Revolution (cycling Series)
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Revolution was a series of
track cycling Track cycling is a Cycle sport, bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its i ...
events primarily held at the
Manchester Velodrome Manchester Velodrome is an indoor Olympic-standard cycle-racing track in Manchester, England, which opened in 1994. Part of the National Cycling Centre, the facility has been home to British Cycling since 1994, coinciding with the nation's rise ...
in the north west of England. It was solely held in Manchester between 2003 and 2012. From Season 10 (2012–2013), meetings were additionally held at the new UK velodromes; in the
Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, is an indoor arena and velodrome in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues hosted the badminto ...
in Glasgow, the Olympic Velodrome in London from Season 11 (2013–2014), and the
Derby Arena Derby Arena is a multi-use indoor arena and velodrome at Pride Park in Derby, England. It was opened in 2015 and has hosted cycling, badminton, boxing and entertainment events. Construction Construction was expected to be completed in Novem ...
from 2015 to 2016. The series comprised four or five meetings each year, held between October and February, on Saturday evenings. The series showcased various top cyclists, both British and international, and was well-attended by spectators. The success of British cyclists in the 2000s and 2010s, including
Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former Track cycling, track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Olympic and World Championships and Scot ...
's triple gold at the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
and double gold-winning performance at the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, meant that the events regularly sold out in advance.


History and concept

The series was founded in 2003, with the main aim of providing regular track cycling events for fans to attend in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. Previously, track cycling fans were generally only able to attend one international event in Manchester each year, usually a round of the
UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The UCI Track Cycling World Cup (formerly known as the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics) was a multi race tournament held over a track cycling season - usually between October and February. Each series is divided into several rounds, each held ...
series, or as in 2000, the
UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...
. The only other events held regularly at the velodrome were events such as the
British National Track Championships The British National Track Championships are a Track cycling event held annually and organised by the national governing body for track cycling (and other forms of cycling) in Great Britain, British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federat ...
, which have a lower profile and therefore attracted smaller crowds. An organisation management company, Face Partnership, was brought in to attempt to create a series providing regular top level events at the velodrome. The aim was to provide racing for existing fans and attract new fans to the sport, raising its profile as a sport in United Kingdom. It was also intended to give British riders the opportunity to take part in high quality racing during the winter. It was decided that the series would consist of four events throughout the season. Admission costs were fixed at an affordable level, originally £8 for an adult ticket, in order to enable families to attend. Family tickets were available for around £20, making the Revolution a considerably more affordable event to attend in comparison to other sports, such as
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
. The first event was held in October 2003 and was attended by a good sized crowd. The event featured big British names like
Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...
,
Rob Hayles Robert John Hayles (born 21 January 1973) is an English track and road racing cyclist, who rode for Great Britain and England on the track and several professional teams on the road. Hayles competed in the team pursuit and Madison events, un ...
,
Chris Newton Christopher Malcolm Newton (born 29 September 1973) is an English former road and track racing cyclist. During his career, Newton won three Olympic medals (one silver, two bronze), seven UCI Track Cycling World Championships medals – includi ...
, John Scripps and
David Millar David Millar (born 4 January 1977) is a Scottish retired professional road racing cyclist. He rode for Cofidis from 1997 to 2004 and Garmin–Sharp from 2008 to 2014. He has won four stages of the Tour de France, five of the Vuelta a España a ...
