It’s Yesss Tickhill GP time! With just over an hour to go to today’s event where we will see over 450 riders take to the streets of the small South Yorkshire town of Tickhill the atmosphere is hotting up.
Tickhill GP organiser Rich Stoodley has worked his socks off to make sure this event brings equality to the men and women riding providing them with the equal status and value of prizes, the largest prize fund awarded on the UK racing calendar. With the race day in it’s third year; this is the second year the women have been given this status, and the quality of riders attending proves Tickhill GP is an outstanding success.
The racing kicks off with the youth and junior riders leading up to the elite category of riders including Team WIGGINS in the mens race, the women are represented by teams like Les Filles RT and our very own Racing Chance Foundation and Team Jadan amongst others. It’s unusual for such a large event to give riders of all levels a chance to race the same circuit and mingle with their rivals and cycling stars.
The whole village and surrounding area get into the spirit of the day with local pubs serving the official Tickhill Grand Prix Ale, you can pick up a race programme with all the information you need; riders, teams, sponsors, food and attractions. Riders will be available to sign autographs and there is a merchandise village and you can test yourself against the clock or other spectators and riders at the Rollapaluza stand. The whole event is shown on large screens around the circuit with a full commentary of the action. This year Anna Glowinski will join Matt Stephens for commentary.
The racing starts at 11.30am on the closed race circuit, get yourself down to Tickhill for a great family day of street food and top notch cycling if you can’t make it down then don’t fret, Cycling Shorts.cc are proud to be official sponsors of Tickhill GP and you can watch it live all day here on CyclingShorts.cc! Just pull up a chair, click on the link and tuck in to your Sunday lunch while you watch the action unfold.
The Racing Chance Foundation and Team 22 are very pleased to announce a joint venture that will enhance the opportunities available to Under 23 and Junior Women riders within the UK.
A true pathway for success
From 2017, Team 22 will act as the Under 23 and Junior development squad for The Racing Chance Foundation (“Racing Chance”). This will allow Racing Chance to offer a complete development pathway for riders. This pathway will cover and support progression for riders from novice-focused intro- to-racing days and race skills development sessions for more advanced riders, through to a development squad (Team 22). Then beyond that, there will be the opportunity to race overseas through organised racing trips, as introduced and run by Racing Chance in 2015.
(c) Dan Monaghan Photography
Talent identification and development
Within this partnership structure, Team 22 will continue to operate as a separate team and will be supported as it is now through commercial sponsorship, thus ensuring that there is no drain on existing Racing Chance funds. Riders joining Team 22 will be supported through its existing structure of coaching and financial support, but will also have access to the additional opportunities available from Racing Chance. Both Racing Chance and Team 22 are already putting in place a scouting network that will allow us to identify and offer places to some of the brightest young bike racing talent in the UK, providing opportunities to riders not on an existing development pathway.
(c) Dan Monaghan Photography
What does this mean?
Team 22 owner Colin Batchelor says: “This is an amazing opportunity for everyone involved in this partnership. For us, it’ll be great to be part of a true development pathway and the level of support and opportunity we will be able to offer riders is something everyone involved in Team 22 is very excited about.”
Racing Chance Foundation Chair Heather Bamforth says “By creating an alternative road based pathway, we hope to be able to encourage Youth A riders to continue racing once they leave that age category by easing the transition into road racing with the junior and senior women. This development can only be seen as a positive for all people who are keen to see numbers participating increasing, and the Foundation hopes to offer training opportunities for all young women in the junior and under-23 categories regardless of whether they go on to race for Team 22.”
The Racing Chance Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales which was set up in April 2014 to provide an alternative pathway for women in competitive cycling. They focus on road-based events, providing training and racing opportunities from novice through to elite level.
