Tag: Laura Trott

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Revolution Series Round 5

Revolution Series

Revolution SeriesThe Revolution Series returns to London this weekend (February 27 & 28) for the penultimate round of the tournament. The iconic Lee Valley Velopark, which was home to Team GB’s unprecedented Olympic success, plays host to the world’s cycling stars again and a super slate of elite racing.

 

Round 5 of the Revolution Series kicks off on Friday 27 February with a Team GB v Rest of World race card that has eight British and eight international riders going head to head across a Madison, Derny Race, Flying Lap and Australian Pursuit. There will also be an Elite Women’s Elimination and Scratch race, as well as a UCI Keirin (elite men), and the renowned special sprinters event; Revolution’s Longest Lap.

 

Saturday’s early session, which starts at 1pm, includes the Elite Championship Points Race, Elite Women’s races and UCI Sprinting. The session will also include an Elite Championship Derny Race with two heats leading to a final (this will replace the Flying Lap). All of which sets the stage for Great Britain’s most decorated Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, who will be hoping to break the revived UCI Hour Record, which can be streamed live from tv.uci.ch.

 

The Saturday evening session sees European Track Champion and Double Olympic Track Champion, Laura Trott headline a stellar line up, including Team Sky’s Clancy and Kennaugh, who will be returning to the velodrome for the first time since their 2012 Olympic heroics. The race card also features the HOY Future Stars, Elite women’s Derny Race and UCI Sprinting.

 

The Round 5 also sees defending champions Maloja Pushbikers looking to see off a fierce challenge from team Orica-GreenEDGE, which threw down the gauntlet after an electric win at Round 4 in Glasgow. Majola will be fielding its strongest duo with team captain Christian Grasmann and Berlin six day winner Leif Lampater lining up at the VeloPark. Orica-GreenEDGE will take advantage of its collaboration in the Australian national team to field a strong pairing of Jack Bobridge and Glenn O’Shea – fresh from the World Championships in Paris where O’Shea won silver in the Omnium.

 

Tickets for round 5 of the Revolution Series can be purchased at cyclingrevolution.com

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Olympic Stars Confirmed for Revolution Series London

Revolution Series London

Revolution Series LondonLee Valley VeloPark in London will host Round 5 of the Revolution Series on February 27/28 and is set to feature one of the strongest line-ups of elite cyclists since the 2012 Olympics. Those confirmed include gold medalists Laura Trott, Ed Clancy and Peter Kennaugh.

 

Created in 2003 by FACE Partnership and the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, the Revolution Series is now established as the leading elite track cycling league in the world. The series is a UCI (International Cycling Union) event, with points available for riders to qualify for the UCI World Cup and World Track Championships.The majority of riders will be fresh from competing at the UCI Track World Championship in Paris, which takes place this weekend. So fans could be watching new World Champions fighting for vital UCI points in a packed event schedule including international Madison and Derny races.

 

The elite women’s Derny Race features Laura Trott who comments: ‘The only time I’ve raced a Derny was back in 2010, and I became National Champion, so I’ve got a pretty good record so far! It’ll be nice to do something a bit different, and with the insane atmosphere that there always is in London, I’m hoping to continue my 100% record.’

 

On Saturday, February 28 Dame Sarah Storey will attempt to break the women’s UCI Hour Record with UCI President, Brian Cookson, there to witness the first ever women’s Hour attempt following rule changes last year. Jack Bobridge, who tried, and failed, to take the men’s record of 51.850km from Matthias Brändle’s in January, said of Storey’s attempt, ‘It’s one of the hardest challenges that a cyclist can take on, and the most surreal strain you’ll ever put your body through in the saddle… Sarah’s one of the world’s top riders and I wish her the best of luck for a great ride.’

 

Tickets for round 5 of the Revolution Series can be purchased at cyclingrevolution.com or by calling See Tickets on 0844 854 2016.

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Trott and Voss Sign for the Revolution Series

Revolution Series

Revolution SeriesLaura Trott and Marianne Vos are the latest cycling stars to confirm their places at the Revolution Series, going head-to-head at Round 1, which takes place at the Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on October 24-25.

