FRESH from training camps in the French Pyrenees and Lanzarote with his Piranello teammates, Lindley’s Tom Murray relished the razzmatazz of the The Revolution track series at Manchester Velodrome.
Saturday was the finale of the series and attracted a full house to see cycling stars from across the globe in action.
Former Greenhead College student Murray, 22, and graduate in sports management at Sheffield Hallam University, signed for Pinarello earlier this year and was in his new team colours for the Manchester event.
He and Pinarello teammate Pete Williams were in the thick of the action to finish fifth in the elite team 15k points race, eighth in the elite team elimination 7.5k race and 12th in the 29k Isaac Galvez memorial madison.
Biggest cheer of the night came in the Madison 1km time trial where Britain’s Chris Hoy and Frenchman Arnaud Tournant smashed the Revolution record by clocking an amazing 54.549sec giving an average speed of 41.007mph.
Adding to the mix were the celebrities from other sports such as World Cup winning rugby captain, Martin Johnson and former England international football player Geoff Thomas, racing to raise money for the Geoff Thomas Foundation.
Former Holme Valley Wheeler Ed Clancy will be back in the spotlight after helping the GB track pursuit team lift a trio of golds in World Cup events in Sydney, Beijing and Copenhagen when the Manchester velodrome hosts the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
Tickets are now on sale for an event which will run over five days from March 26 to 30 and in which Clancy will help GB defend their record haul of seven world crowns won at the Palma Championships this year.
The 2008 World Championships have an extra edge as it the last chance for the world’s top nations to qualify for places for the Beijing Olympic games later in the year.
Tickets can be purchased by ringing the special World Championships hotline on 0871 230 2621 or on website www.worldtrackcycling.com
The Huddersfield-based Wheelspin Cycles trio of Keith Murray, Scott Rose and Brett Harwood won the team prize in the North Road CC Hardriders event in Hertfordshire on Sunday over a course shortened to 18 miles from 25 due to roadworks.
Murray was sixth fastest, clocking 45-44, in an event won by Scunthorpe’s Julian Ramsbottom in 42-55.
