by Heather Bamforth | Feb 18, 2012
I have ridden my bike since I was 14 years old. I was on the National Development Squad in the late 1990s, and won many medals at the BUSC championships whilst I was a student at the University of Manchester, mainly in the Track Championships and Hill Climb Championships. I also won the Manchester Regional Track League (Premier Division) on a number of occasions, as well as the Manchester & District Ladies Junior Time Trial Championships. I stopped racing in 2001 after I finished university and started to work full time as I struggled to manage the full days with training on top.
I decided to start racing again in 2011 after I was asked to join VC St Raphael. I was suffering from chronic fatigue on top of the epilepsy that I have always suffered from and I found it difficult to train whilst still working full time. However, I took the decision to swap medication (which I had been on since I was 18) and on Christmas Eve I came off the old medication completely – 15 years is a long time to be on any medication. Since being on the new medication, the chronic fatigue symptoms have lessened and my epilepsy remains under control (touch wood!). I have started training properly again and I am feeling stronger than ever before.
In 2013, I will be riding and managing a women’s team for Biketreks Racing Academy.
by Anna Magrath | Feb 15, 2012
Nancy & Anna Review the Ana Nichoola Snow Cat Jacket
Between us we use the full range of Ana Nichoola clothing and have been fans since the arrival of “Bo Peep” Gloves. We are both always at the front of the queue to purchase our next item. Ana Nichoola has now ventured into clothing with the Snow Cat Jacket and what a triumph it is. Below are our thoughts on it and links to our reviews of other products in the range we have purchased.
Cycling is a sport that’s dominated by men and all the equipment is made for them but with the new Ana Nichoola collection that will change! No more boring design, no more jackets and warmers that never fit… You can actually look girlie and stylish while riding your bike.
The brand is created by female bike rider Anna Glowinski, who better than a woman to understand the needs of women in the sport. Ana Nichoola has an innovating line of accessories with very cool designs; each piece has little details that make a simple item look extraordinary.
Apart from the good looks, the quality of the products is exceptionally high. Both of us agree we haven’t seen anything for female cyclists this good!
We agree our most favorite item is the “Snow Cat Jacket”, no other jacket on the market gets close to this one, it’s a warm jacket perfect for your cold winter rides, a great windstopper and like the arm warmers it fits amazingly well, tailored for a women’s body. The fabrics are of the best quality with a mix of reflective fabrics, sweat wicking, stretchy, soft and warm.
The collar is a double layer with a lovely soft polar fleece lining at the neck, the outer collar is a stand up mandarin style collar with a press stud fastening in a pale duck egg blue colour. The top sculpted part of the jacket and sleeves is made from a gorgeous white waffle textured fabric with tiny flecks of shiny thread woven into it (you can see the flecks in the blue collar too), it looks like snow glistening in the moonlight. The top lining is a lovely soft fleece. There’s a pair of embroidered circles on the shoulder in pastel pink and blue providing just enough embellishment to bring an elegant feel to the garment, this is repeated further down on the left hip. The top half is all about keeping your chest warm. The lines of the jacket are very sympathetic to the female form and rather than having a horizontal band or line between the two fabrics (as you find on most male or unisex cycling jerseys) it has a swooping blue stitched edge between the white of the top and the grey of the bottom. The bottom half of the jacket is a thinner fabric enabling more movement, it has a grey and dark charcoal horizontal stripe pattern. On the front at the left hip there’s the Ana Nichoola logo and just above it there’s an secure zipped pocket. On the back of the jacket there are two large pockets like all good cycling jerseys should have, but these pockets are again sympathetically styled to echo female curves. The pockets are stretchy and also have press-stud closures, there is a smaller pocket nestled inside the right pocket; ideal for a snack bar or a mini pump. Centre back of the jacket upper is a golden embroidered circle between your shoulder blades. The cuffs are finished with a matt silver reflective fabric. Running down the sides of the body and under the arms on the sleeves is a black lycra wicking fabric for a better contouring fit and to make your ride a comfortable one. Overall it provides an extremely flattering silhouette. You can tell a lot of thought and effort has gone in to designing this jacket.
