The 2012 Cycling Revolution Begins

Revolution 37 Clancy & Tennant 1km Madison – ©Swarbrick.com

The first Revolution of the 2012 series got underway in awesome style, with thrills and spectacular spills. This year we see a change to the format with 12 rather than 8 teams and some new sponsors show off their jerseys. Sim and I braced ourselves for a busy evening.

Elite Flying Lap:
Returning to the track were Olympians Jody Cundy, Steven Burke [IG-Sigmasport] and Ed Clancy [Rapha Condor Sharp]. They certainly got an enthusiastic welcome from the crowd and they really raised the roof in the first event [the Flying Lap], Ed took the win by nearly one second (13.009) over Jody Cundy [FACE] who put in a stunning performance (13.908) and Steven in third (14.149). A great first time appearance for the race at a Revolution (if my memory serves me correctly), and a great start to proceedings for Team Rapha.

Revolution 37 Women’s Sprint – ©Swarbrick.com

Women’s Sprint Events:
The other change to this series is that core events will stay the same throughout the season and there’ll be additional guest races that will change each meeting [they don’t count towards the Team series competition]. This round it was the turn of the ladies in a series of women’s sprints and keirin races, specifically Team GB versus the Netherlands. Team GB were represented by Victoria Williamson and Dannielle Khan [cyclist and successful speed skater] and The Netherlands; Yvonne Hijgenaar and Elis Ligtlee. The sprint crown belonged to Vitoria Williamson taking the Sprint and Keirin wins and again as part of the two woman GB sprint team.

DHL Future Stars Girls:
After the 2011 domination of the DHL Girls podium for the past two years we were missing the formidable Emily Kay as she moves onwards and upwards. Our very own Ellie Coster who finished last years series just behind Emily returns in fighting form determined to take the vacant podium position. Heather and I perused the DHL girls riders list before the racing started and she pointed out her tip for new young rider to watch, “Amy Gornall! She’s got the natural tactics, I’ve seen her race before and she’s the whole package. Destined for big things, in the same way Emily intuitively knows when to attack, it’s her first Revolution but she won’t be phased by it”, and sure enough moments later she was running away from the pack in the early stages of the first girls event; the points race. She only came away with one point in the end but she’s clearly not here to make up the numbers, Amy had consistent results throughout the evening, not a bad start for a young rookie! So watch this space. Others to watch this year are Kimberley English, Lucy Harper, Emily Haycox.

Revolution 37 DHL Future Stars Girls – ©Swarbrick.com

Click play button to listen Sim’s interview with Kimberley English.

Click play button to listen Sim’s interview with Laura Cheeseman & Lucy Harper.

Jessica Roberts [Raleigh GAC] had a great points race, she won with 12 points and the nearest anyone came to her were two Emily’s (Capewell and Haycox) each with 5 point. Ellie Coster [howies] took her revenge in the 6 Lap dash but she couldn’t shake Jess Roberts off the podium, Jess took 3rd and Emily Nelson 2nd. In the final girls event Ellie Coster came 2nd in a frantic Scratch race, the winner was her team mate Emily Haycox, which sadly meant Ellie didn’t quite take the series lead. Jessica Roberts kept on fighting and hoovered up the 3rd place points to sneak the championship lead and podium for the opening Revolution, amazing tactics. The top three female riders are each separated by one point, Roberts (76), Coster (75) and Haycox (74).

DHL Future Stars Boys:
In the Boys league the competition looks like it’s going to be a tough top ten of riders scrapping it out throughout the season. Already showing their strengths are Jack Hoyle, Charlie Tanfield, Levi Moody and Leon Gledhill. In the Scratch Race it was a frantic finish with Tristan Robbins [howies] just beating IG-Sigmasports Ben Chapman to the line, closely followed by Gabriel Cullaigh of NetApp Endura. In the 6 Lap Dash Team Sportscover-Altura in their Revolution debut powered across the line with Leon Gledhill in 1st followed by team mate Levi Moody and Joe Evans [Rudy Project RT] in 3rd.

