Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s World champions Elinor Barker, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott were in action in last night’s third round of the Revolution Series at the National Cycling Centre Velodrome, Manchester. Trott and Barker took victories in the Elimination and Scratch Races respectively, while King made the Scratch Race podium, despite being brought down by a crash in the closing stages.
The afternoon session had seen Barker take third place in the UCI Points Race, behind City of Edinburgh’s Katie Archibald and the Netherlands’ Amy Pieters, but most of the action took place during the evening.
The UCI Elimination Race saw another virtuoso display from Trott, in the event that she has made her own in countless World and Olympic Omnium contests. The Olympic champion beat Archibald in the final head to head sprint, much to the delight of the capacity Manchester crowd.
The Scratch Race proved to be one of the most eventful contests of the evening, with Rowsell putting in several powerful attacks. The big drama came in the final ten laps, however, as a late crash brought down both Trott and King. Neither rider suffered any injury, but Trott withdrew from the race as a precaution.
Having missed the crash Barker went on to win the final sprint, ahead of Boels-Dolmans’ Nina Kessler, while King – after rejoining the race – was able to take third.
“There were quite a few attacks in the second half, but then there was a big crash with about six laps to go,” Barker explained. “About four girls came down in that, including Laura and Dani, and then there was quite a big fight for the finish. So it was a pretty exciting race.
“Fair play to Dani for getting third after that crash!”
As ever, the emphasis of the Revolution was on entertainment as well as sport, and Barker came away satisfied that the capacity crowd had gone home having got its money’s worth.
“The atmosphere in Manchester was great,” Barker said. “The crowd was dead good, and it was quite a fun night I think. Apart from the crashes, everyone seemed to enjoy it.”
Result UCI Points Race
1. Katie Archibald (City of Edinburgh)
2. Amy Pieters (Netherlands)
3. Elinor Barker (Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling)
Result Elimination
1. Laura Trott (Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling)
2. Katie Archibald (City of Edinburgh)
3. Nina Kessler (Boels-Dolmans)
Result Scratch
1. Elinor Barker (Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling)
2. Nina Kessler (Boels-Dolmans)
3. Dani King (Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling)
Photo Credit: www.SWPix.com
