A Revolution for Australian track cycling?

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Matt Gilmore, Anna Meares, Ryan Bayley and Scott McGrory(Image credit: Amy McCann)

News feature, October 9, 2007

Melbourne has long been considered as the home of many major sporting events in Australia, with huge crowds regularly attending the Formula One Grand Prix, Moto GP, Australian Open Tennis and the AFL Grand Final. Melbourne's sport-mad crowds have also flocked to big time track cycling events, with sell-out crowds at all sessions of the 2004 UCI Track World Championships and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Attendances at major domestic track cycling events have unfortunately been in something of a decline in recent years, despite the best efforts of long term promoter Cyclists International. Sponsorship and prize money have also been falling in real terms and in an inevitable downwards spiral, the top names in Australian track cycling have been harder and harder to attract to events like the Austral Wheelrace.

Hart has a strong background in television sports production, having produced thousands of hours of live and recorded sports programming over two Olympic Games and helped launch OptusVision's four sports channels. McDonell, an active A Grade club cyclist with a second place finish in the 2007 Austral under his belt, has a background in concert, event and artist management before moving into gymnasium and health club management arena.

CotterPin licensed the successful Revolution concept, initially created by Face Partnership and the Manchester Velodrome in 2003. The Revolution series at the Manchester Velodrome revitalized track cycling in the United Kingdom and is currently in its fifth season. To date, every Revolution has seen a full house attracted by the promise of world and Olympic Champions presented in a slick, modern style, fast racing and an electric atmosphere providing fantastic entertainment for both the cycling fanatic and non-cycling fans alike.

Joining Hart and McDonell at CotterPin are David McKenzie and his wife Susan Stewart. 'Macca' is well known to Australian cycling fans as a former Australian Road Champion, Cyclist of the Year and Giro d'Italia stage winner. Only recently retired from the professional scene, McKenzie's ongoing relationships with current riders, coaches and administrators should prove invaluable in ensuring CotterPin can contract the elite riders the Revolution format promises.

CotterPin formally launched its event schedule for season 07/08 to the media at Melbourne's second velodrome at the Darebin International Sports Centre (DISC) and the new promoters quickly showed the benefits of their media connections with a number of live crosses to popular breakfast television program Today. Two of the stars of Revolution 1, Ryan Bayley and Anna Meares, were on the track training with leading Victorian track coach Hilton Clarke at 7 AM and Nine Network viewers were treated to a 80 km/h motorpaced flying 200 metre effort by Bayley (on an 84" gear for the techies) and a track stand demonstration by Meares before a three-way match sprint, featuring the two Olympic champions and Today reporter Steven Jacobs…on 12 inch wheeled track bikes!

Hart began his address with the oft-quoted "cycling is the new golf", and spoke of his team's commitment to returning track cycling to its former glory. "Track cycling was a huge part of Melbourne's sporting landscape back in the '40s and '50s, when full-houses used to attend the famous outdoor wooden track at Olympic Park," noted Hart. "We are excited to introduce the Revolution concept which has proven such a success in the UK as well as present events like the Austral that preserve the heritage of the sport." He alluded to the more recent rivalries between Stephen Pate and Gary Neiwand and promised, "elite racing, stars, entertainment, lights and music - a great night out".

With years of experience in front of crowds of thousands at the Six Day track racing events in Europe, both McGrory and Gilmore were enthusiastic that the Revolution series would succeed. Gilmore, who has recently begun working with the cream of Tasmania's junior riders, is looking forward to "the dynamic, finals style racing" and hopes that the series will provide a new pathway for young riders to reach the elite ranks.

With two of the world's fastest sprinters in Bayley and Meares confirmed as starters for Revolution 1, the obvious question was who will join them? "It's looking like the sprint and keirin at Revolution 1 will resemble a world cup level event for depth and quality," said McKenzie, Cotter Pin's Competition Director. Cyclingnews twisted Macca'a arm to discover that Canadian track star Gina Grain is confirmed for both Revolution 1 and 2 and that with the support of all Australian national and state coaches, it is expected that the entire Australian sprint squad will be in action. More confirmed starters are expected to be announced in coming days.

Some 18 male sprinters will race in both sprint derbys and the keirin. The three sprint winners will earn byes into the Keirin final, while the rest will tackle traditional keirin heats to earn their way through. Spectators can expect to see the sprint stars in action up to four times on the night, with McKenzie acknowledging coaches concerns that four 100 percent sprints was the maximum he could expect.

On the endurance side, McKenzie will contract 24 riders, to compete as 12 two man teams. For the men, the teams will contest Madison and team elimination. On the women's side, McKenzie is targeting 10 sprinters, each to race three times and between 10 and 15 enduros to race both scratch and points races. The full program is expected to run at around three and a half hours. "It will be action packed," said McDonell. "No interval, we want to give people a great show and the feeling that if they leave their seat, they'll miss something good."

"It's an insurable risk," says McDonell. Less than a handful of the world's best sprinters have broken 10 seconds, with the current world record of 9.772 set by Dutch superstar Theo Bos at the Moscow World Cup in December 2006. The best times recorded at Vodafone to date are those of Scotland's Ross Edgar, who holds the local record at 10.294 with his qualifying ride at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and Matthias John, who qualified fastest at the 2004 Worlds racing for Germany with his time of 10.322.