Revolution 37 – DHL Boys Points Race – ©Swarbrick.com

The drama of the evening was provided by the boys Points Race with a two part crash, caused by riders clipping wheels but throwing other riders off as they tried to avoid calamity further down the field. I tried to tot up the number of riders involved it appeared to be half a dozen in the home straight, then as they exited into the first corner just in front of me a second group came down very heavily. One of the Rapha riders did the most amazing standing tumble with his bike and landed on his feet with bike falling to the floor as he skidded to a standstill on his cleats – quite a manoeuvre. A number of riders were unable to rejoin the race including Charlie Tanfield who was on course for another good result but he picked up a nasty splinter. Charlie is one to watch in the boys competition.

Ned Boulting popped over for an interview [online shortly] between filming for the ITV4 highlights show [airing 31 October 2012 8pm] and to sign copies of his book ‘How I Won The Yellow Jumper‘ [for Cycling Shorts next competition]. So Ned… What is like to be UK’s face of cycling now? “That’s Gary Imlach, not me! You need to ask Gary Imlach what it’s like.” he said with a with his usual cheeky smile.

Elite 1km Madison Time Trial:
In the Madison the clear winners were Rapha’s Ed Clancy & Andy Tennant in a brilliant time of 56.005.

Revolution 37 Jody Cundy – ©Swarbrick.com

Elite Points Race:
Infighting in the Cycling Shorts ranks surly not? [not really] but Tom Murray said, “During the points race Jody ‘leant’ on my leg, it was captured on the camera under my saddle. Looks like I will be getting married with a Jody Cundy tyre mark down the back of my leg, it was close racing!”. In the end the race was expertly won by Owain Doull of howies with 24 points, Alex Dowsett [Team Sky] who was one lap up on Owain; came in second with 20 points and Ed Clancy in 3rd with 18. Tom made it into 6th place after his tyre tattooing with a total of 17 points. Jody didn’t finish.

Elite Australian Pursuit:
The Australian Pursuit is always a crowd pleaser and you can see heads in the team and media area centre track bobbing up and down like meerkats to watch what is a 360 degree race unfold around them. In the dying moments of the race there were three riders battling it out Andy Tennant, Alex Dowsett and Leif Lampeter [Rudy Project RT], this race is always a favourite of Leif’s and he remained out of trouble and took the win while Tennant and Dowsett battled for 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Elite Elimination Race:
The race was on early for Ed Clancy but sadly it didn’t pay off, but his effort helped create some tired legs in the pack to allow his team mate Andy Tennant to take victory over Joe Kelly. Clancy and Tennant’s experience shone through and popped some more points in the Rapha bank.

Elite Scratch Race:
In the final championship race of the evening Ed came back in style, the peloton were lapped and there was a one two battle on the line for the final sprint. Ed Clancy sealed victory for Rapha with his win. John Dibben [Rouleur] took 2nd and Christian Grasmann of Rudy Project RT came 3rd.

At the end of the evening the DHL Future Stars Team was howies. Jessica Roberts [Raleigh GAC] and Tristan Robbins [howies] now lead the individual DHL competitions.

Olympian Lizzie Armistead took to the Apron during a break in racing but not in the usual lycra look we are used to. She was interviewed by Hugh Porter. After taking second in the Olympic Road Race to Marianne Vos, Lizzie announced that she would be going head to head with the multiple World Champion at the next Revolution. This promises to be a truly epic battle.

More interviews from Revolution 37:
Click play button to listen to Sim’s interview with Ned Boulting.
Click play button to listen to Sim’s interview with Matt Holmes.
Click play button to listen to Sim’s interview with Adam & Simon Yates.
Click play button to listen to Sim’s interview with Ellie Coster & Emily Haycox.