Racing Chance have membership opportunities available, where you can join for £5. They will have a membership area up and running on their website shortly, but in the meantime, they are affiliated with British Cycling, you can sign up here. Not only will you be supporting a charity dedicated to women’s cycling, but the Foundation is also affiliated to Cycling Time Trials and the Manchester & District Ladies Cycling Association for those of you who want to have a go at time trialling but are not sure about what it is all about. So, whether you are already a member of a club or are currently riding on your own, why not sign up today? Men are welcome as much as women! In return you get exclusive access to their members and coaching area on the website (launching shortly), a discount off all purchases in the Racing Chance Shop for the duration of your membership (more benefits to be announced soon). You can also book and attend the charity’s heavily subscribed training events, for details of the latest events click here or why not visit the Racing Chance Foundation shop to purchase some stylish race kit, all profits from sales are put straight back in to the charity to provide more cycling opportunities for members. Even the smallest donation make a huge difference.
The Racing Chance Foundation is a not for profit registered charity: 1156835.
Since their incorporation as a charity last year, The Racing Chance Foundation has been providing cycle training and racing opportunities for women in the UK, and have provided coached sessions for over 200 women since January 2014.
Limited funding has meant that the majority of racing opportunities so far that the Foundation has been able to provide have been restricted to the UK scene, however, since receiving a generous donation from the Fred Whitton Challenge, the Foundation has been able to secure places in two international stage races, the first of which is this weekend: The Ladies Tour of Norway.
The Foundation are pleased to announce that their first team to travel abroad will consist of the following riders:
The Racing Chance Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales which was set up in April 2014 to provide an alternative pathway for women in competitive cycling. They focus on road-based events, providing training and racing opportunities from novice through to elite level.
RCF have membership opportunities available, where you can join for £5. They will have a membership area up and running on their website shortly, but in the meantime, they are affiliated with British Cycling, you can sign up here. Not only will you be supporting a charity dedicated to women’s cycling, but the Foundation is also affiliated to Cycling Time Trials and the Manchester & District Ladies Cycling Association for those of you who want to have a go at time trialling but are not sure about what it is all about. So, whether you are already a member of a club or are currently riding on your own, why not sign up today? Men are welcome as much as women! In return you get exclusive access to their members and coaching area on the website (launching shortly), a discount off all purchases in the Racing Chance Shop for the duration of your membership (more benefits to be announced soon). You can also book and attend the charity’s heavily subscribed training events, for details of the latest events click here or why not visit the Racing Chance Foundation shop to purchase some stylish race kit, all profits from sales are put straight back in to the charity to provide more cycling opportunities for members. Even the smallest donation make a huge difference.
The Racing Chance Foundation is a not for profit registered charity: 1156835.
The secret training products are relatively new to the scene; the main man behind these intriguing new products is Tim Lawson. Tim also being the founder of the well-known nutritional products SIS (Science in Sport) has vast experience with developing the best nutrition products for over 20 years. Tim also being a fantastic athlete himself is working with athletes from all levels from beginners right through to elite athletes.
The brand Secret Training have started out with The Strip System which includes:
Pins in a Tin Sun Screen Micro-Fibre Body Cloths Post Race Wash Anti-Chafing Cream Start Oil Lip Balm Hygiene Wipes Hand Sanitiser
All these products can be bought separately or as a Race Day Personal Care Kit (£49.99); this means all the products come in a tidy bag to keep them all together. Having used these products since they were first launched they have accompanied me to all my races. I definitely believe they are a worthwhile investment towards your racing and personal care, helping you to keep clean and comfortable while riding your bike. There is nothing better than products that make your cycling more enjoyable. Having one bag of essentials when you’re racing and travelling filled with all the essential bits and bobs you need (and often forget) is brilliant.
