Revolution 27 is sell-out success

Cycling fans attending the sold-out Revolution 27 event in Manchester this Saturday are promised an evening of great and varied riding.

The location is the Manchester Velodrome and the emphasis is on fast-action entertainment and performance sport. One of the attractions this year is the addition of Geraint Thomas, fresh from his appearance at the Team Sky launch, to the Condor Rollers team

His presence will be a much needed boost for the Condor Rollers who have had a tough start to the inaugural Revolution Championship. Captain Chris Newton missed the first event on World Cup duty and Geraint missed the second after he was forced to withdraw at the last minute with a back injury. This left the Rollers a man down at the last event handicapping them in the endurance events.

The team currently sit in 6th place in the Championship trailing the leaders Slicks by 9 points. With two events left in the season Geraint is determined to pull the Rollers in to the top half of the table,

“After missing last event due to injury I wanted to come back and help Chris and the Rollers in the Championship” he commented. “We’re down a few points so I’ll be going full gas to bring the team up the table before I get back to the road with Team Sky.”

Also at the event, top junior sprinters from France and Germany will take on Britain’s young guns.
Lining up for Great Britain will be John Paul, Callum Skinner, Louis Olivia and Kian Emadi along with female sprinters Vicki Williamson, Charlene Joiner, Cassie Gledhill and Helen Scott.

While international rivalry will be intense the sprinters will also be racing for crucial points as part of the Revolution Championship. A male and a female sprinter will be assigned to each of the eight Revolution teams and will score championship points in the Sprint and Keirin events. A feature GB verses the Rest of the World Team Sprint will also be included but will sit outside the championship.

John Paul is said to be the one to watch. After breaking the Junior National 200m TT record at the previous Revolution the young Scot will be fighting hard to help bring team Forza back to the top of the championship table.

The current leaders, Slicks, will rely on Louis Olivia and Helen Scott to fend off the challenge from Forza and Slicks captain Craig MacLean is confident his riders will deliver the goods,

Sprint stars of the future will make an appearance at DHL Sprint School’s annual Race Day, where they will compete for the chance to race in front of the Revolution crowd that evening. Fifty young cyclists aged twelve to fifteen will contest a series of Keirin heats throughout the day, with the six fastest finishers qualifying for the evening final. Offering expert advice to the youngsters on the day will be British track heroes Jamie Staff and Craig Maclean.

The race day is the climax of the 2009 season of DHL Sprint School, a development programme offering young riders expert tuition from top British Cycling coaches and international track stars. Thanks to the ongoing support of DHL, the Sprint School scheme continues to thrive and is helping to identify the next generation of cycling talent.

“2009 has been another great year for Sprint School,” commented DHL CEO, Guy Elliott. “Every rider has shown incredible levels of improvement since the start of the season and the standard of riding continues to amaze us all. It’s now fair to say we have the best trained twelve- to fifteen-year old sprinters in the world.”