. The series also rapidly attracted the attention of track sprinters from continental Europe, who took advantage of the opportunity to sharpen their skills against top-class fields without the levels of pressure experienced in World Cup events. The event continued to grow in stature and profile from this solid start, exceeding expected attendance targets along the way. Revolution 7 in early 2005 saw the series achieve its first near capacity crowd, the start of the event had to be delayed to allow the crowds into the venue. Revolution 14 was the series' first complete sell out, with some ticketless fans turned away. From early 2008 onwards the events began to sell out in advance. The Revolution is also expanding into a global series, CotterPin has licensed the concept in Australia. The first Revolution Australia event was held in the
Darebin International Sports Centre The Darebin International Sports Centre (DISC) is an athletic facility in Thornbury, Victoria, Australia. DISC is the home of the State Lawn Bowls Centre, the State Cycling Centre and the State Football Centre. DISC hosted the 2006 Commonweal ...
,
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
on 24 November 2007. There were over 3,000 spectators present at Australia's Revolution 1. In July 2008, the Aftermarket company signed a deal with Face Partnership to create an
expo An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, construc ...
area in the track centre at each event. This takes advantage of the captive audience and precise target consumers present at each Revolution. Each Revolution meeting consists of a fast-paced, packed programme of races. The evening lasts for between 3 hours and 3 hours 45 minutes and typically involves around twenty events. Each event has three categories of racing including sprint and endurance, and the "Future Stars" series. Live PA duties at the events are carried out by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
commentator and cyclist,
Hugh Porter Hugh William Porter MBE (born 27 January 1940) is one of Britain's greatest former professional cyclists, winning four world titles in the individual pursuit - more than any other rider - as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1966. He ...
. In 2011–12,
ITV4 ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which first aired on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV plc. The channel focuses primarily on general entertainment programming targeting a male audience, including action series and films, ...
broadcast a one-hour highlights show on Monday evenings following each Revolution meeting. In September 2015 it was announced that
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
would broadcast live coverage of five rounds of the 2015–16 series. In April 2016 a collaboration between FACE Partnership and Velon, an organisation representing 11
UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...
s, was announced with the aim of expanding the Revolution series internationally under the "Revolution Champions League", with the inaugural Champions League competition being held across three consecutive weekends in November and December 2016. The competition is planned to feature a total of 12 teams, of which eight will be drawn from the World Tour ranks. In June 2016 seven WorldTeams were confirmed as participants in the first Champions League, which would consist of six rounds held over three back-to-back weekends in Manchester, London and a third venue abroad, which was confirmed the following month as the
Vélodrome National The Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines is a velodrome in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France. It was built between 2011 and 2014 and hosted the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, 2015, 2022 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, ...
in Paris. However shortly before the Paris meeting was due to take place Face Partnership announced that it would be postponed to the following season. Despite Revolution's popularity with both cyclists and fans, Face Partnership had been experiencing years-long financial problems which put the completion of the 2017-18 season at risk. The company was acquired by Beatermed Ltd. and Redwood Sports Ltd., which allowed the 2017-18 season to take place. This season notably marked the return of Olympic champion
Jason Kenny Sir Jason Francis Kenny (born 23 March 1988) is a British former track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. Kenny is the winner of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) by a British athlete. Kenny's seven Olympic ...
to track cycling following a break after the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
. After 15 seasons in as many years, the final Revolution event took place on 6th January 2018 at the Manchester Velodrome.


