Revolution #5 (Manchester)
23-Oct-2004

3K Four-Station Pursuit

First to make a move in this innovative event, with the four riders starting spread equidistant around the track, was Manning who began to close down Hayles.

With riders eliminated if caught, everyone was keen to ride a well-paced race. Wiggins and Newton were going well from the start and holding station with each other. Manning caught Hayles with 2 laps to go but it became apparent the fastest riders were Newton and Wiggins.

There was nothing between the two former world champions going into the last lap, with the clock alone able to separate them, giving the verdict to Newton, from Wiggins with Manning third.

1. Chris Newton 3.24.696
2. Brad Wiggins
3. Paul Manning
4. Rob Hayles


Elite Points Race 10km

Rob Hayles wrapped up the Elite 10km Points Race with a virtuoso performance, netting a win and three second places as his main rivals struggled to maintain any consistency. Chris Newton won the first sprint from Hayles and the former World Points champion looked like he meant business however, after placing third in the second sprint, he went for a brave but futile attempt to take a lap on the field.

Newton had 50 metres on the field very soon, but stalled and was caught just in time for the next sprint, which he missed, effectively losing the race there and then. Bradley Wiggins showed well, but his lack of a big sprint always makes points races tough for him. Also looking good were three younger riders, Geraint Thomas, Tom White who won the second sprint, breezing past Newton in the process - and Ed Clancy, who won the final sprint.

1. Rob Hayles Team Persil 14 pts
2. Chris Newton Team Persil 8 pts
3. Tom White Team Persil 7 pts
4. Ed Clancy Team Persil 5 pts
5. Bradley Wiggins Credit Agricole 3 pts
6. Malcolm Elliott Pinarello RT 3 pts
7. Geraint Thomas Wales 3 pts
8. John Scripps VC de Londres 1 pt
9. Magnus Backstedt Alessio-Bianchi 0 pt
10. Ben Hallam Dataphonics RT 0 pt


1km Madison Time Trial 1Km with 6 Teams

Two of the GB Team's Under-23 endurance academy, Tom White and Ed Clancy, bloodied the noses of their more illustrious GB Team-mates Rob Hayles and Bradley Wiggins in winning the Madison Time Trial with a sensational one kilometre time of 58.645 seconds. White and Clancy really ripped up the track, showing both great conditioning and technique.

Rob Hayles is slung into the race by Bradley Wiggins as the Bronze medalists in the Olympic Madison attempt to beat the time of the leaders Tom White and Ed Clancy.

If Hayles and Wiggins lost nothing in comparison for timing and technique, perhaps their post-Olympic rest period limited their speed just sufficiently to let the younger duo in for the win. Tony Gibb and Chris Newton were two more full GB team members who couldn't live with the pace of Clancy and White, though they also dipped well under the minute in finishing third. The most enjoyable moment of the event was the hand sling in which Magnus Backstedt put in Geraint Thomas. Such is the size disparity between Backstedt and the much slighter Thomas that the main interest lay, not in the technical aspects of the change, but in whether Thomas would be able to remain on his machine as burly Swede propelled him up the track.

1 Tom White Team Persil & Ed Clancy Team Persil 58.645
2 Bradley Wiggins Credit Agricole & Rob Hayles Team Persil 58.762
3 Tony Gibb Plowman-Craven & Chris Newton Team Persil 59.077
4 Magnus Backstedt Alessio-Bianchi & Geraint Thomas Wales 1.01.445
5 John Scripps VC de Londres & Bryan Taylor VC de Londres 1.02.118
6 Tom Evans and Ben Hallam Dataphonics 1.03.814


Elite Devil Scratch Race 6Km

Bradley Wiggins gave the crowd the homecoming win they craved in an exciting opening race of the 2004-2005 Revolution series. A last lap sprint and a wave to the full house as he crossed the line got the evening off to a satisfying start.

The first three kilometres were ridden as a devil, with the last rider eliminated every lap. Surprise early departures included Tony Gibb, who perhaps tried to be too cute at the back of the field, as well as Ed Clancy and Bryan Taylor. Paul Manning set a hot pace at the front and when the race entered the final 3km, becoming a straight scratch race, it was his Persil Team-mates who controlled the early action

The first attack came from Swedish giant Magnus Backstead, who was rapidly swept up. The next to go was Geraint Thomas, who looked very fresh and went clear with impressive ease. Thomas was eventually pulled back, but the field had been really stretched by the world junior scratch champion. Chris Newton then took off and looked to have the race in the bag as he surged clear with 6 laps to go. The chase was momentarily in disarray, but Rob Hayles galvanised things with help from Thomas and Bradley Wiggins.

With a lap to go Newton still had 25 metres, but an awesome burst from Wiggins took him clear and the Olympic champion had time to enjoy the win, gesticulating to the crowd and making it quite clear that he is the number one and from the crowd's reaction, they agreed with him.

1. Bradley Wiggins Credit Agricole
2. Rob Hayles Team Persil
3. Tom White Team Persil
4. Ben Hallam Dataphonics RT
5. Chris Newton Team Persil
6. John Scripps VC de Londres
7. Paul Manning Team Persil
8. Magnus Backstedt Alessio-Bianchi
9. Mike Cubison JF Wilson Cycles
10. Malcolm Elliott Pinarello RT
11. Mark Colbert Team Murphy & Gunn @ 1 lap
12. Geraint Thomas Wales @ 1 lap
13. Peter Williams Ellan Vannin CC @ 1 lap
14. Julian Mortell National Clarion DNF

Elite 10km Scratch

Under-23 Academy star Tom White capped a very impressive evening with a great win in the Elite 10km Scratch Race, bursting through in the last half lap to win from Magnus Backstedt. The race was quick from the off and the first significant break came when Scripps, Clancy and Newton moved clear for four laps.

A longer break by Paul Manning was also brought back. Chris Newton and White then paired up for another move which looked promising, but it and a follow-up by Tony Gibb and Geraint Thomas were pulled back. Going into the closing stages Chris Newton looked the most dangerous man in the field and twice he split the field with his surges on the front. However, once again his timing was slightly awry and he left himself too much to do at the finish and it was Bradley Wiggins who led going into the last lap.

Then, just when it looked like the late runs of Malcolm Elliott and Magnus Backstedt were going to steal it on the line, White came from nowhere with a burst of speed which Newton would have been proud of to snatch it, to his obvious delight. It was a great way to end a top-class evening of entertainment.

Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins leads the field into the final lap in the Elite scratch race with Paris Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt on his wheel and eventual winner Tom White sitting in third place. . See more photos in the photo gallery >>>>

1. Tom White Team Persil
2. Magnus Backstedt Alessio-Bianchi
3. Malcolm Elliott Pinarello RT
4. Bryan Taylor VC de Londres
5. Ed Clancy Team Persil
6. Bradley Wiggins Credit Agricole
7. Ben Hallam Dataphonics RT
8. Chris Newton Team Persil
9. Rob Hayles Team Persil
10. Paul Manning Team Persil
11. Tommy Evans Dataphonics RT
12. Peter Williams Ellan Vannin CC
13. Miceal Concannon Team Ireland
14. Rob Partridge Wales


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