 
Don’t forget you can catch the highlights show on ITV Player

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

Revolution Series Round 2 is on 1st December at Manchester.
To find out more about the series and to grab one of the few remaining tickets left for the rest of the series visit www.cyclingrevolution.com

 

Andy Tennant & Ed Clancy – Team Rapha Podium – ©Anna Magrath – Cycling Shorts.

Elite Championship Standings after Round 1

1 Rapha Condor Sharp 62
2 Rouleur 53
3 Rudy Project RT 46
4 Maxgear 41
5 howies 37
6 FACE 30
7 Sportscover 28
8 IG-Sigma Sport 26
9 Team Sky 24
10 WD40 23
11 NetApp-Endura 14
12 Raleigh-GAC 6

Jessica Roberts & Tristan Robbins – DHL Future Stars Podium with Martyn Ashton – ©Anna Magrath – Cycling Shorts.

Future Stars Teams After Round 1
1 Howies 259
2 Rapha Condor Sharp 192
3 Raleigh GAC 181
4 Sportscover 180
5 IG Sigmasport 176
6 FACE Partnership 174
7 WD40 163
8 Rudy Project RT 147
9 NetApp Endura 110
10 Rouleur 109
11 Sky Procycling 107
12 Maxgear Racing 83

Future Stars Girls After Round 1
1 Jessica ROBERTS Raleigh GAC 76
2 Ellie COSTER Howies 75
3 Emily HAYCOX Howies 74
4 Emily NELSON IG Sigmasport 59
5 Lucy HARPER FACE Partnership 58
6 Beth HAYWARD Rapha Condor Sharp 57
7 Kimberley ENGLISH Rapha Condor Sharp 57
8 Victoria KINRADE Rouleur 49
9 Henrietta COLBOURNE Sportscover 48
10 Laura CHEESMAN FACE Partnership 46
11 Emily CAPEWELL WD40 45
12 Hannah BLOUNT Rudy Project RT 45
13 Lauren O’BRIEN NetApp Endura 44
14 Bethany TAYLOR Raleigh GAC 44
15 Amy GORNALL Maxgear Racing 40
16 Jessie ANSELL WD40 38
17 Naomi JOHNSTON Sky Procycling 28
18 Megan LEWIS IG Sigmasport 26
DHL Future Stars Boys

Future Stars Boys After Round 1
1 Tristan ROBBINS Howies 70
2 Levi MOODY Sportscover 68
3 Leon GLEDHILL Sportscover 64
4 Joe EVANS Rudy Project RT 64
5 James SHAW Sky Procycling 52
6 Maximilian STEDMAN IG Sigmasport 51
7 Matt GIBSON WD40 49
8 Charlie TANFIELD Rouleur 44
9 Fabio CLOSE Maxgear Racing 43
10 Ethan LEE Rapha Condor Sharp 41
11 Joe WILTSHIRE Howies 40
12 Harrison FIELDING Raleigh GAC 40
13 Benjamin CHAPMAN IG Sigmasport 40
14 Sean NOON NetApp Endura 39
15 Jake KELLY Rudy Project RT 38
16 Jack HOYLE Rapha Condor Sharp 37
17 Jack ESCRITT FACE Partnership 35
18 Harry CREW FACE Partnership 35
19 Christian BRAYBROOKE WD40 31
20 Gabriel CULLAIGH NetApp Endura 27
21 Karl BAILLIE Sky Procycling 27
22 Thomas SCAMMELL Raleigh GAC 21
23 Sean MCGOVERN Rouleur 16

Elite Flying Lap
1 CLANCY Ed Rapha Condor Sharp 13.009
2 CUNDY Jody FACE Partnership 13.908
3 BURKE Steven IG Sigmasport 14.149
4 WOOD Oliver Sportscover 14.419
5 GRASMANN Christian Rudy Project RT 14.494
6 DOULL Owain Howies 14.522
7 YATES Simon Maxgear Racing 14.534
8 LOWE Sam Rouleur 14.589
9 SCHEP Peter WD40 15.006
10 DOWSETT Alex Sky Procycling 15.075
11 MCEVOY Jonny NetApp Endura 15.481
12 HOLMES Matt Raleigh GAC 15.864