Seasons overview


Competitions


Sprint racing

Each meeting featured a main Revolution Sprint competition, alongside other various events including the
Keirin – "racing track" – is a form of Motor-paced racing, motor-paced cycle racing in which track cycling, track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan ...
and
Team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...
. The sprint competition was usually a straight knock-out event, typically with a first round, semi-final and final. In some events a sprint omnium has taken place, with all riders facing each other at some point during the session and the most successful winning overall. A men's sprinting competition usually took place at each event, with women's sprinting generally appearing for one event each year. The events featured alongside the main sprint competition are tailored to the sprinters appearing and has included various challenges and revenge matches over the years. They regularly attract major British names and a host of international challengers. The list of World and Olympic Champions to have appeared include
Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former Track cycling, track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Olympic and World Championships and Scot ...
,
Theo Bos Theo Bos (born 22 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional road and track cyclist. An Olympic silver medalist and five-time world champion, he is the brother of Olympic medalist in speed skating Jan Bos. On 29 November 2021, he announced ...
,
Arnaud Tournant Arnaud Tournant (born 5 April 1978) is a French track cyclist. He has won 14 World Championships and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the Summer Olympics. In track cycling, he is third behind Harrie Lavreysen (20) and Sir Chris Hoy (17) in th ...
,
Jason Kenny Sir Jason Francis Kenny (born 23 March 1988) is a British former track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. Kenny is the winner of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) by a British athlete. Kenny's seven Olympic ...
,
Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former Track cycling, track cyclist who specialised in the Sprint (cycling), sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Cycling at the Summer Olympics, Olympic, Wo ...
,
Jamie Staff Jamie Alan Staff MBE (born 30 April 1973) is an English racing cyclist and coach, formerly on BMX and later on the track. A World and Olympic champion, he has also won numerous other medals at World Championships, World Cups and at the Com ...
, Jens Fiedler,
Grégory Baugé Grégory Baugé (born 31 January 1985) is a French professional racing cyclist. Early life Bauge first took up sport at the age of eight, playing football. His father enrolled him in the Aubergenville cycling school. At that time he took part i ...
,
Ross Edgar Ross Edgar (born 3 January 1983) is a Scottish track cyclist who represented Scotland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Scotland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, where he won a gold medal in the team sprint riding ...
,
Craig MacLean Craig MacLean MBE (Grantown-on-Spey, July 31, 1971) is a Scottish track cyclist who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a silver medal in the ...
,
Jason Queally Jason Paul Queally (born 11 May 1970) is an English track cyclist. He won a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Early years Born at Great Haywood, Staffordshire, Queally spent his childhood in Caton, a village near Lancaster. He a ...
,
René Wolff René Wolff (born 4 April 1978) is an Olympic and world champion track cyclist from Germany. Wolff specializes in the sprint, team sprint and keirin events and teamed up with multiple Olympic champion Jens Fiedler and Stefan Nimke to win the go ...
,
Jan van Eijden Jan van Eijden (born 10 August 1976) is a German track cyclist born in Bad Neuenahr. He is a double World Champion in sprint and team sprint. He also won one world cup classic and four German national titles. He retired from active racing in ...
,
Florian Rousseau Florian Rousseau (born 3 February 1974) is a former French track cyclist who won three gold medals and one silver at the Summer Olympics (1996 and 2000). He was popular among spectators for the facial expressions he pulled - many of them seeming ...
,
Stefan Nimke Stefan Nimke (born 1 March 1978 in Hagenow, Bezirk Schwerin) is an Olympic and world champion track cyclist from Germany. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won the silver medal in the men's 1 km time trial, and was part of the German men's tea ...
,
Maximilian Levy Maximilian Levy (born 26 June 1987) is a German former track cyclist. Levy won a bronze medal in the men's team sprint representing Germany at the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing, China. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won another bronze in t ...
,
Teun Mulder Teunis ("Teun") Mulder (born 18 June 1981) is a Dutch track cyclist. He is a former keirin World Champion and won a silver in the team sprint with Theo Bos and Tim Veldt. Mulder also won four world cup classics in the team sprint and keirin. He ...
,
Robert Förstemann Robert Förstemann (born 5 March 1986) is a German track cyclist specialising in the sprint disciplines and world champion in team sprint in 2010. In his later career he has transitioned to Paralympic track cycling, representing Germany as a sig ...
,
Mickaël Bourgain Mickaël Bourgain (born 28 May 1980 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French track cyclist, who won a bronze medal in the men's team sprint race at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens together with Laurent Gané and Arnaud Tournant, and a bronze medal ...
,
Willy Kanis Willy Kanis (born 27 July 1984 in Kampen) is a Dutch female professional racing cyclist. Career highlights ;2003 :2nd 500 m, Dutch National Track Championships :2nd Sprint, Dutch National Track Championships ;2004 :2nd 500 m, Dutch Nation ...
, Matthew Rotherham,
Christin Muche Christin Muche (born 19 October 1983) is a German female track cyclist, and part of the national team. She competed at the 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. She won the bronze medal in the keirin event at the 2008 ...
and Clara Sanchez.


