My World Track Championships – Los Angeles Day 2

Jody Pushing Off - UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships Los Angeles, USA - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Day 2 and it was time for me to race the 4km Pursuit. Having won a silver medal in Montichiari the year before I was seeded into the last but one heat. I was lined up against Aaron Trent of the USA. As I built up speed to settle into my race rhythm I came out of turn 2 to be greeted by an official and the carpets from the start gate still in the middle of the track, not something thats normally there. Having averted the official I dropped down off the track, and hoped I would get a restart. Fortunately I would and I would ride once my official heat had finished and post a time on my own. My head a little all over the shot I settled back into the start gate and prepared for my 16 lap test. Within 2 laps I knew that it was going to be a long 4km, as the gear felt massive, which considering I’d gone down in size because of the conditions and the track I thought was worrying. Once I had slipped of the pace my coach was walking I just tried to push on as much as possible. My target was to take the fastest time, a time I comfortable rode last year, that way I would be guaranteed another ride regardless of the outcome of the final heat. As the laps continued I kept pushing on, with words of encouragement being shouted from track side by Chris Furber, it’s the most animated I’ve see him while I’ve been racing, so I knew it was going to be tight.

I crossed the line in 4:55.958, some 11 seconds off my best, although in the tough conditions it was good enough to top the leader board. The world champ and bronze medalist from the previous worlds gunned for my time in the final heat to knock me down to 3rd. In the final I would now be riding for Bronze against Roberto Alcaide from Spain.
For the final I dropped my gear again, to hopefully suit the track and conditions, and immediately out of the gate I felt more controlled than in the morning qualifying , and I was on schedule, after 2laps I caught a glimpse of my opponent, and at that point I made the conscious decision to go for the catch.

Podium - LtoR: Jiri Jezek, Carol-Eduard Novak & Jody Cundy MBE - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

I injected some pace and within 5laps I had overcome my opponent to win the bronze. It was quite satisfying catching Roberto as he had caught me for 2 minutes during the time trial at the world road championships last September!
The final was an cracking pursuit contest, with Carol Eduard Novak taking the title ahead of previous world champions and WR holder Jiri Jezek.
 
Jody
 
 
C4 4km Pursuit
1. Carol-Eduard Novak ROU 4:47.927
2. Jiri Jezek CZE 4:50.852
3. Jody Cundy GBR Overlap
4. Roberto Alcaide ESP
 
 
 
 
 

UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships – Jody & Mark’s Progress

Jody chats to Jiří Ježek – Para-Cycling Track World Championships – ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Jody Cundy MBE
After qualifying third in a time of 4:55.958 in the morning, Jody was facing Roberto Garcia Alcaide (ESP, 4:57.622) in the final for Bronze tonight. Motivated by his unlucky qualification run, Jody was off for a quick start and well ahead of his opponent after lap 2 already. Quickly closing in on Alcaide, Jody did not waste any time and managed to catch the Spaniard in lap 5 to take the Bronze medal.

After the race, Jody said “We had not planned to go for the catch so it was quite a surprise to have him in sight after lap 2 already. I was a little disappointed with my performance this morning when I was off pace, so we decided to change a few things and ride the same schedule again. We changed the gearing after the qualifying and without any distractions on the track, I could fully concentrate on my racing so I felt much better tonight than I did this morning.”
Even though Jody did not manage to improve on his previous World Championships performance in Montichiari where he won a Silver, Jody feels confident that his result is a step in the right direction: “Ultimately, London is my main goal and I am still learning in the pursuit. It’s a very different event to the kilo but I am not a million miles off from where I want to be, so everything is pointing into the right direction. Of course, I would have liked to post a faster time in the qualifying as my time didn’t reflect my good shape at the moment, but it is all about the learning experience and we learned a lot today!

 

Mark catches Juan Jose Mendez Fernandez - Para-Cycling Track World Championships - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Mark Colbourne
After Mark qualified second fastest in the C1’s 3km Individual Pursuit in a time of 4:06.895 he was facing Spaniard Juan Jose Mendez Fernandez (4:06.285) for Gold tonight.

Mark got off for a very good start and managed to close in lap after lap on his opponent, finally catching him to take his first ever Para-Cycling World Championship Gold in his first International track competition! Mark said “I have come a long way after breaking my back in a paragliding accident in 2009 and I feel like all the hard work I have put in over the last 2 years is paying off now. It’s a dream come true and I can’t wait to tell my family later tonight!”

