Revolution 48

Revolution 48

Back on the boards and this time I went home with all my skin and bones intact!

I have to say I was delighted to get back into the Rev bubble. Initially I was a bit anxious because of my lack of racing but that wore off once I was in the Velodrome. The format of this Revolution was slightly different than what I've done before. There was 2 sessions this time instead of the one evening session that I’ve done before.
Once I was signed on and had my numbers I had a flick through the race manual. On the cards was a flying lap, 30k points race, 15k scratch race, Madison 1k TT and a team elimination. The last 2 races did cause some sweat to appear on my brow! Anyone who knows these races know that your Collarbones get a good work out! It means hand slinging your partner into the race and in all honesty the last thing I wanted to be doing.
While I digested the race program I got my bike built, pumped my tyres and pretty much got everything I needed to race ready. It's 12pm at this point and the track was open, I really needed a pedal especially with the flying lap being my first race. If it wasn't a must for me I probably should have avoided that session, there was a small bit of madness with everyone on the track. Future stars, sprinters, men and women endurance all wanting to warm up made it interesting. Thankfully I managed to avoid a girl sliding down the track in front of me mid warmup, I honestly thought, "here we go again!" Definitely got the heart rate up though.
So, first up. The flying lap and it couldn't have been any better for me as its a key part of the Omnium. I wasn't using any specific equipment so I wasn't expecting an awesome time, I was just looking forward to getting the effort in. When the dust settled I was 4th and on the same tenth as Vivani, happy enough.



At this point in the evening my lack of UCI points in any event was in the back of my mind.  If I wanted to race my beloved Scratch race at the World Championships this year I badly needed points in that event. While I raced the 30k Points race that thought kept creeping into my head and I avoided going too deep. I got stuck into the racing but I wasn't my usual aggressive self. I managed to get a lap up and be pretty involved but there was a race winning move that gained another lap and I wasn't in it, game over for me. That was the end of the first session, I got some food and found a quiet corner and flaked out for awhile.





Scratch race time, what a let down! The race started the fastest out of any scratch races I’ve done but I was still floating about trying not to let anything go. With the compilation of team mates and friends on track you couldn't really figure out what was going where and who was helping who or vice versa. To my absolute disgust a group of 10 got away and I was stuck without much help but I really only have myself to blame. I just wasn't sharp enough to be there, I’ve no idea where I finished. No World Championships for my unless I get some dispensation or luck from a third party.
The Madison Kilo was next up. My partner tonight was Mark Christian and thankfully he’s pretty laid back. I told him what the story was with my Collarbone and we figured out what the best order was to keep the left shoulder stress to a minimum. My plan was to make the exchange as smooth as possible although we’d sacrifice some time. In the end we did the kilo in 59 seconds which was dwarfed by the Clancy/Wood pairing, 54secs!!! 40mph average, scary!
There was only one race left for me and that was the team elimination. More shoulder stress!!! Once I’d cooled down from the kilo I noticed my shoulder was feeling great, I had a chat with Phil West (tech director) and he was happy enough for me to sit this one out. Thankfully I was out of trouble and I’d got through a race without any drama, really chuffed. 
I want to thank everyone involved in the Revolution series. I love being apart of them and I’m delighted they like having me.
Now I'm back in Mallorca again and the final tune up for the upcoming World cup in Cali, Colombia begins.
Wish me luck!

M

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