Endurance racing

Every Revolution event included a field of elite endurance riders, racing over a number of events throughout the night. Events featured included the
points race A points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. It was an Olympic event for men from 1984 to 2008 and for women from 1996 to 2008. Since 2012, the points race has been one of the omniu ...
,
scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...
,
Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...
,
individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...
,
team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...
,
motor-paced Motor-paced racing and motor-paced cycling refer to cycling behind a pacer in a car or more usually on a motorcycle. The cyclist (or stayer in this case) follows as close as they can to benefit from the slipstream of their pacer. The first paced r ...
scratch race and devil elimination scratch race. Typically the blue ribbon Madison feature race takes place once a year and is named the
Isaac Gálvez Isaac Gálvez López (20 May 1975 in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain – 26 November 2006 in Ghent) was a Spanish track and road racing cyclist who rode for Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears in the UCI ProTour. He died during the 66th Six Days of Ghe ...
Memorial Madison. This was in memory of the Spanish rider and then-World Madison Champion who died during the Ghent Six Day meeting in 2006, one week before he was due to appear at Revolution 15. The endurance racing attracted both major track riders and stars of the road, throwing up a number of unique contests over the years. The list of major names (on the track or the road) to have appeared include
Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...
,
Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...
,
Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, ( , ; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and ...
,
Ed Clancy Edward Franklin Clancy (born 12 March 1985) is a British former professional Track cycling, track and road bicycle racer, who competed between 2004 and 2021. During his career, Clancy won four medals (three gold, one bronze) at the Summer Olym ...
,
Joan Llaneras Joan Llaneras Rosselló (born 17 May 1969 in Porreres, Majorca) is a former Spanish World and Olympic points race champion track cyclist. He specialises in the madison and points race events. Llaneras began his cycling career on the road wit ...
, Paul Manning,
Bradley McGee Bradley John McGee (born 24 February 1976) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist. He is currently the head coach of the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS). He started cycling in 1986 at the age of ten. He lives in Sydney ...
,
Chris Newton Christopher Malcolm Newton (born 29 September 1973) is an English former road and track racing cyclist. During his career, Newton won three Olympic medals (one silver, two bronze), seven UCI Track Cycling World Championships medals – includi ...
,
Rob Hayles Robert John Hayles (born 21 January 1973) is an English track and road racing cyclist, who rode for Great Britain and England on the track and several professional teams on the road. Hayles competed in the team pursuit and Madison events, un ...
, Sergi Escobar,
Steve Cummings Stephen Philip Cummings (born 19 March 1981) is an English former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2019 for the , , , , and squads, and rode for Great Britain at the Summer Olympic Games, the UCI Road World Championshi ...
,
Stuart O'Grady Stuart O'Grady (born 6 August 1973) is a retired Australian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 1995 and 2013. A former track cyclist, O'Grady and Graeme Brown won a gold medal in the Cycling at the 2004 Summer Olympics – M ...
,
Iljo Keisse Iljo Keisse (born 21 December 1982) is a Belgian former racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2022. Keisse races on the track and on the road, specializing himself until recently in riding six-day races. He notably has won ...
,
Matthew Gilmore Matthew Gilmore (born 11 September 1972 in Ghent) is a Belgian-Australian retired track cyclist, who mostly competed and was most successful on track for Belgium. Although Gilmore was born in and represented Belgium, he is the son of Australian ...
,
Franco Marvulli Franco Marvulli (born 11 November 1978 in Zürich) is a Swiss former professional racing cyclist. He won a silver medal in the Madison with Bruno Risi at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was also a two time world champion in both the Madison, also w ...
,
Bruno Risi Bruno Risi (born 6 September 1968) is a retired Swiss professional racing cyclist. He competed at five Olympic Games. Risi was one of the top six-day riders of his generation, he won many professional Madison events during his long career. He ...
,
David Millar David Millar (born 4 January 1977) is a Scottish retired professional road racing cyclist. He rode for Cofidis from 1997 to 2004 and Garmin–Sharp from 2008 to 2014. He has won four stages of the Tour de France, five of the Vuelta a España a ...
,
Peter Schep Pieter Otto ("Peter") Schep (born 8 March 1977 in Lopik, Utrecht) is a Dutch former racing cyclist, who specialized in track cycling endurance events. Biography Born in Lopik, Schep represented the Netherlands at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer O ...
,
Robert Slippens Robert Slippens (born 3 May 1975) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist. Slippens represented the Netherlands at three different Summer Olympics. He made his Olympic debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where he participated in th ...
,
Nicole Cooke Nicole Denise Cooke, MBE (born 13 April 1983) is a Welsh former professional road bicycle racer and Commonwealth, Olympic and World road race champion. At Beijing in 2008 she became the first British woman to win a Gold Olympic medal in any ...
,
Rebecca Romero Rebecca Jayne Romero, MBE (born 24 January 1980) is an English sportswoman, a former World Champion and Olympic Games silver medallist at rowing, and a former World champion and an Olympic champion track cyclist. Early life and education Rome ...
and
Graeme Obree Graeme Obree (born 11 September 1965), nicknamed "the Flying Scotsman", after the famous steam train, is a Scottish racing cyclist who twice broke the world hour record, in July 1993 and April 1994, and was the individual pursuit world champi ...
.