Mark Gold Podium - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Today had held a mixed bag of emotions for Mark, after his classification was challenged and he had to present himself to the classifiers between his qualifying race and the final for Gold. “I kind of expected this and always had it in the back of my mind. After all, it’s not common for a Paralympic Champion (Michael Teuber) to get overlapped in qualifying” Mark commented. However, after 2 hours of examination the commissairs confirmed Mark’s classification as a C1 so he was able to ride to Gold in the 3km Pursuit. “I am really happy all doubts have been cleared and I can now fully concentrate on the kilo tomorrow. I feel quite confident having achieved my first goal for these World Championships, so I’ll just enjoy the race tomorrow.”

Jody shows off his Bronze Medal - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Tomorrow will see Mark racing in the 1km Time Trial, which will be his final competition at these year’s Para-Cycling Track World Championships and also the last chance to leave a lasting impression with the GB staff before the London Paralympic Games.

After today’s pursuit, Jody is now looking forward to his favorite discipline, the 1km Time Trial, in which he is defending champion and WR holder. “I am in good form and I feel much more in control riding the kilo, but the track in LA is not as fast as Manchester or Montichiari, so breaking my WR will be tough”.

Following a discussion with the UCI Management Committee, the UCI overruled their decision to enforce rule 1.3.022 (stating that no rider is allowed to wear overshoes during competition) after tonight’s racing. This means that all riders will now be allowed to wear overshoes for the reminder of the competition.
 
Follow @christinakelkel @jodycundy & @markcolbourne and @BCreports on twitter for updates from track centre.

 
 
More soon!

Christina
 
 
 
 
 

UCI Para-Cycling Track World Champs – Qualifying

Mark Colbourne - UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships Los Angeles, USA - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Mark Colbourne
Mark qualified second fastest in the C1’s 3km Individual Pursuit in a time of 4:06.895 and will be racing Juan Jose Mendez Fernandez (ESP, 4:06.285) for Gold later tonight.

Mark Colbourne Qualifying - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

This is Mark’s first International track competition after making his debut on the road at the UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships five months ago and coming away with a strong Silver medal.
Before today’s competition Mark said “I only really started training on the track after the Road World Championships and it turned out my times were very workable. Since then, I have constantly improved, so I feel quite confident going into the competition now.” A former Volleyball player for Wales, Mark broke his back in a paragliding accident back in 2009 and now races in the C1 category for riders with most severe disabilities.

At the Track World Championships, Mark will not only be riding the 3km Individual Pursuit but also the 1km Time Trial. But with his background in Triathlon and endurance sports, it’s clear what he is most passionate about “I love riding the Pursuit! I can settle in, listen to my coach on the sideline and just enjoy riding my bike. I like the Kilo, but it’s all about power and with only 4 laps of racing, it’s all in. There is no room for error!”
 

Jody Cundy MBE Qualifying - UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships Los Angeles, USA - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

Jody Cundy MBE
Jody was off for a tricky start in the 4km Individual Pursuit after a Commissaire standing on the track in the back straight forced Jody to quit his first qualification run. Luckily for Jody, the UCI recognized this error and allowed Jody a restart, but this also meant that he had no other rider to race against.

Nevertheless, Jody rode a strong race finishing in a time of 4:55.958, which was good enough to place him third and therefore into the Bronze medal ride off later today. In the final for Bronze, Jody will now be facing Roberto Garcia Alcaide (ESP) who qualified in a time of 4:57.622.

After the race, Jody said “this was the hardest pursuit I have ever ridden and unfortunately not one of my fastest. I am still quite please though to have made it into the final for Bronze after having to start a second time. I came around the first corner and saw the Commissaire standing on the track, so I didn’t have a choice but to slow down and abort the attempt. There was very little time to refocus before my second qualification run and having no one to chase didn’t make things easier neither. But that’s just the way it was and I tried to make the best of the situation.”

Jody track centre - UCI Para-Cycling Track World Champs, USA - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel

This wasn’t the first time Jody has been unlucky in Los Angeles after his road bike, used for training and warming up, got broken on the plane to America. “Luckily, the mechanics managed to temporarily fix the bike, but I will most likely get a replacement once I get back to the UK” Jody commented.

On a different note, the UCI decided to enforce rule 1.3.033 stipulating “It is forbidden to wear non-essential items of clothing or items designed to influence the performance of a rider such as reducing the air resistance or modifying the body of the rider…”. This means that no rider will be allowed to wear overshoes for the remainder of the competition, a rule that has never been enforced this way before! Jody said “We were told about this last night and were immediately surprised. Rules are rules and they are supposed to make it fair for everyone, but I don’t quite understand why this is happening right now. There is a big lack of consistency in terms of what is allowed when, but we’ll just have to go with it for now”
 
 
Follow @christinakelkel @jodycundy & @markcolbourne and @BCreports on twitter for updates from track centre.

 

More to come!

Christina
 
 
 
 
 

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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