More recently the team at Secret Training have been developing nutritional products which were properly introduced on the 7th January 2015 at their open event. This presentation consisted of the riders and media getting their first taste of the Stealth Gels and Stealth Super Hydration Drinks with the Strip products also being featured. While trying the assortment of gels (Banana, Lemon & Lime, Citrus, Tropical, Berry), my personal favourite was obvious – the Banana Gel, which seemed to be a popular first choice with a lot of the cyclists present. Tim was there to talk through the science behind the Gels and how they work, unlike some other brands gels the Banana gels actually have real banana in them! The gels can be bought individually for £1.25, £17.50 for a pack of 14. The Berry Energy Gel with Caffeine & Betaine and Banana Gel cost a little more at £24.50 for 14 or £1.75 for single shots, I’m not sure why this is but I’m guessing it’s to do with the cost of the fruit and caffeine ingredients being more expensive or the process involved in integrating them into the gel. As well as trying the Gels the SuperHydration Drinks were a big hit with me coming in a wide range of flavours; Lemon & Lime, Blackcurrant & Elderflower, Mango & Passionfruit and also Lemon Tea. They retail from £15.99 for a selection pack of 20x 14g sachets; each sachet mixes with 500ml of water – to £24.99 for a 600g tub of a single flavour, so they are competitively priced. Each of the flavours are well balanced and relatively neutral, with no overpowering flavours or after taste. The gels and hydration drinks are easy to consume and enjoyable, unlike some other nutritional products I have previously used which have been hard to stomach in the quantities you need to aid your performance.
From speaking to Tim I have found out they are currently working on developing recovery drinks, so there is a lot more to come from this new brand and I can’t wait to see the results. Furthermore Tincoff-Saxo riders are being supported by all products produced by Secret Training, they will be providing valuable feedback for the brand to enable the development of flavours and product ranges, the aim is to provide exactly what riders need and want.
CyclingShorts.cc give Secret Training products a Star Buy rating of 97%:
Personal Care Kit – 98/100
The Personal care kit is unique as I don’t know anything like it.
Nutrition Products – 96/100
In my opinion the nutrition products are the best, better than SIS, Tim said it was very difficult to make ones better but he thinks they have – I have to agree!
I really like the products, try them for yourself, the secret is out!
So we come to the end of another thrilling Revolution Series and what a treat it’s been, some of the worlds best sprinters and endurance riders mixing it up with top British Junior riders.
The finale of the season was held at it’s home track in Manchester at the National Cycling Centre where team Maloja Pushbikers stormed to victory in the Revolution Championship, Eleanor Dickinson and Rhys Britton took the young riders podiums in the HOY Future Stars Championships with consistent and tactical racing skills through this long season. The Championship crown didn’t go without a challenge, ORICA GreenEDGE were determined to upset the results with their bullish gutsy attacks and wins throughout the evening, Maloja Pushbikers had to work hard to remain on top. The nearest rivals to the HOY Future Stars top spot put in a fight too, Sophie Capewell and Fred Wright were in every attack with their teams.
The afternoon got underway much to the disappointment of the crowd with the absence of headline sprinting star Jason Kenny who adorned the cover of the race programme. Jason pulled out of the meet after feeling unwell earlier in the morning. There was still a cracking line up for the sprint competitions with the likes of John Paul (Scotland), Lewis Olivia (GB) and Charlie Conord of France in the mix, all of which made it through the afternoons qualifying races to proceeding to the evenings action.
Elite Championship Flying Lap Men
Alex Edmondson of Orica GreenEDGE posted the best time, winning in a time of 13.487, 2nd was Achim Berkart of JLT Condor in a time of 13.858, and the rest of the riders posted above the 14 second mark with Leif Lampater (Maloja Pushbikers) posting a time of 14.014 in 3rd place.
Elite Championship Points Race (30km) Men
Alex Edmondson @ORICA_GreenEDGE storms to a win in the with a lead of 7 points with one laps to go, 2nd is @Maloja Pushbikes Leif Lampater starting the day off strongly, 3rd Achim Burkart.
Before the evenings Championship events got underway we saw Gustav Larsson take on the Hour Record. He was running a 58:14 schedule for his hour attempt. With 10km raced he was 13.03 seconds down and 1min 18 secs adrift at the halfway point. Unfortunately the clock worked against him and he saw the UCI Hour Record slip away from him. 50.160km gave him a new Swedish Hour Record. You can view Gustav’s times by clicking here.
