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Chris Hoy headed a host of British and French sprinting talent at the final Revolution of the 2011/2012 season, which also included a thrilling National Madison Championships amid a specially extended all day programme. The final event of series nine of the popular event saw the Revolution Championships and Future Stars competitions decided, as well as the thrilling spectacle of the Derny Scratch Race.
The sprint competition gave a great indication of GB form with the London World Cup and Melbourne World Champs on the horizon. Reigning world champion Jason Kenny took victory in the sprint competition, dispatching none other than Sir Chris Hoy in the semi finals before facing the imposing figure of Matt Crampton in the finals. Hoy was the fastest qualifier, laying down a 10.099 for 200 metres, while Kenny qualified fourth with a 10.238. However once into the match sprinting the compact sprinter from Bolton was in his element, catching Hoy napping in the semis before beating Crampton 2-0 in the finals. Also notable was Pete Mitchell, riding for V-Sprint who posted a 10.230 PB in qualifying, right up there with the established names on the GB sprint squad.
Hoy however made amends for his early sprint exiting by bossing the Keirin, coming over the top after sitting ominously at the back of the train, as has become the Scotsman’s trademark in recent seasons. Hoy’s victory ignited the packed out crowd, most of whom had made the journey to get a rare glimpse of the ten time world champion in action.
Hoy was back in action at the very end of the night, alongside his Sky teammates Crampton and Kenny, with whom he did a demolition job on French guests in the team sprint, posting a 44.320, three sections ahead of the Gallic trio of Bourgain, D’Almeida and Lafargue.
The packed day of racing also saw the conclusion of the Revolution Championships events – which saw teams do battle in a variety of endurance disciplines. Coming into the final event, Maxgear Racing had a slender lead of 7 points ahead of UK Youth and were keen to hold on for the overall title.
The first event was the Team Elimination and Maxgear started on the front foot, avoiding the elimination and beating Rapha Condor Sharp in the final sprint. However, UK Youth struck back with victory in the 1km Madison Time Trial, with the pairing of Mark Christian (fresh from his National Madison Championships win) and Claudio Imhof producing a 59.037 to seal victory.
However it was Sky Procycling’s Alex Dowsett who notched up an impressive victory in the points race, winning two sprints and gaining a lap to take victory ahead of Jon Mould, riding for Howies. Impressive riding from the Sky Procycling man, fresh from the Tour Down Under and having just fought tooth and nail in the National Madison Championships.
Simon Yates too looked fresh in the next endurance event, despite taking victory in the 200 lap suffer-fest of the Madison earlier in the day. Yates won what was perhaps the most thrilling of the evening’s endurance races, the Derny Scratch race – Eight riders, eight dernys, noise, two-stroke oil and thrilling action. Yates managed to win despite a storming effort from Claudio Imhof and Michael Morkov, Imhov fading in the final few laps while Morkov just failed to get around the classy Yates. However, Morkov, a six day specialist riding for Howies, took victory in the final endurance event, the scratch, getting involved in a decisive break early on and sprinting clear to take victory.
However, despite only winning one of the endurance events, Maxgear’s consistent scoring saw them draw clear from their rivals to take the 2011/12 Revolution Championship title, ahead of Sky Procycling and Howies.
Despite so much elite-level talent on display the Future Stars managed to wow the crowds with some thrilling racing of their own. Coming into the final event of the season, both the Boys and Girls competitions were more-or-less sewn up, with Emily Kay already home and dry for a third consecutive title in the girls while Maxgear’s Jake Ragen looked odds-on for the Boys crown.
Kay was relatively anonymous for much of the day’s racing, with Ellie Coster (Howies) and Melissa Lowther (CHEP) slugging it out to decide the runner-up spot. Coster (along with teammate Rebecca Hunt) took victory in the Madison during the afternoon session and followed it up with a win in the 6 Lap Dash. Hunt took victory in the points, winning two sprints on the way but it was only right that Kay should show her hand in the final event, the scratch. The bunch stayed together, playing into the hands of punchy sprinter Kay and all she had to do was unload her power when the bell tolled. An emphatic victory for Kay in her final race as a Future Star and a great way to claim her third consecutive title.
Jake Ragen took a similar approach in the boys events, keeping his rivals guessing until the very last event, the points race, which he won in a great display of team riding alongside Chris Lawless. Title rivals Oliver Wood and Jacob Scott took wins in the 6 Lap Dash and the Scratch respectively while Howies pairing of Matt Cross and Owen James took the spoils in the Madison. But it was the consistent Ragen who eased ahead on points and joined Kay on the podium to receive the yellow DHL Future Stars winner’s jersey and the applause of the 3000+ crowd. However, neither Kay’s Cunga Bikes team nor Ragen’s Maxgear outfit took the Future Stars team award – CHEP’s strength in depth helping them seal victory and a place on the presentation podium at the end of the event.
And so the curtain closed on another season of Revolution racing – perhaps the best season yet. The final event managed to hold the interest of the packed velodrome all day, with the added spectacle of the Madison, a power-packed sprint programme and some great new race formats fresh from the six-day circuit underlining Revolution’s reputation as the premier UK track cycling spectator event.
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/Imhov)
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 Abbie-May PARKINSON Chep UK 144 pts