Feature and exclusive races

As well including the major events from the World Championships and Olympics, the Revolution series also tried to feature some unique and exclusive races at its events. The Madison 1 km time trial was one such event. This event was a major crowd-pleaser and took place at each round. It was run over 1 km four laps of the track and consisted of two riders running two laps each. After the first rider had completed their laps, they performed a Madison hand sling with their partner who then completed the final two laps. While this by nature was an endurance riders event, its one kilometre distance meant that sprinters have also tasted success. An early record for this event was set by
Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...
and
Ed Clancy Edward Franklin Clancy (born 12 March 1985) is a British former professional Track cycling, track and road bicycle racer, who competed between 2004 and 2021. During his career, Clancy won four medals (three gold, one bronze) at the Summer Olym ...
58.5 Seconds at Revolution 7 in January 2005. This record stood until sprinters
Craig MacLean Craig MacLean MBE (Grantown-on-Spey, July 31, 1971) is a Scottish track cyclist who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a silver medal in the ...
and
Arnaud Tournant Arnaud Tournant (born 5 April 1978) is a French track cyclist. He has won 14 World Championships and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the Summer Olympics. In track cycling, he is third behind Harrie Lavreysen (20) and Sir Chris Hoy (17) in th ...
set a new record of 55.1 seconds at Revolution 16 in January 2007. This was then further bettered when Tournant teamed up with
Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former Track cycling, track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Olympic and World Championships and Scot ...
at Revolution 20 in February 2008. Tournant had a shoulder injury which prevented the duo doing a proper hand sling change over, however they still posted a record time of 54.4 seconds. This record stood until being broken by
Ed Clancy Edward Franklin Clancy (born 12 March 1985) is a British former professional Track cycling, track and road bicycle racer, who competed between 2004 and 2021. During his career, Clancy won four medals (three gold, one bronze) at the Summer Olym ...
and Ollie Wood in 2014. A new challenge event added to the programme in 2008 was the Sprinters Vs. Pursuiters challenge. The first of these races took place at Revolution 21. This saw members of the GB
team sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...
squad (
Jamie Staff Jamie Alan Staff MBE (born 30 April 1973) is an English racing cyclist and coach, formerly on BMX and later on the track. A World and Olympic champion, he has also won numerous other medals at World Championships, World Cups and at the Com ...
,
Jason Kenny Sir Jason Francis Kenny (born 23 March 1988) is a British former track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. Kenny is the winner of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) by a British athlete. Kenny's seven Olympic ...
and
Ross Edgar Ross Edgar (born 3 January 1983) is a Scottish track cyclist who represented Scotland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Scotland at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, where he won a gold medal in the team sprint riding ...
) face off against members of the GB
team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...
squad (
Ed Clancy Edward Franklin Clancy (born 12 March 1985) is a British former professional Track cycling, track and road bicycle racer, who competed between 2004 and 2021. During his career, Clancy won four medals (three gold, one bronze) at the Summer Olym ...
,
Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, ( , ; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and ...
and
Steven Burke Steven James Burke (born 4 March 1988) is a former English track and road cyclist, who rode for the now disbanded cycling team.
). The race took place over three laps with a flying start, to balance between the sprint and endurance disciplines. Due to the three lap length of the race the same as the team sprint event it was expected to naturally favour the sprint squad. However it was noted that the endurance squad regularly carried out similar short drills during training, so the playing field was more level going into the event. The endurance squad were able to use the flying start to their advantage and took a clean victory over the sprinters. A rematch took place at Revolution 22 (2008), with the race extended to four laps with a standing start on this occasion.
Matthew Crampton Matthew "Matt" Nicholas Crampton (born 23 May 1986) is an English former track cyclist for . He was a member of British Cycling's Olympic Podium Programme, and represented Great Britain at a number of major events. Crampton specialised in trac ...
joined the sprint squad and
Rob Hayles Robert John Hayles (born 21 January 1973) is an English track and road racing cyclist, who rode for Great Britain and England on the track and several professional teams on the road. Hayles competed in the team pursuit and Madison events, un ...
joined the endurance squad. The fast start of
Jamie Staff Jamie Alan Staff MBE (born 30 April 1973) is an English racing cyclist and coach, formerly on BMX and later on the track. A World and Olympic champion, he has also won numerous other medals at World Championships, World Cups and at the Com ...
allowed the sprint squad to level the series. Other special events have included the Geoff Thomas Charity Challenge Race at Revolution 20. This involved Thomas captaining a team of riders against a team led by Rugby World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson. This was a 5-lap team sprint-style challenge race, with each team including star riders like
Chris Hoy Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy (born 23 March 1976) is a former Track cycling, track cyclist and racing driver from Scotland who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Olympic and World Championships and Scot ...
,
Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former Track cycling, track cyclist who specialised in the Sprint (cycling), sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Cycling at the Summer Olympics, Olympic, Wo ...
,
Arnaud Tournant Arnaud Tournant (born 5 April 1978) is a French track cyclist. He has won 14 World Championships and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the Summer Olympics. In track cycling, he is third behind Harrie Lavreysen (20) and Sir Chris Hoy (17) in th ...
and
Peter Schep Pieter Otto ("Peter") Schep (born 8 March 1977 in Lopik, Utrecht) is a Dutch former racing cyclist, who specialized in track cycling endurance events. Biography Born in Lopik, Schep represented the Netherlands at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer O ...
. The teams were drawn at the start of the evening, equally sharing out the riders. Team Thomas won by 0.1 seconds and raised a good sum of money for the Geoff Thomas Charity Foundation.


