The Manchester Velodrome is set to welcome a sell-out audience as Revolution returns on Saturday, November 15. Now entering its sixth season, the event opener will see such cycling stars as Brad McGee, in his final competitive outing, battle it out along with Stuart O'Grady, Matt Goss and David Millar. They will be joined by the cream of British talent including Olympic medallists Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy, Jamie Staff, Jason Kenny, Chris Newton and Steven Burke.
With Great Britain now the team to beat on the track, a special 'Champions vs. Champions' race has been added to the programme as Team Pursuit takes on Team Sprint in a 750m flying time trial. With Staff, Kenny and Ross Edgar taking on Thomas, Clancy and Burke, the race will be one of the highlights of the evening and the result could be closer than expected.
"Of course the sprinters should be faster," commented technical director Gordon Harling. "But the flying start will level the playing field a bit. The pursuit boys train over these short sprints regularly and when I spoke to Ed [Clancy] he was well up for it."
Also included in the race programme will be the introduction of elite women's racing, a move which has provoked the increase in quality and talent in the British women's racing scene.
"We always struggled to host exciting women's racing in the early Revolutions," commented James Pope of Event Promoter FACE. "Now the sheer talent and quality has effectively forced us to recognise and include a female endurance programme across the Revolution season. With young riders like Lizzie Armistead, Katie Colclough and Alex Greenfield all making it on the podium at the Manchester World Cup the talent is there and we're confident the women's racing will be an exciting addition to the Revolution."
Full details of the event can be found on www.cyclingrevolution.com.
