Slicks lead after Revolution in Manchester

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Going into the evening of competition at the Revolution 26 in Manchester, it was the Rob Hayles' Forza team who led the overall competition having performed well across the first round back in November. Before the night's racing began, Hayles was in bullish mood when asked about Team Forza's approach.

"We're gonna go on the attack again. It's the best form of defence I think," said Hayles. "But it's going to be a different race tonight, there's a lot of other guys here that weren't here last time round, and we'll just have to wait and see, but we've just got to try and get up there in as many races as we can."

The Slicks, led by Craig Maclean, was hot on the heels of Team Forza. Maclean had bagged a number of sprint victories across the first Revolution - underlining his team's sprint credentials. This time around, his team would be boosted by the addition of Bradley Wiggins, a change that was immediately felt as Wiggins coasted to victory in the first bunch race of the night to set the early pace and draw first blood for the Slicks.

Dean Downing of the Flyers summed up the feelings of the rest of the bunch about having Bradley back. "He's got the class to just turn it on whenever he wants, and he proved that in that last race. Brad split the bunch in half and he showed just how good he is."

The new team-based scoring system, introduced this year, has captured the imagination of the fans as they start to pick the team that they will back for the rest of the winter. But in characteristic fashion, the Revolution also sprung a few surprises with one of the big stories of the night being the debut of former skier Alain Baxter who hopes to ride for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games next year. Riding in the qualifying round of the 200m sprint, Baxter set a time of 11.6 seconds, a little off the mark on the night, but good enough to suggest that he might have what it takes to make the transition into his new sporting role.

Speaking about taking his first steps in an unfamiliar arena, Baxter said, "Well for me, as you know, it's the first time in competition with a real crowd and a proper set up but I'm only doing the flying 200, but as long as I can get a time posted and see where I'm standing against these guys - that's all I need to know really."

As the cohesion develops within the newly formed teams at the Revolution it was noticeable this month how much interaction there was between the youngsters and the more established members of the team with Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant and others often seen deep in conversation with their young proteges. Clancy described responsibility that goes with his seniority at the Revolution:

"I'm the team captain here, so I'm trying to put on my sensible hat, just trying to pass on little bits of advice and just trying to get the girls to chill out and relax a bit because they seem quite nervous before their races. I'm just making sure they enjoy it trying to fill my captain's role."

As the evening wound to a close, the crowd had noticeably warmed to the new format with sections of the crowd shouting the names of the teams they'd chosen to back for the night. James Pope of Face Partnership declared himself pleased with the way that the event has again grown and developed this winter.

"We knew that if the Revolution was to continue to grow and develop we needed to make some changes this winter, so in a lot of ways it's been like starting again for us. Last month the crowd took a little time to get their heads around the idea of the teams, but this time around everyone has been much more vocal and we're really pleased with the way things are going. By the time this season finishes in February, we'll have worked through any teething problems and be ready for a much bigger, even better revolution in 2010."

Meanwhile back in the stands the crowd seemed pleased with the evening of racing. A truly thrilling keirin brought the whole stadium to their feet as Maclean snatched victory whilst in the sprint it was Ross Edgar who upset the seeding from the qualifying round to beat Matt Crampton. There was rarely a quiet moment in the Velodrome from start to finish as the crowd responded time and again to the efforts of the riders out on the track.

As the Revolution series goes into the Christmas break the Slicks lead in the overall standings, but only by a whisker as they are tied on points with early leaders Team Forza. The Slicks lead because they have more individual wins over the first two meetings.

The next Revolution will happen on January 16.

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