Women's omnium

The second round of the 2012–2013 Revolution series (round 38 in Manchester) included a women's
omnium An omnium (from Latin ''omnium'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that f ...
event. Dutch cyclist
Marianne Vos Marianne Vos (; born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch multi-discipline cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . After winning a junior European and World Championship in road racing, she continued her success in senior c ...
won, including the elimination race, this omnium event ahead of British rider
Lizzie Armitstead Elizabeth Mary Deignan (née Armitstead; born 18 December 1988) is an English professional world champion track cycling, track and Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . She was the 2 ...
.
Ellen van Dijk Eleonora Maria "Ellen" van Dijk (; born 11 February 1987) is a Dutch professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . Besides road cycling she was also a track cycling, tr ...
of the Netherlands won the points race,
Katie Colclough Katie Amanda Colclough (born 20 January 1990 ) is a retired English road and track cyclist from Frieston near Grantham, Lincolnshire, and a former member of British Cycling's Olympic Development Squad. Early life She attended Caythorpe prim ...
the scratch race and the British team the team pursuit.


Future Stars series

Alongside the senior racing, the Future Stars competition also ran at each Revolution event. This series involved young riders, usually 14- to 16-year-olds and provided them with the opportunity to race in front of big crowds from an early age. They competed in a number of sprint and endurance races. Points were scored in each race and counted towards the overall leader board. The winner was crowned at the end of each series. Some participants in the Future Stars series later went on to become elite athletes who saw significant success early in their professional careers. These include
Jason Kenny Sir Jason Francis Kenny (born 23 March 1988) is a British former track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. Kenny is the winner of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) by a British athlete. Kenny's seven Olympic ...
(7-time Olympic and 3-time World Champion),
Laura Kenny Dame Laura Rebecca Kenny, Lady Kenny, ( Trott; born 24 April 1992) is a former British professional Track cycling, track and Road bicycle racing, road cyclist who specialised in track endurance events, specifically the team pursuit, omnium, scra ...
(5-time Olympic and 7-time World Champion),
Steven Burke Steven James Burke (born 4 March 1988) is a former English track and road cyclist, who rode for the now disbanded cycling team.
(2-time Olympic and 1-time World Champion),
Peter Kennaugh Peter Robert Kennaugh Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 15 June 1989) is a Isle of Man, Manx former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2019 for and . In 2012 he won the gold medal as part of the Great Brit ...
(1-time Olympic and 1-time World Champion),
Dani Rowe Danielle 'Dani' Rowe Order of the British Empire, MBE (née King; born 21 November 1990) is a British former Road bicycle racing, road and track cyclist. She retired from cycling in December 2018. A Cycling at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women ...
(1-time Olympic and 3-time World Champion) and
Lizzie Deignan Elizabeth Mary Deignan (née Armitstead; born 18 December 1988) is an English professional world champion track and road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . She was the 2015 World road race champion. Deignan is also the ...
(1-time World Champion and Olympic medallist). The London 2012 Olympic squad included a large number of riders to have come through the series.


References


External links


British Cycling for Revolution reports and photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolution (Cycling Series) Track cycling races Cycle races in the United Kingdom Recurring sporting events established in 2003 Cycle racing series Cycle races in England