 

Vos said, ‘Having competed in at the Revolution Series in Manchester a couple of years ago I know first-hand how electrifying the racing is, and coming back to London to compete in the Olympic Velodrome against the best British riders is an exciting challenge.’ Whilst GB’s Trott adds: ‘The atmosphere and support from the fans at each Revolution event is always unbelievable, especially when we are back in the Lee Valley VeloPark. Add the UCI points into the mix and there is a lot to cycle for in this year’s Series.’

 

Following the opening races at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London, the event travels to Manchester and Glasgow, before coming back to London ahead of the final round in Manchester in March of next year. Managing Director of FACE Partnership and promoter of Revolution Series, James Pope, comments: ‘The Revolution Series is all about giving the UK a chance to see the world’s best cyclists competing – to have the world’s best track rider line up against the world’s best road rider on the track is a scintillating prospect.’

 

The full schedule for the Revolution Series is:

Round 1: October 24-25 – London

Round 2: November 22 – Manchester

Round 3: January 3 – Manchester

Round 4: January 31 – Glasgow

Round 5: February 27-28 – London

Round 6: March 14 – Manchester

 

Tickets for Round 1 of the Revolution Series start from £15 and are available at cyclingrevolution.com

 

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GB Success at Track Cycling World Cup

laura_trottLaura Trott has won GB’s fourth Gold at the Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester with a solid win in the Omnium, finishing five points clear of Canada’s Gillian Carleton. The success follows her Gold as part of the new look Women’s Team Pursuit event with Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Elinor Barker, which saw them break their own world record time on day two of competition. Trott was not the only double-winner with Rowsell qualifying fastest with a 3:34.341 in the Individual Pursuit before claiming Gold in the final.

 

GB also took Gold in the Men’s Team Pursuit on the opening night in Manchester, which saw European champions Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant, Steven Burke and Owain Doull, beat rivals Australia by a mere 0.639 seconds. The biggest shock (and disappointment) from the three days of action was Jason Kenny’s failure to pass beyond qualification in the Men’s Sprint – something that should have been nothing more than a formality.

 

Despite the blow Great Britain finished second in the medal standings at the Track Cycling World Cup with eight medals: four Gold, two Silver and two Bronze.

 

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Golden Start for GB at Track World Cup

Joanna RowsellThe new look Women’s Team Pursuit event – extended to four riders over 4km, up from three riders and 3km, to match the men’s event – has proven a success for GB as the squad of Laura Trott, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Elinor Barker broke their own record in qualifying and then lowered their time again to win Gold in the final at the Track World Cup in Manchester. They beat Canada in a time of 4min, 19.604 seconds.

 

An exuberant Rowsell, already a winner of the three-women iteration at the London Games, told BBC Sport: ‘Over the next three years you’ll see that record get lower and lower… We all live and die for the team pursuit. It’s great to be back here, racing for a home crowd, and it’s exciting to go out and break world records again.’

 

The women’s success followed Gold from the Men’s Team Pursuit on the opening night in Manchester, which saw European champions Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant, Steven Burke and Owain Doull, beat bitter rivals Australia by the narrowest of margins; a mere 0.639 seconds.

 

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GB Take Eight Medals at European Track Championships

laura_trottLaura Trott has brought the European Track Championships in the Netherlands to a blistering end for GB, taking Gold in the Omnium. Having already won Gold as part of the 4km Team Pursuit squad – along with Dani King, Elinor Barker, Katie Archibald and Joanna Rowsell – Trott finished the Omnium level with favourite Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands, but having a lower overall time from the Flying Lap, Individual Pursuit and 500m TT won the event on countback; Belgium’s Jolien d’Hoore took third place. Trott ?subsequently tweeted:  ‘A bit of a battle to say the least with Kirsten Wild who is on fire. Super happy to win gold, even if it was only by 0.4 of a second.’

 

Jason Kenny took Silver in the Keirin on the final day of action in Apeldoorn to add to his Bronze in the Men’s Sprint, bringing the GB medal haul to eight. Earlier in competition Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Andy Tennant and Owain Doull won Gold in Men’s Team Pursuit, Dani King scored a Silver in the Women’s Points Race and Jess Varnish and Becky James took the Bronze for the Women’s Team Sprint.

