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Red Bull Mini Drome thrills the crowds in Manchester

Local lad from Lancashire makes the final - but loses out to someone from rather further afield...

The Red Bull Mini Drome, billed as the world’s smallest velodrome, this weekend paid its latest visit to the UK, with Manchester’s Victoria Baths providing the venue as more than 100 riders were put through their paces on the 25 metre track.

The Mini Drome, which has previously paid visits to London and Glasgow, was making its last appearance in the UK this year, and hundreds of spectators watched 32 riders battle it out head to head in the elimination rounds, with stunt ace Chris Akrigg and GB Paralympic Cycling coach Chris Fuber sharing duties as MC.

The final saw Lancashire’s Ricky Crompton fight it out with someone from rather further afield, Toms Alsbergs of Latvia, who won narrowly in a time of 34.769 seconds and said afterwards: “I loved every ride, it was different each time. The other competitors were really tough and the atmosphere and fans were simply amazing”.

The track was built in Germany by Velotrack, the same people who built the tracks used in the Atlanta Olympics and Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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Simon_MacMichael | 12 years ago
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Thanks for the info PaulJ. Obviously the man to beat on the Mini Drome...

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Paul J | 12 years ago
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Toms Alsbergs won the Glasgow competition too. Oh, and I gathered he also won one held in Poland.

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