Hour Record Holders under the new Unified rules set in 2014. Starting the renewed interest in the hour record, recently retired German Pro Cycling Jens Voigt set the benchmark of 51.110, the oldest holder of the record on 18th Sept 2014. He was followed by:
Matthias Brandle (Swi) managed a time of 51.852 30 in Oct 2014
Jack Bobridge (Aus), attempted the record on 31st Jan 2015 in Melbourne but fell short.
The current Record Holder is Rohan Dennis (Aus), who set his time on 8th Feb 2015 in Switzerland, WR 52.491
Alex Dowsett, was meant to ride the hour on 29th Feb 2015, but it was postponed with a possible April date rumoured. Alex is on the mend since his collarbone break and is back in training to tackle the record. Suggestions estimate a 17.1s lap average to beat Rohan Dennis’s time, around 53Kmph.
Elimination womens race Brit Tate was first out. The race continued to drop riders off the back with 5 riders left in the womens elimination race Laura Trott appeared to be comfortable in her favoured style of riding (dangling off the back until she’s required to move to save her skin). After dropping some of the big names (Kay, Rowsell, Curtis & Barker) the final sprint for the line was between Laura Trott & Leire Olaberria of Spain, Laura won comfortably, it seems sitting on the devils tail suits Laura just fine.
Elite Championship Scratch Race (15km)Men
22 riders lined up for the mens Scratch race with vital Championship point up for grabs it was a two team race with Orica and Maloja fighting over the last few scraps of the championships spoils, Maloja Pushbikes lead the competition with 243 points. The Orica boys really needed Christian and Leif to struggle but there was no sign of that, there appeared to be tactics at play from Maloja, only making an effort when required and often sitting near the back and moving forward when there was a danger of Orica getting away. A change of tactics with 25 laps to go 11 riders broke off the front and gained half a lap. 4 riders break free from this lead group with Christian Grasmann leading them. At the 20 lap to go mark Joel Partington retires. Christian’s team mate Leif Lampater takes control on the front for a period with every move being watched by the Orica GreenEDGE boys who appear to have blistering speed to react to manoeuvres. At the 9 lap mark Trodden & De Ketele breakaway but to no avail.
The menace of Orica GreenEDGE’s Alex Edmondson & Miles Scotson force riders to react, along with Maloja’s Christian Grasmann they force all the riders to the top of the track as they get ready for the final sprint.
The form of Alex Edmondson is apparent as he looks like a pure sprinter as he attacks, Leif Lampater responds but has to settle for 2nd in what was a thrilling finish to the Scratch Race, unfortunately Orica didn’t really want to take Leif to the finish line with them as they just offset the valuable Orica points for the Championship, this was going to be a hard fought night of cycling and the Aussies meant business!
HOY Future Stars Scratch Race (5km) Boys
Going into the boys competition Rhys Britton was leading the championship with 400 points with 2nd placed rider Fred Wright on 354 points so it was all to play for. It was a high octane race, with 6 laps to go Anthony Anderson went off the front followed by Jamie Ridehalgh in a bid to win from the front, unfortunately the tactic didn’t work and the pack came back together with Fred Wright winning ahead of Matthew Draper and 3rd place was mopped up by Tom Piddock.
HOY Future Stars Scratch Race (5km) Girls
It appeared it was going to be an attacking evening of racing in all competition levels, but with 14 laps to go Sophie Capewell was striking out the peloton but the pack were carefully watching each other. It was a twitchy race. At 9 laps to go Monica Dew Hope took to the front for team Ignitr. In the closing laps of the race Esme Niblett for Madison Genesis held the front with the most active riders of the race sat on her wheel. When it came to the sprint for the line Sophie Capewell crossed the line first with Anna Docherty and Jess Roberts on her wheel taking 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Revolution Longest Lap (24 riders) Men
Joel Partington of Madison Genesis decided he wanted to hug the start line at the top of the track and take the risk of being close to it until the gun went, it was a tactic that paid off, he managed to use his position and height to comfortably sprint to the finish with 2nd and 3rd placed riders breaking away with him. Joe Holt 2nd for Team USN and 3rd pace was Alex Edmondson of Orica GreenEDGE who was fast becoming the elite rider of the evening, he made sure he was in the mix in every one of his races.