Elite 1km Madison Time Trial
1 Rapha Condor Sharp 56.005
2 Rudy Project RT 57.697
3 Rouleur 58.511
4 Howies 59.047
5 IG Sigmasport 59.628
6 WD40 59.812
7 FACE Partnership 1:00.164
8 Maxgear Racing 1:00.504
9 Sportscover 1:00.605
10 Team SKY Sky Procycling 1:01.695
11 NetApp Endura 1:03.204
12 Raleigh GAC 1:04.659

Elite Points Race
1 DOULL Owain Howies 24 -1 lap
2 DOWSETT Alex Sky Procycling 20
3 CLANCY Ed Rapha Condor Sharp 18 -1
4 DIBBEN John Rouleur 18 -1
5 GRASMANN Christian Rudy Project RT 18 -1
6 MURRAY Tom IG Sigmasport 17 -1
7 SCHEP Peter WD40 15 -1
8 YATES Simon Maxgear Racing 12 -1
9 HOLMES Matt Raleigh GAC 10 -1
10 WOOD Oliver Sportscover 10 -1
11 KELLY Joe FACE Partnership 8 -2 laps
12 TENNANT Andy Rapha Condor Sharp 3 -2
13 LAMPETER Leif Rudy Project RT 1 -2
14 YATES Adam Maxgear Racing 1 -2
15 SLATER Alistair Sportscover 1 -2
16 LOWE Sam Rouleur 0 -2
17 GEOGHEGAN-HART Tao Sky Procycling 0 -2
18 LATHAM Chris WD40 0 -2
19 BURKE Steven IG Sigmasport 0 -2
DNF SCHWARTZMAN Michael NetApp Endura 10 -2
DNF MCEVOY Jonny NetApp Endura 0 -2
DNF HARRISON Sam Howies 0 -2
DNF CUNDY Jody FACE Partnership -10 -3
DNF HAMPTON Russell Raleigh GAC -10 -3

Elite Australian Pursuit
1 LAMPETER Leif Rudy Project RT
2 TENNANT Andy Rapha Condor Sharp
3 DOWSETT Alex Sky Procycling
4 SLATER Alistair Sportscover
5 MURRAY Tom IG Sigmasport
6 CUNDY Jody FACE Partnership
7 SCHEP Peter WD40
8 HAMPTON Russell Raleigh GAC

Elite Elimination Race
1 TENNANT Andy Rapha Condor Sharp
2 KELLY Joe FACE Partnership
3 LOWE Sam Rouleur
4 YATES Simon Maxgear Racing
5 GRASMANN Christian Rudy Project RT
6 SLATER Alistair Sportscover
7 DIBBEN John Rouleur
8 WOOD Oliver Sportscover
9 YATES Adam Maxgear Racing
10 MCEVOY Jonny NetApp Endura
11 GEOGHEGAN-HART Tao Sky Procycling
12 MURRAY Tom IG Sigmasport
13 LATHAM Chris WD40
14 DOWSETT Alex Sky Procycling
15 SCHWARTZMAN Michael NetApp Endura
16 BURKE Steven IG Sigmasport
17 HAMPTON Russell Raleigh GAC
18 DOULL Owain Howies
19 SCHEP Peter WD40
20 LAMPETER Leif Rudy Project RT
21 HOLMES Matt Raleigh GAC
22 CUNDY Jody FACE Partnership
23 CLANCY Ed Rapha Condor Sharp
24 HARRISON Sam Howies

