If watching the world’s best track riders from a VIP lounge in the centre of the track at Manchester’s National Cycling Centre sounds like your kind of night out, read on.
RoadCyclingUK has teamed up with Face Partnership, promoters of the Revolution Series of televised track races, to offer the best view of Revolution Three on Saturday February 2.
And the runner up in this fabulous competition will win a stylish Howies Revolution jersey.
Simply head to the RCUK Forum by following the link at the bottom of this article to tell us why track racing makes such compelling viewing.
Is it the sheer speed? Great Britain’s men’s team sprint squad of Philip Hindes, Jason Kenny and Sir Chris Hoy averaged more than 39mph on their gold medal-winning ride at the London Games, setting a new world record time of 42.6 seconds.
Perhaps it’s the proximity at which the riders race, adding another huge element of risk to that created by the blistering speeds described above. Vicky Pendleton’s collision with Australia’s Anna Meares in the women’s sprint semi-final at this year’s world championships served as a reminder of how tough track riders are (Pendleton recovered to win her semi-final and final).
Or is it the diversity of the racing? The motorbike-led keirin offers the thrill of a bunch sprint indoors, while the team pursuit rewards precision and harmony among teams of three or four riders. The individual sprint can appear like a chess match on wheels before the tension is inevitably broken with an explosion of speed and power.
Revolution started in 2003 and has grown year-on-year, attracting Olympic gold medalists, world champions, and riders from Britain’s best road teams, including Team Sky, Rapha Condor Sharp, Team IG-Sigma Sport, and Team Raleigh.
Highlights of last Saturday’s showdown between Marianne Vos and Lizzie Armitstead will be shown at 8pm tonight on ITV4.
Now in its tenth season, Revolution is more popular than ever, attracting capacity crowds at the National Cycling Centre.
Next year, for the first time, it will host an event at Glasgow’s new Sir Chris Hoy velodrome, the venue for track cycling events at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
For a chance to win two seats at the next round, follow this link: why I love track racing. We’ll pick a winner next Friday (December 14).
