The French and British sprinters will go head to head in a Team Sprint at Revolution 7 in Manchester on January 29. The British trio of Chris Hoy, Jason Queally and Craig MacLean was rampant at the Manchester World Cup, taking the gold medal in the team sprint. Craig MacLean was back to winning form, riding sub-18 second first laps for the heats and final despite having cracked his rib in the heats of the Japanese Keirin.
MacLean is recovering well from the injury and is looking forward to facing the French at Revolution 7. "The French have been our main rivals for the last few years and are the current world champions so it is going to be an important race," he said. "It should be a better judge of how we're going as the French will be one of our main rivals for the world title this year."
Confidence is clearly riding high in the British camp but the French won't be defeated easily. Arnaud Tournant will be one of the star attractions at Revolution 7 and will be joined by two excellent French sprinters, Francois Pervis and Gregory Baugé. After a strong performance at the Moscow World Cup, Baugé finished third in the Japanese Keirin and fourth in the sprint in Manchester. Arnaud Tournant too will be a formidable opponent and is eager to return to Revolution following his appearance at Revolution 3.
The sprint line up doesn't stop there though, with sprinters from Germany, Belgium and Ireland all competing including the 2000 Sprint World Champion, Jan van Eijden. Other top British sprinters such as Ross Edgar, Barney Storey and Matt Crampton will also bolster the domestic field.
The sprint programme will consist of Keirin and Sprint competitions, an invitation Keirin and the head to head Britain and France Team Sprint. There will also be plenty of endurance racing with the highlight being the 1 km Madison Time Trial.
More information: www.cyclingrevolution.com.