Elite Scratch Race
1 CLANCY Ed Rapha Condor Sharp
2 DIBBEN John Rouleur
3 GRASMANN Christian Rudy Project RT
4 HARRISON Sam Howies
5 YATES Adam Maxgear Racing
6 MCEVOY Jonny NetApp Endura
7 SCHEP Peter WD40
8 DOWSETT Alex Sky Procycling
9 YATES Simon Maxgear Racing
10 TENNANT Andy Rapha Condor Sharp
11 LOWE Sam Rouleur
12 LAMPETER Leif Rudy Project RT
13 MURRAY Tom IG Sigmasport
14 KELLY Joe FACE Partnership
15 LATHAM Chris WD40
16 GEOGHEGAN-HART Tao Sky Procycling
17 HOLMES Matt Raleigh GAC
18 HAMPTON Russell Raleigh GAC
19 WOOD Oliver Sportscover
20 BURKE Steven IG Sigmasport
21 SLATER Alistair Sportscover
22 DOULL Owain Howies
DNF CUNDY Jody FACE Partnership
DNF SCHWARTZMAN Michael NetApp Endura

DHL Future Stars Girls
Points Race
1 ROBERTS Jessica Raleigh GAC 12 points
2 CAPEWELL Emily WD40 5
3 HAYCOX Emily Howies 5
4 COLBOURNE Henrietta Sportscover 3
5 HAYWARD Beth Rapha Condor Sharp 3
6 COSTER Ellie Howies 3
7 ENGLISH Kimberley Rapha Condor Sharp 3
8 ANSELL Jessie WD40 2
9 HARPER Lucy FACE Partnership 2
10 TAYLOR Bethany Raleigh GAC 2
11 O’BRIEN Lauren NetApp Endura 1
12 NELSON Emily IG Sigmasport 1
13 GORNALL Amy Maxgear Racing 1
14 CHEESMAN Laura FACE Partnership 1
15 KINRADE Victoria Rouleur
16 BLOUNT Hannah Rudy Project RT
17 LEWIS Megan IG Sigmasport
18 JOHNSTON Naomi Sky Procycling

6 Lap Dash
1 COSTER Ellie Howies 2:03.409
2 NELSON Emily IG Sigmasport
3 ROBERTS Jessica Raleigh GAC
4 ENGLISH Kimberley Rapha Condor Sharp
5 HAYCOX Emily Howies
6 KINRADE Victoria Rouleur
7 HARPER Lucy FACE Partnership
8 O’BRIEN Lauren NetApp Endura
9 CHEESMAN Laura FACE Partnership
10 BLOUNT Hannah Rudy Project RT
11 HAYWARD Beth Rapha Condor Sharp
12 GORNALL Amy Maxgear Racing
13 TAYLOR Bethany Raleigh GAC
14 COLBOURNE Henrietta Sportscover
15 JOHNSTON Naomi Sky Procycling
16 CAPEWELL Emily WD40
17 LEWIS Megan IG Sigmasport
18 ANSELL Jessie WD40

Scratch Race
1 HAYCOX Emily Howies
2 COSTER Ellie Howies
3 ROBERTS Jessica Raleigh GAC
4 HARPER Lucy FACE Partnership
5 HAYWARD Beth Rapha Condor Sharp
6 NELSON Emily IG Sigmasport
7 BLOUNT Hannah Rudy Project RT
8 KINRADE Victoria Rouleur
9 CHEESMAN Laura FACE Partnership
10 ENGLISH Kimberley Rapha Condor Sharp
11 TAYLOR Bethany Raleigh GAC
12 COLBOURNE Henrietta Sportscover
13 GORNALL Amy Maxgear Racing
14 ANSELL Jessie WD40
15 O’BRIEN Lauren NetApp Endura
16 CAPEWELL Emily WD40
17 JOHNSTON Naomi Sky Procycling
18 LEWIS Megan IG Sigmasport

