Revolution 30 featured some of the continent’s most prolific six-day riders, as well as a strong British contingent, including Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift and new recruit Alex Dowsett.
It was Team Sky who set out their dominance in the very first event, the Devil Scratch Race. The pace was rapid from the start, with some big names like Franco Marvulli and Alex Rasmussen eased off, saving themselves for the latter events. Team Sky’s Peter Kennaugh looked in pain as he came off the track, but promptly got back up again to continue the race. With some strong turns on the front as the race turned into a Scratch event, the group pulled back an impressive attack by Christian Grassman and Ben Swift took an emphatic victory after a leadout from Thomas.
New Team Sky signing Alex Dowsett paired up with world champion Alex Rasmussen to produce a formidable 1km Madison team, under the CHEP Championship squad. Combined, the duo managed an impressive 58.515. But that wasn’t quite enough to beat Andy Fenn and Revolution favourite Franco Marvulli, riding for Le Col, who produced 58.336.
The crowd were also treated to a rendition of Robbie Williams’Angels, sung by Six Day rider Sebastian Donadio.
In the 15km Points Race, early moves from the continental riders Sebastian Donadio and Franco Marvulli signalled intent. The Team Sky leadout train enabled Swift to accumulate 10 points throughout the sprints, even when his team mate Kennaugh retired, perhaps suffering from his earlier fall. Donadio needed to keep a grip on the race and fought hard and managed to edge out Swift in the penultimate sprint. The last sprint involved seven riders who got away, but none of whom were in the general standings. So it was Donadio, fresh from his singing, who took the overall win; an impressive show on all accounts.
The highlight of the evening was no doubt the three-man Madison, which proved to be fast and furious. “That was crazy fast,” said Dean Downing after the event.
Maxgear looked to be ahead with a team of Adam Yates, Simon Yates and Leif Lampater. But when it came to the final sprint, another fantastic performance from Franco Marvulli, who stood out throughout the night, meant that the Le Col team took final victory. Young hopefuls Andy Fenn and Jon Mould helped Marvulli in an impressive three-man team victory.
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The three-man teams meant that the race was a lot quicker than usual, as riders had more rest and changes were more frequent. Marvulli’s experience in the Madison event certainly helped stamp his dominance on the race.