 

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Women’s Cycling on Track

Becky James wins Gold

Becky James wins GoldBritish Cycling has announced that its ambition to get a million more women cycling by 2020 is ‘on track’, with more than 100,000 women already having participated in their flagship programme this year. ‘In the six months since we launched our strategy we’ve made some great progress and our plan to get one million more women cycling over the next seven years is firmly on track,’ says British Cycling’s Chief Executive, Ian Drake, ‘We’ve got some fantastic headline figures that we’re announcing today. They show that there are thousands of women who want to ride recreationally – a big win for our partnership with Sky, especially the fact that over a third of the 100,000 women we’ve engaged so far this year was through Sky Ride.’

 

The Women’s Cycling Strategy, which was launched in March, aims to capitalise on the appetite for cycling generated by the London Olympics and his been followed by the news that the International Cycling Union (UCI) has given the Women’s Tour of Britain a 2.1 status for its launch in 2014 – a further boost to the cause (see the Cyclo news story here).

 

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Maria Miller, who was involved in the original strategy launch commented, ‘It’s fantastic that British Cycling’s women’s strategy has got off to a flying start. The approach to promote both recreational cycling as well as sportives to women is clearly paying off. With great role models such as Laura Trott and Becky James, an increase in women’s races, a Women’s Tour announced and more female coaches coming through, the sport is in a great position to keep up this momentum.’

 

For further information on the general Sky Ride scheme see goskyride.com and for details of the women-only Breeze events click here.

 

Read the Cyclo feature on Breeze here.

 

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Featured Features

The Breeze Revolution

The Breeze Revolution

The Breeze RevolutionThe rise in popularity of cycling in the UK over the last few years has been undeniably phenomenal and it’s been heartening to see that the increase in the number of women taking to two-wheels has been as sustained and impressive as for men, with an estimated 63,000 more women cycling regularly during the last 12 months alone. In no small part this trend has been encouraged and supported by Breeze, set up in May 2011 by British Cycling and designed to: ‘…tackle barriers facing women and provide as many fun and free opportunities to help them get back on their bikes.’

 

Whilst the equally commendable Cycletta events – staged by Human Race – focus more on semi-competitive (and sometimes downright competitive) sportive-style rides, Breeze’s more relaxed approach has helped thousands of women regain, or discover for the first time, the thrill of the bike with the mantra: ‘Cycling is all about the unbridled joy of butterflies in your tummy and the wind in your face as you freewheel down a hill.’

 

With support from the National Lottery – via Sport England’s Active Women’s fund – a local network of trained female Breeze champions was created to provide local opportunities for women. British Cycling has already trained over 950 passionate and enthusiastic female volunteers to become Breeze champions (if you’re interested in becoming one click here) and so far, they have helped deliver almost 5,000 bike rides and inspired over 26,000 women to get involved; impressive for a scheme barely two and a half years old. Natalie Justice, the Women’s Network Project Manager for British Cycling says: ‘Our Breeze champions are at the heart of everything we do and are a real inspiration to women in their local communities. Getting into cycling doesn’t have to be a daunting experience and our champions are there to support participants and start them on their cycling journey.’

 

So how does a Breeze ride work? Designed to suit all ages and abilities, the majority of the rides are on traffic-free routes designed to be ideal for busy mums and anyone who hasn’t been on a bike for a while. Led by women, for women, the rides usually start or end at a local café, where cake and conversation reinforce the informal, friendly nature that has made them such a success. In addition because many of the rides are designed to embrace riders’ children too they represent an opportunity for ‘quality time’, whilst actively encouraging the next generation of Laura Trotts and Joanna Rowsells

 

Last year saw a growing number of successful Breeze cycling events for women. From informal bike riding events like the Big Breeze Bike Ride and Breeze in the Park, through to a partnership with the aforementioned Cycletta and collaborative work with a number of other sportive organisers to provide more challenging rides for women.

 

But it’s not all about the ride. Buying a bike or getting one repaired can also be something of a daunting experience and Breeze campaign for and promote female-friendly bike shops, and their partnership with the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) promotes independent bike shops who support women new to bike riding with straightforward advice, a range of women’s bikes and family kit, and information on local rides and bike hire facilities. These partnerships have already helped accredit over 300 independent bike shops and is continuing to influence some positive changes for women within the industry.

 

Breeze has proven an integral part in the rise of UK cycling and it continues (with your help) to go from strength to strength. To be a part of the Breeze network please visit breezebikerides.com