DHL Future Stars Boys
Scratch Race
1 ROBBINS Tristan Howies
2 CHAPMAN Benjamin IG Sigmasport
3 CULLAIGH Gabriel NetApp Endura
4 TANFIELD Charlie Rouleur
5 EVANS Joe Rudy Project RT
6 NOON Sean NetApp Endura
7 WILTSHIRE Joe Howies
8 SHAW James Sky Procycling
9 STEDMAN Maximilian IG Sigmasport
10 ESCRITT Jack FACE Partnership
11 GLEDHILL Leon Sportscover
12 GIBSON Matt WD40
13 MOODY Levi Sportscover
14 CREW Harry FACE Partnership
15 KELLY Jake Rudy Project RT
16 LEE Ethan Rapha Condor Sharp
17 FIELDING Harrison Raleigh GAC
18 SCAMMELL Thomas Raleigh GAC
19 CLOSE Fabio Maxgear Racing
20 BRAYBROOKE Christian WD40
21 MCGOVERN Sean Rouleur
22 BAILLIE Karl Sky Procycling
23 HOYLE Jack Rapha Condor Sharp

6 Lap Dash
1 GLEDHILL Leon Sportscover 1:45.498
2 MOODY Levi Sportscover
3 EVANS Joe Rudy Project RT
4 TANFIELD Charlie Rouleur
5 CLOSE Fabio Maxgear Racing
6 SHAW James Sky Procycling
7 ROBBINS Tristan Howies
8 KELLY Jake Rudy Project RT
9 STEDMAN Maximilian IG Sigmasport
10 CREW Harry FACE Partnership
11 CHAPMAN Benjamin IG Sigmasport
12 BRAYBROOKE Christian WD40
13 LEE Ethan Rapha Condor Sharp
14 HOYLE Jack Rapha Condor Sharp
15 BAILLIE Karl Sky Procycling
16 GIBSON Matt WD40
17 ESCRITT Jack FACE Partnership
18 FIELDING Harrison Raleigh GAC
19 SCAMMELL Thomas Raleigh GAC
20 NOON Sean NetApp Endura
21 WILTSHIRE Joe Howies
22 CULLAIGH Gabriel NetApp Endura
23 MCGOVERN Sean Rouleur

Points Race
1 MOODY Levi Sportscover 9 points
2 GIBSON Matt WD40 5
3 FIELDING Harrison Raleigh GAC 5
4 HOYLE Jack Rapha Condor Sharp 5
5 ROBBINS Tristan Howies 4
6 EVANS Joe Rudy Project RT 3
7 GLEDHILL Leon Sportscover 3
8 LEE Ethan Rapha Condor Sharp 3
9 STEDMAN Maximilian IG Sigmasport 2
10 WILTSHIRE Joe Howies 1
11 CLOSE Fabio Maxgear Racing 1
12 SHAW James Sky Procycling 1
13 NOON Sean NetApp Endura
14 BAILLIE Karl Sky Procycling
15 BRAYBROOKE Christian WD40
16 ESCRITT Jack FACE Partnership
17 KELLY Jake Rudy Project RT
18 MCGOVERN Sean Rouleur
19 CREW Harry FACE Partnership
20 SCAMMELL Thomas Raleigh GAC
DNF CHAPMAN Benjamin IG Sigmasport 2
DNF CULLAIGH Gabriel NetApp Endura
DNF TANFIELD Charlie Rouleur

Revolution Sprint Omnium
200m Time Trial
1 WILLIAMSON Victoria Great Britain 11.700
2 KAHN Danielle Great Britain 12.002
3 LIGTLEE Elis Netherlands 12.009
4 HIJGENAAR Yvonne Netherlands 12.072

Round 1
1 WILLIAMSON Victoria Great Britain 12.074
2 HIJGENAAR Yvonne Netherlands
1 LIGTLEE Elis Netherlands 12.228
2 KAHN Danielle Great Britain

Finals
1 WILLIAMSON Victoria Great Britain 12.091
2 LIGTLEE Elis Netherlands
3 HIJGENAAR Yvonne Netherlands 12.407
4 KAHN Danielle Great Britain

Team Sprint
1 Great Britain (WILLIAMSON Victoria, KAHN Danielle) 35.703
2 Netherlands (HIJGENAAR Yvonne, LIGTLEE Elis) 36.195

Keirin
1 WILLIAMSON Victoria Great Britain
2 KAHN Danielle Great Britain
3 HIJGENAAR Yvonne Netherlands
4 LIGTLEE Elis Netherlands

 

 

 

 

Martyn Ashton’s – Road Bike Party

I had the pleasure of meeting Martyn Ashton at the Revolution 37 (report online shortly) in Manchester where he made a special guest appearance and I realised I hadn’t shared his brilliant film with you.

