The future looks good for British track cycling as another generation of future stars will be decided at the Manchester Velodrome this weekend in the culmination of the Revolution Future Stars competition.

Now in its third year the competition has often provided more action and drama than the elite events and has nurtured some of Britain’s most promising new talent with last season’s top riders making significant progress as part of British Cycling’s Olympic Development Programme. Steven Burke won the competition but on paper the biggest success has been runner up Andy Tennant who went on to take the Individual Pursuit title at the 2005 Junior World Championships.

Tennant and Burke have also enjoyed success in the Team Pursuit taking silver at the Junior World Championships and winning the Junior European Championships. Now part of the elite field both these riders are clearly enjoying the benefit of racing at Revolution,

“The Future Stars racing provided the step up to the level I’m at now and my track skills have improved significantly over the last year” commented Burke. “It is a great experience to now be riding against so many world class riders and I’m learning from them all the time.”

For season 3 the Future Stars has been sponsored by Raleigh, one of the UK’s best known cycling
names. Raleigh’s involvement has meant that Future Stars competitions have been set up for both girls and boys giving more riders the chance to show their talent in a competitive arena. Indeed, the first girls Future Stars competition has provided some excellent racing and has shown the strength of Welsh cycling with the Welsh trio of Lucy Richards, Katie Curtis and Alex Greenfield in first, second and third places respectively. Richards has dominated the competition and looks set to take the first female title,

“I think I have raced well, it hasn’t been easy and the racing was hard but I really enjoyed it. It’s good experience to race in front of a crowd like that; they really get behind you and support you and they create a great atmosphere. It’s the biggest crowd I’ve ridden in front of; it has been fantastic.”
In the boys competition a star of the future has definitely emerged with Peter Kennaugh providing and awesome display of racing and track skill, “I’m obviously delighted with my performance”, commented Kennaugh. “Riding in front of thousands of people who pack the velodrome once a month for the Revolution series is an amazing experience, I don’t even have to psyche myself up before the races because the crowd get me so fired up.”

Kennaugh is a perfect example of what the Revolution Future Stars is all about and with strong ambitions ahead it is just the starting point for the Manx rider “This year I will be riding with the Glendene CC team on the road, I will be racing in Belgium and competing in the Junior Buckly series, however my main goals this season are the World and European junior track champs with Great Britain.”

The Future Stars will only be part of an action packed race programme with more international riders than ever before competing in the elite racing.

Revolution 12 – 18th February 2006

Details

When?: 18th February 2006
Where?: Manchester Velodrome
What time?: Doors open at 5.30pm – racing starts 7pm ends at 10pm

For all the news and latest announcements, take a look at www.cyclingrevolution.com.

As ever, tickets are available to purchase in advance from www.cyclingrevolution.com or by calling 0700 594 2579 or the Velodrome on 0161 223 2244 and selecting option 3. Tickets will also be available on the door.
Ticket prices:
Adults £10
Children and OAPs £5
Family (2 adults & 2 Children) £22