UCI Scratch Race (10km) Women
The 40 lap race was all set to be a zinger, Jo Rowsell attacked 10 laps in and with a small group following her broke away. Jo managed to shake of the riders with her and went on to gain half to three quarters of a lap but she couldn’t break the elastic between her and the chasing pack. Laura Trott was sat in the wheels for the majority of the race as the crowd waited for her to attack, unfortunately for Jo she was drawn back into the peloton and the attack was left late by the riders and the race was taken by Ellie Coster, Laura only managed 3rd place with Katie Curtis taking 2nd, certainly not what the crowd expected but it was a brilliant tactical ride by Ellie Coster.
UCI Sprint
With no Jason Kenny in the line up the competition wasn’t as spicy but the riders present put on a real show for the crowds. the Semi final was a match up of Lewis Oliva vs Jonathan Mitchell, Lewis knocked Jonathan out in two rounds after Mitchell was relegated for not holding his race line, no need for a decider. The face off between Charlie Conord of France and John Paul, went to just two rounds with Charlie being the victor in both to take him through to the race for gold with Lewis Olivia. In the end John Paul beat Jonathan Mitchell to the bronze without too much fuss.
The final ended up with Conord and Olivia taking a race each, it came to a decider. Not to be outdone the sprinters decided to show the crowd their track stand, it led to a frantic finish and the Frenchman won by a slim margin of 9cms on the line, it was confirmed on the velodrome screen to cheers from the crowd.
HOY Future Stars 6 Lap Dash Boys
The boys didn’t hold back with the race living up to it’s name, Rhys Britton and Fred Wright winding up the last few laps to fight for their valuable championship points, Rhys Britton won with Fred Wright 2nd and Matthew Draper 3rd, there seemed to be a group of usual suspects heading the peloton in the boys races for the evening.
HOY Future Stars 6 Lap Dash Girls
The 6 lap Dash was won by the consistently great Sophie Capewell ahead of Eve Jefferies and Megan Chard, Ellie Dickinson came in a close 4th.
Elite Championship Madison Time Trial Men
The mens Madison is always a favourite of mine and it didn’t disappoint. Alex Edmondson actually struck quite an intimidating figure with his very strong riding style throughout the evening, he was like the Terminator on a bike, he and team mate Miles Scotson didn’t disappoint with their unbeatable time in the Madison TT, posting a time of 56.181, Team Maloja Pushbikers came in 2nd place but over one second down (57.862) JLT Condor were a whole second off their place (58.817) with the rest of the teams scattered between 58.896 and 1:00.840.
HOY Future Stars Points Race (5km) Boys
20 laps of the track and Fred Wright managed to get himself into every sprint earning valuable points. Rhys Britton managed to contest some points too stopping Fred from running away with all the goodies. Other riders who put in strong rides were Turnbull, Walls, Longstaff and Stewart, all contesting more than one of the sprints. The final race results where: 10 points to Fred Wright, 8 to Britton and 5 each for Longstaff and Stewart.
HOY Future Stars Points Race (5km) Girls
Another triumphant win for Sophie Capewell, the cherry on her championship cake, she won the first and final sprints of the race giving her an unassailable win of 10 points. Eleanor Dickinson came 2nd with 6 points and 3rd was Rebecca Raybould with 5 points, a close 4th was taken by Emily Tillett who also got 5 points but on count back hadn’t featured in the more than one sprint which was in the middle of the race to earn her points. Raybould.
