Charline Joiner and Jenny Davis during qualifying for the womens team sprint(Image credit: Larry Hickmott - VeloUK.net)
Helen Scott and Jess Varnish get off the line quickly int heir heat with Varnish doing a 19.6 opening lap!(Image credit: Larry Hickmott - VeloUK.net)
Jamie Staff, Ross Edgar and Jason Kenny set off on their ride. The Sky + HD team went fastest in Team Sprint qualifying(Image credit: Larry Hickmott - VeloUK.net)
Matt Crampton takes up the race from Peter Mitchell as the team from the North West race to second fastest. David Daniel is the rider behind Crampton(Image credit: Larry Hickmott - VeloUK.net)
Chris Newton, Andy Tennant and Jon Mould(Image credit: British Cycling)
Team SKY+HD showed their awesome pre-Worlds form with a stunning sub 44 second ride to take the gold medal ahead of North West Region A. Bronze was taken by City of Edinburgh.(Image credit: British Cycling)
L-R: City of Edinburgh (Charlotte Joiner & Jenny Davies), Halesowen (Helen Scott and Jess Varnish) and Elmy Cycles (Cassie Gledhill - Janet Birkmyre).(Image credit: British Cycling)
Hannah Mayho, Lizzie Armitstead and Dani King(Image credit: British Cycling)
Helen Scott leads jess Varnish in the Womens Team Sprint semi.(Image credit: British Cycling)
Jamie Staff gets the Sky +HD team off to a flying start.(Image credit: British Cycling)
Lizzie Armitstead was ina class of her own in the Women's Points.(Image credit: British Cycling)
Ella Sadler Andrews tried many many times to get away but was unable to do enough to finish in the medals.(Image credit: British Cycling)
There was a very large field in the Men's Points race won by Chris Newton.(Image credit: British Cycling)
Andrew Tennant on the charge to ensure he finishes with the Silver medal.(Image credit: British Cycling)
Chris Newton(Image credit: British Cycling)
A week out from the first round of the World Cup round Sky+ HD teammates Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny and Jamie Staff have made clear their strong condition as they claimed the team sprint at the British national track championships on Friday night. In the women's event Jess Varnish and Helen Scott took victory for their club, Halesowen A & CC. Rapha Condor rider Chris Newton sealed a win in the men's point race, while Lizzie Armitstead took the women's crown.
Men's Team Sprint Championships
Team Sky+ HD clocked a national championship record time of 43.759 as they overcame North West Region in the final of the men's team sprint.
Chris Hoy led the team home on the final stretch after impressive rides from Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny set up the grandstand finish.
The team qualified for the semi finals without Hoy as Ross Edgar came into the team, but the changes in personnel did not disrupt the team's control of the event.
North West Region put up a brave fight in the final with a team comprising of Christian Lyte, Bruce Croall and Matthew Crampton but they were not strong enough to beat off the mighty Team Sky+ HD.
In order to make the final, the silver medallists beat the eventual bronze medallists City of Edinburgh A with a time of 45.132.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The Scottish team then went on to cause an upset as they beat Science In Sport.com to grab the final medal position. SIS was Team Sky+ HD's opponent in the semi finals and the latter got the competition off to a flyer with a time of 44.255.
Jason Kenny, who will be riding for Team GB at the World Cup and riding against his teammates from today, said: "It is good to have a run out ahead of the World Cup. Now we have to freshen up and see what happens next weekend.
"We are just waiting for some feedback to see how our individual times were but it is good to have a run out ahead of the World Cup. Now we have to freshen up and see what happens next weekend," he added.
Women's Team Sprint Championships
Jess Varnish and Helen Scott rode to victory as Halesowen A & CC secured the gold medal in the women's team sprint.
Having qualified fastest in the morning, the pair brushed off the challenge of DNA Cycles with an impressive time of 35.222, almost five seconds faster than their opponents.
City of Edinburgh's riders, Jenny Davis and Charline Joiner, made it through to the final as well as they beat XTR – www.elmycycles.co.uk in a closer fashion, with a time of 36.325.
Cassie Gledhill and Janet Birkmyre (XTR – www.elmycycles.co.uk) claimed the bronze medal but it was Halesowen who took the plaudits.
Varnish and Scott, who were both eliminated by Victoria Pendleton in the individual sprint (final and semi-final respectively), blew away their Scottish counterparts in the final.
After their victory, Scott said: "We were always hoping to win today and to do it in the style we did we are pretty chuffed."
Men's 40km Points Race Championship
Chris Newton ran away with the men's points race to claim his second gold medal of the national championships with a massive score of 80 points.
Andy Tennant took silver with 44 points as Jon Mould and Evan Oliphant battled until the final sprint for the bronze medal.
In the end Mould took that prize but the race was all about the skill of Newton who led half of the field around the track to gain 20 points for catching the rest of the bunch.
In a similar vein to Lizzie Armitstead, Newton dominated the majority of the sprint races, even winning the final one when he could easily have sat back and enjoyed the fight for bronze.
Women's 30km Points Race Championships
Lizzie Armitstead claimed her second gold of the national track championships by a 27-point margin from Hannah Mayho in Manchester.
Armitstead (47 points) took the first two sprints to open up a quick four-point advantage over Sarah Reynolds but it was the race for silver which captured the crowd's imagination.
With just a point separating Dani King (19) and Mayho (18), reigning champion Alexandra Greenfield instigated the final attack of the race, an invitation that Armitstead took up.
With it looking like Greenfield could overhaul the two rivals for second place, their attack tailed off soon before they crossed the finishing line.
With Greenfield's challenge out of the way the path was cleared for Mayho and King to fight it out for the final two points positions in the sprint. It was Mayho who took the two points, meaning the two were tied and would be separated by sprint wins, which Mayho took.
Ella Sadler Andrews showed her intent early in as she made the first of her three attacks on the field after lap 37. All of the attacks gave her the maximum points total in the respective sprints but could not lift her above either of the top three.
After the race Armitstead said: "That was my first Senior National points race title so I am very happy. I knew that I had to be scoring constantly so that is what I tried to do."
The win will stand her in good stead for next week's World Cup, also in Manchester: "I am really looking forward to it. I got three gold medals in the world championships in Poland but I am not over-confident that I will be able to repeat the performance, but I will enjoy the experience."
For Varnish this week has been a warm up for the World Cup next weekend and she admitted: "This was a stepping stone for the World Cup for me. I am really happy with my form and hopefully I can ramp it up for next weekend."