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This jacket has provided more protection from the wind and wintery weather than any other cycling jacket of it’s kind we’ve owned and it looks great off the bike too. We’ve both had loads of compliments and questions while out and about… plenty of jacket envy. It’s easy to clean. The price is premium but lets be clear this jacket is premium quality and there are many jackets in this price bracket that aren’t near this quality. The stitching and finishing is excellent along 
with the fabric quality. The sizing is quite accurate, we would say that buying your true size will give you a good fitting jacket, the size range is a UK6 to UK14, bustier ladies may be disappointed that larger sizes aren’t available, but maybe that will change when the brand grows. We’ve seen a sneak peek of the Spring/Summer collection and the clothing range is increasing, you won’t be disappointed no matter what type of bike you ride you’ll want to get your hands on something from the collection!
Ana Nichoola also has gloves, neck warmers and ear warmers in the range so you should take a look at the Ana Nichoola website and read our reviews of the rest of the product range.
Come on girls, what are you waiting for… Style Your Ride!
Nancy & Anna.
Price: £159.99
Available from www.ananichoola.co.uk
by Christina Kelkel | Feb 13, 2012
GB Mixed Sprint Para Team - Darren Kenny, Sarah Storey & Jody Cundy - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel
The final day of the competition saw Jody racing in the Mixed Team Sprint alongside Darren Kenny and Sarah Storey. The GB team started into the competition as defending Champions and WR holders, however a rule change after last year’s World Championships – allowing fewer points per team – had forced the British coaches to reorganise their Team Sprint line-up. So today’s race was “a complete mystery” as Jody put it before the competition.
Tension was on after the Chinese posted a time of 51.152 but GB’s Darren Kenny got the team off to a great start. With Sarah loosing a little bit of time on lap two however, it was down to Jody to secure GB a ride in the final. And Jody did just that crossing the line in 51.114, only .038 ahead of China.
With both teams that close, it was obvious that the final for Gold would be a tough one for Darren, Sarah and Jody. And disaster stroke at the start of the first lap already, when Sarah slipped through the attachment on her handlebar, which she uses to compensate for the lack of grip caused by her disability. Sarah said “ I slipped out of it in the first banking which gave me an even bigger gap on Darren than this morning. The one thing that has never happened before, happened today, which is very annoying.”
Having issues with her handlebars, Sarah struggled to get onto Darren’s wheel and more importantly into his slipstream. Unsurprisingly then, GB was down after lap two and it was down to Jody again to try to make up the lost time. Unfortunately for him though, the damage was already done and the time gap too big to make up, so the GB team had to settle for Silver in a time of 51.175 behind the Chinese who rode a 50.564. The first time since 2007 that Great Britain has not won the Team Sprint title.
Team GB out the gate - UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships Los Angeles, USA - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel
After the race, Jody said “We gave it all, but we lost to the better team today. Unfortunately, we had some issue with Sarah’s handlebar attachment, which had a deadly knock on effect. She lost Darren’s wheel so she didn’t get the benefit of his slipstream and as a result faded more towards the end of her lap. As a consequence, the delivery speed dropped so my lap wasn’t as fast as it could have been neither.”
Looking at the positives, Sarah commented, “We rode the same time (as in the qualifying) with a problem, and that problem cost us a lot of time. However, it would be worse to come away from this situation knowing there was nothing we could do, but we’ve got so many things that we can do now.”
One of these things will be to add more Team Sprint training into their programs, as Jody explained, “I think if we had practiced more, we could have been better. Maybe we have been a bit complacent with the Team Sprint because we’ve always won it comfortably, but we literally did our trial and no practice. Effectively, we had only done one training session in this line up, so it’s probably our own fault for not practicing.”
However, Jody and the rest of the team feel confident that they can win back the Team Sprint crown in London. Jody said: “We’ve got a lot of things technically, that we can pick up easy, free speed. The Team Sprint race has been a lot more competitive than we expected, but we’re not a million miles off from where we were last year and from where we need to be right now. I don’t think we’re out of this at all, I think we’re in a strong place for London.”
Silver on the Podium - ©Copyright Christina Kelkel
Although these World Championships have not been Jody’s most successful ones, he emphasized the fact that the London Paralympic Games are his main focus for 2012 “We have been working incredibly hard, but there is still a lot more work to do for London. I’ve defended my kilo title and picked up a silver and a bronze in the team sprint and pursuit, so I cant complain. What has been really amazing though is the support myself and the team have been getting from the fans back home! I’d like to say thank you to all of you, it really does mean a lot to me and I can’t wait to get to London and perform in front of a home crowd!”
Jody will now enjoy a brief holiday with his family in Los Angeles, before returning to the UK and starting his intensive preparations in the run up to the Paralympic Games.
Christina.
by Anna Magrath | Jan 30, 2012
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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
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.
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.
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
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