The Manchester Velodrome was host to a whole day of cycling entertainment on Saturday 27 February for Revolution 28. Due to the demand of tickets to attend the Revolution events, an afternoon session of sprint qualifying and the National Madison Championships was introduced before the usual evening of racing.
The final event of Revolution Series 7 was a special one. The potential of the excitement in store was revealed when afternoon session spectators were treated to Chris Hoy's phenomenal qualifying 200m, where he broke the magic 10 second barrier. From there, it was clear that Revolution 28 was going to be edge-of-your-seat viewing. 100% ME duo Luke Rowe and Mark Christian were runaway leaders in the National Madison Championships with 38 points, ahead of nearest rivals Dan McLay and Sam Harrison.
The velodrome has never looked so busy during a Revolution event, and with stars like Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton present, it was bound to be a night to remember. Testament to the increased mainstream interest in the event, national and international press gathered to get their stories before the upcoming World Championships. Broadcaster Sky even shot the whole of Revolution 28 in their new 3D technology; a first for cycling.
Few could forget the heated encounter on the track between Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny, which was certainly the climax of the event. Hoy has proven to be somewhat unbeatable after the Beijing Olympics, but Kenny, who is keen to show that he is the rising star of track sprinting, gave Hoy a good run for his money.
Kenny attempted to push Hoy all over the track and the pair nearly clashed, with much of the full house gasping in anticipation of the outcome. Hoy, in true Chris Hoy fashion, overcame the pressure that Kenny put on and powered through to take a win, throwing his hand up in celebration. Many will liken the emphatic reaction from Hoy after his win to a win of Olympic or World importance; few have seen Hoy so animated.
Victoria Pendleton's presence was also appreciated by fans hoping to get a glimpse of the world's most popular and dominant female sprinter. On paper, Willy Kanis should have provided a reasonable challenge to Pendleton, but on the night she proved untouchable. Both Pendleton and Hoy's presence at the Revolution could have worked against them, should they not have proved to be so forcefully unbeatable.
With Hoy and Pendleton taking the limelight in the individual sprint events, the Keirin events ran without the pair, providing an ideal opportunity for Great Britain's Matt Crampton to shine in the men's event, and Germany's Kristina Vogel, just in front of rising star Becky James.
Hoy was back for the Team Sprint with Jason Kenny and Matt Crampton, with the trio beating Germany's Carsten Bergeman, Robert Forstermann and Michael Siedenbacher in 43.793 to Germany's 43.997. In the women's event, Pendleton and Jess Varnish rose to victory in 33.863 ahead of Miriam Welte and Kristina Vogel (34.332).
The packed evening of sprinting was superbly complimented by equally popular Elite Endurance racing. Afternoon spectators had already been treated to the National Madison Championships and Future Stars Madisons earlier in the afternoon. Andy Tennant (Tempo) proved his worth in the Devil Scratch race after beating Franco Marvulli and Ed Clancy. Luke Rowe, fresh from his win in the National Madison, partnered with his Slicks team captain Craig Maclean to complete an impressive sub-57 second ride in the 1km Madison time trial, one of the best in the Revolution event.
The Points race was an interesting one, Erick Rowsell (Forza) managed to lap the field, not once, but twice, to take a more-than-convincing win. In the scratch race, there wasn't much separating winner Steven Burke (Pacers) from his Motorpoint team mate Ed Clancy (Tempo), but Olympic Bronze medallist Burke was just strong enough when it counted.
Owain Doull (Slicks) was a name that has really come to light during Season 7 of the Revolution DHL Future Stars competition. It's a name you should watch out for as a Future Stars Boys Overall Winner with 289 points, ahead of Robert Lampton (Dynamo) with 261 points. Thanks to Doull's dominance, Slicks have found themselves leading the classifications for most of the series. In Revolution 28, Doull won the 5km Scratch Race, the 6 Lap Dash and was second behind Jordan Hargreaves (Rollers) in the Elimination race.
In the DHL Future Stars Girls competition, there's also been a dominant figure, and that's been Emily Kay (Dynamo) who finished first in the overall classification with 316 points, ahead of Hannah Barnes (Forza) with 298 points. Kay kept a low profile and maintained her lead in most of the races, coming to the forefront with a win in the Elimination Race. The 6 Lap Dash and Scratch Race was won by Hannah Barnes (Forza), but it wasn't enough to tip Kay off the top spot for Season 7.
Forza claimed just one point over the Slicks in the overall Event Classification, which meant that there was no real change in the standings for the Final League Classification. Slicks captain Craig Maclean and his team were presented with the Revolution Series 7 Championship Trophy at the end of the evening, totalling 36 points over Forza's close 33 points.
Revolution Series 7 Standings: Final Classification
1. Slicks 36
2. Forza 33
3. Dynamo 25
4. Vitesse 24
5. Pacers 20
6. Rollers 18
7. Tempo 16
8. Flyers 9
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