In the style of the much followed Danny MacKaskill productions, but Martyn adds a twist; he takes the £10k carbon road bike used by Team Sky‘s Bradley Wiggins & Mark Cavendish for a ride with a difference. With a plan to push the limits of road biking as far as his lycra legs would dare, Martyn looked to get his ultimate ride out of the awesome Pinarello Dogma 2. This bike won the 2012 Tour de France – surely it deserves a Road Bike Party!

Shot in various locations around the UK and featuring music from ‘Sound of Guns‘. Road Bike Party captures some of the toughest stunts ever pulled on a carbon road bike.

A Film by Robin Kitchin
Produced by Ashton Bikes
Music: Sound of Guns ‘Sometimes’

Out takes video

A Chat With Sir Chris Hoy

At the end of the Final Revolution of the series I caught up with Sir Chris Hoy for a brief chat.
I asked Chris how he was feeling and how the day had gone for him, “I’m feeling really great thanks, I’ve just had a very big block of training so it’s hard to know how well you’ll put the power down on the track, but on the whole I think tonight was a good test, a good warm up for the World Cup in London. I do have a few things to iron out after my error in the sprint against Jason [Kenny] but my time in the qualification sprint [10.099] was ok considering the temperature and track conditions in the afternoon.
There was a moment when Matt [Crampton] had a problem with his bike ahead of me in the team sprint, I nearly had to pull up the track to avoid a collision, but Matt managed to hold his line. It’s great to be back in front of a home crowd too and I really love the atmosphere here at Manchester and the Revolutions, it’s a great night of entertainment, the crowd really give you energy. My last track events were the World Cups and many British fans didn’t get to see them so it’s good to be back, it’s great to have my family here too.

How are preparations going for the Olympics?
I’m looking forward to the World Cup in London it will be a good benchmark and then it’s just one more event [the World Championships in Australia] where I aim to do my three events to the best of my ability to earn my place or places on the team for the Olympics, not long now! I can’t wait to get on with it, I would obviously like to defend all three titles at the Olympic Games but with the new quota system the positions will be hard fought, I will do everything in my power to gain as many spots as I can, the other guys on the team are in great form and just as determined.”

I also asked Chris his thoughts on how the new velodromes in London and Glasgow would fit into the current set up and if they would have a detrimental effect on the existing Manchester and Newport tracks…
“I don’t thinks so, I think they will benefit cycling. Anything that makes track cycling more accessible to the general public is good, whether it’s riding or spectating. It’s become a high profile sport with all the new funding and media support the sport’s getting these days. Appetite is growing. It will encourage healthy competition between the regions, another tier of competition. It means each velodrome can concentrate on encouraging and nurturing local cycling talent and there certainly is demand for that. We need to continue to find the stars of the future and stay ahead of the international competition.”
 
 
 
 
 

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.
 
 
 
 

My Mad-Dash For The Line

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.

I will be back next year, I cant wait for the series to start back up again, and it’s only just finished haha. One of my goals is to win the Revolution Series Championship next year. It would be really good for me. Hopefully by next year I will be stronger and fitter and also have some more knowledge of the different types of tactics I could use in these races to give me a better chance. But I’m very pleased with what I have done this year at the Revs, I am just very glad I have won a Revolution race this year and won the Madison with one of my closest friends and team mate Becca hunt.

 

Ellie

P.S. Don’t forget to watch the highlights of the Revolution Series on ITV4 7pm on 30/01/2012
 
 
 
 

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