Stars shine as Revolution Series opens in Manchester

In a season that will take it to three world-class velodromes around the UK, the 2013/14 Revolution Series started in Manchester on Saturday evening, with some of Britain’s top track cyclists in action. This year’s series has grown to five rounds, with Glasgow and London also playing host to some top track action.

Highlights of Saturday’s racing, which took place in front of a sell-out crowd at the National Cycling Centre, which will be the venue for three rounds this year, will be shown on BT Sport 2 at 7.30pm tomorrow evening (Tuesday).

This year is the first time that the Revolution Series has had UCI points on offer for elite riders, the result being a strong field in both men’s and women’s events, with Olympic gold medallists including Jason Kenny, Ed Clancy, Stephen Burke, Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell all featuring.

In the men’s events, winners on the evening included Kenny, who dominated the match sprint and keirin, Clancy, who won the scratch race, and Luke Rowe, who took the elimination race.

At the end of the evening, however, it was Steven Burke and Owain Doull, riding for new outfit the Telegraph All Stars, who had secured top spot in the championship standings for their team.

The women’s racing included Jess Varnish seeing off Becky James in the sprint final, while Dani King, supported by a strong Wiggle Honda team, won the points race. Varnish was beaten into second place in the Keirin by Dani Khan.

The Revolution Series of course isn’t just about elite racing – it also looks to bring through young talent, and its youth competition has a new sponsor courtesy of the biggest name in track cycling, with Sir Chris Hoy’s bike brand backing HOY Future Stars.

Sophie Capewell of HMT-Sportscover tops the rankings for girls after the opening round, while Joe Truman, riding for Rapha Condor JLT, heads the standings in the boys contest.

The next round of this year’s Revolution Series takes place in Glasgow on 30 November – the evening of St Andrew’s Day – in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome which will host the track events at next year’s Commonwealth Games.

Full results will be posted on the Revolution Series website.