MARVULLI SUI
3 LAMPATER/KEISSE 291
Iljo KEISSE BEL
Leif LAMPATER GER
4 HESTER/MÜLLER 214
Marc HESTER DEN
Andreas MUELLER AUT
5 KANKOVSKÝ/BENGSCH 221
Robert BENGSCH GER
Alois KANKOVSKY CZE
6 STAM/MOHS 176
Erik MOHS GER
Danny STAM NED
7 KADLEC/BARTH 182
Marcel BARTH GER
Martin KADLEC CZE
8 GRASMANN/RATAJCZYK 112
Christian GRASMANN GER
Rafal RATAJCZYK POL
9 J. MØRKØV/THÖMEL 105
Jesper MORKOV DEN
Timo THÖMEL GER
10 SIMES/REINHARDT 88
Theo REINHARDT GER
Jackie SIMES USA
11 EDMÜLLER/PIETERS 60
Benjamim EDMÜLLER GER
Roy PIETERS NED
12 HUFF/MATZKA 102
Charles Bradley HUFF USA
Ralf MATZKA GER
by Christian Grasmann | Jan 17, 2012
Sixdays Bremen from the Riders Perspective from Rudy Project Racing Team Channel.
Preliminary state – after the first night already, Leif Lampater led the international pro cycling field of the 2012 Sixdays in Bremen. 4 nights down and the RPRT [Rudy Project Racing Team] is still up for a win in one of the most prestigious 6days in Europe: Leif 3rd, Robert Bengsch 5th and I’m in 8th. 2 nights to go.
finished the sprint she was there ready and waiting to get back in the race. We planned that once I had done the sprint, I would have two laps rest, so we would miss a change to give me more time to recover, this meant that I would be fully rested in time for the next sprint. Becca again made sure that she got in the best possible position so that I had the best set up to win the sprint. This meant that we won the second sprint as well. Becca and I were talking to each other at every possible chance in this race, this made it much easier to communicate if I needed more time to rest and recover. After the second sprint my legs were starting to feel heavy now, Becca stayed in the race longer to give me enough time to rest, we just made our last change at the right time 3 laps to go until the final sprint, and once again Becca had got a great position and we were set up for the final sprint. I knew that all I had to do was watch Emily Kay as she was the closest team to us I just had to beat her or finish one place behind her, and we did. We won it by just 2 points. We worked really well as a team, and I think that’s what lead us to the win. We worked to our strengths, Becca is endurance and I’m a sprinter and we used those talents to our advantage.
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