Elite Championship Team Elimination Men
The elimination came down to the two teams of the evening and series, Maloja Pushbikers and Orica GreenEDGE. Int the final sprint Orica had more fuel left in the tank, no idea how since Alex Edmondson seemed to be over every move in every race of the day. A great win for Orica GreenEDGE who came away with the most points on the evening but sadly not enough for them to topple the consistency high scoring Maloja Pushbikers team of Christian Grasmann and Leif Lampater.
UCI Keirin
The last final of the 2014/15 Revolution Series was the UCI Keirin. It appeared the earlier racing had taken it’s toll on Charlie Conords legs as he came in 6th. The Czech rider Tomas Babek won with GB riders Lewis Olivia and John Paul jostling for position, coming in 2nd & 3rd respectively.
The Revolution returns back to Freeview Television this series. The highlights will be shown the Saturday morning after the event on Channel 4. Then on 4OD catch-up on line.
Catch up with the highlights on Saturday 21st March at 7.00am. Presenting the one hour show will be Matt Barbet, Sian Welby, & Rebecca Charlton with Guest Presenter
The next round of Revolution, Season 13, will be back later in 2015 with Race 52.
It looks like there will be some changes to the Revolution Series for the 2015/16 season as it continues to evolve and dominate the track season in the UK, so watch this space for more information as it’s released!
NEXT SEASON TICKETS
A reminder that tickets for next season will go on sale on Monday 13th April exclusively to past customers – these will be available at a special discounted price to say thank you for your support again this season. Tickets will then go on sale a week later to British Cycling members and customers who pre-register for tickets here . Tickets will be on general release on 1st May.
Team Mountain Goat Coaching Ready for XC Series Opener
There will be a new team lining up in domestic Cross-Country (XC) Mountain Biking races in 2015. Team Mountain Goat Coaching consists of four riders who are all coached and trained by Mountain Goat Coaching’s Dan Small.
The team is also supported by Springhill Water Services Ltd.
Dan, an experienced British Cycling Coach, launched the Mountain Goat Coaching business in 2014. With over 10 years’ experience in sport science, coaching and writing bespoke training programmes, Dan’s “don’t be a sheep” philosophy of coaching focuses on helping individuals to develop in a way that best suits their specific needs.
Dan sees the launch of Team Mountain Goat Coaching as a logical next step: “Although the riders have very individual preparation programmes, the team regularly comes together to train and develop in an environment where they are encouraged to not only support one another, but also challenge one another’s comfort zones in a constructive way to help each other develop as better riders both on and off the bike.”
The team consists of four XC Mountain Bike Riders who are targeting the British Mountain Bike Series (BMBS) and the British National Championships. With a good spread across the age categories the team is made up of Matt Wilson (Grand Vet), James Edmond (U23/Expert), Miles Worner (Junior) and Nick Hamilton (Youth).
The team recently returned from a busy three-day pre-season training camp in Wales and are looking forward to taking to the start line for their first races of the new season. The team’s 2015 campaign begins on Sunday 22nd March on the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games course at the first round of the Scottish XC Series (SXC). From there the team head to Round 1 of the BMBS at Sherwood Pines the following weekend.
In addition to the 4 mountain bikers forming Team Mountain Coaching in 2015, a number of other up-and-coming riders are currently receiving support from Mountain Goat Coaching, with Dan also helping riders develop in Road, Track, Downhill MTB and Cyclo-Cross. For more information on the team and Mountain Goat Coaching visit www.mountaingoat.bike or follow them on Facebook www.facebook.com/mountaingoat.bike
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The racing kicks off with the youth and junior riders leading up to the elite category of riders including Team WIGGINS in the mens race, the women are represented by teams like Les Filles RT and our very own Racing Chance Foundation and Team Jadan amongst others. It’s unusual for such a large event to give riders of all levels a chance to race the same circuit and mingle with their rivals and cycling stars.
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