Pete Kennaugh and Ben Swift led Team Sky to victory in round four of the 2013/14 Revolution Series in Manchester, while Laura Trott geared up for the World Championships in style with a hat-trick of wins.
Olympic team pursuit champion Kennaugh, tipped as a future Grand Tour contender, lapped the field an astonishing seven times in the points race during round three, and he was in similarly sublime form in Manchester for round four.
The Manxman this time settled for taking just five laps off his rivals as he stormed to another dominant victory, while team-mate Swift – continuing his recovery from injury – won the scratch race and finished second to Team USN’s Jonathan Mould in the elimination race.
Ed Clancy (Rapha Condor JLT) also continued his fine form at Revolution, with yet another victory in the flying lap before pairing up with George Atkins to win the madison kilo.
However, the defending champions saw their chances of retaining the overall elite championship fade as another consistent ride from German team Rudy Project RT helped them strengthen their grip atop the rankings.
Christian Grasmann finished fourth in the elimination race for the Germans, before pairing up with Claudio Imhof to take third in the madison.
They now lead the overall rankings by 35 points from Rapha Condor JLT ahead of the final round at the Lee Valley VeloPark, London, next month with Team Sky a further eight points behind.
Away from the men’s championships, Trott was in supreme form in the elite women’s events, with victories in the points race, scratch race and elimination race.
The double Olympic gold medallist benefited from a superb lead-out by Wiggle-Honda team-mates Dani King and Elinor Barker to beat fellow team pursuit team-mate Katie Archibald in the points race.
And Trott again edged out the Scot to win the elimination race, with King taking third behind them, before Trott led home King and Barker to seal a hat-trick of wins with scratch race victory.
Meanwhile, Lizzie Armitstead continued her preparations for the road season by taking fifth in the points race, sixth in the elimination race and seventh in the scratch race.
Three-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny also enjoyed a successful day at the National Cycling Centre, with victory in the UCI sprint and keirin races ahead of Great Britain team-mates Philip Hindes and Matt Crampton.
In the women’s sprint events, Jess Varnish edged out world champion Becky James to knock the Welsh rider out in the semi-finals before beating Vicky Williamson in the final.
James returned in style in the keirin, however, beating Dutchwoman Shanne Braspennincx and rising star Dani Khan into second and third respectively.
The final round of this season’s Revolution Series will now take place at the Olympic velodrome – the Lee Valley VeloPark – over a double-header weekend on March 14 and March 15.
For more information visit www.cyclingrevolution.com
