One million people watch Revolution Track Series

The Revolution Track Series has seen a significant increase in the number of live spectators and TV/online viewers over its 2014-15 season.

Figures releases by the Revolution Series organiser on Tuesday show that spectators at the event grew from 35,320 in 2013-14 to 47,321 for 2014-15.

Those watching the Revolution on Channel 4 and online via YouTube hit 939,754 viewers - a 110 per cent increase on the previous year.

Revolution Organiser James Pope attributes the newly introduced Longest Lap event and on-board footage from riders such as Laura Trott and Luke Rowe as a driving force behind the boost in viewers.

>>> Revolution Longest Lap: The winter’s unexpected bike race hit (video)

"We reviewed our digital content from last season and realised that people don’t really want to watch post-race interviews or montages of the racing," said Pope.

"Track cycling is more exciting than that. Hearing what Luke Rowe is saying in the middle of the bunch and getting a sense of the speed has really helped to capture the excitement of the event."

Revolution's Longest Lap race proved to be a YouTube hit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzwVeZijwRM

Pope is keen to expand on the event's coverage, bringing audiences closer to the action: "The velodrome is the perfect arena to experiment with technology. We want to improve cycling production so we are planning to do more next season," he said.

The Revolution Series started in 2003, originally hosted by the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, and features a fast-moving programme of events that has attracted the biggest names in international track (and road) cycling, including Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Victoria Pendleton and Marianne Vos. The series now regularly visits Glasgow and London as well as Manchester with most of the events selling out quickly.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2015-16 season via the Revolution Series website.

Revolution Track Series 2015-16

Round 1: 15/16 August 2015 - TBC

Round 2: 24 October 2015 – Glasgow

Round 3: 14 November 2015 – London

Round 4: 28 November 2015 - Manchester

Round 5: 02 January 2016 - Manchester

Round 6: 23 January 2016 - Manchester