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British Cycling Junior Academy
rider Lauren Bate-Lowe has competed at the first two rounds of
the Revolution Series in the Future Stars Competition.
In August Bate-Lowe claimed the British Cycling Youth National
titles in the sprint and 500m time trial, while also finishing
second in the junior sprint. A clean sweep of the sprint, 500m
time trial and team sprint at the Sainsburys School Games in
September has set her up as a name to watch among junior
sprinters.
Round 1
The 24th of October was the first round of the Revolution
series taking place at my home track in Manchester. I went
into the day with a really positive attitude and I knew
exactly what I wanted to get out of it, but I knew my biggest
competitor would be Jess Roberts. The first race up was the 6
lap dash; the race I knew was the one I had a chance of
winning. The race started and I found myself at the back of
the bunch, I knew I was in a bad position from the start. I
moved my way forward and was sat at the front of the bunch
with 3 to go; now I was in a good place. When I saw 2 to go I
felt this was my chance to go, I attacked off the front and
straight away I knew it was a bad decision as I saw Jess and
the bunch sat on my wheel, sheltering from the wind and
waiting to come round me for the finish. With just half a lap
to go my legs had gone, I knew there was nothing else I could
do and as the bunch came around me I sat up. I was pretty
gutted but I just had to focus on the next race.
The next race was the scratch race. This race was just 20 laps
so the win was still in reach for me but again I had to get my
positioning right and use my speed to my advantage. I was
feeling pretty tired in this race so I saved myself at the
back for the majority of the race, sat in the wheels and saved
as much energy as possible. Again I got to the front of the
race with a few laps to go but this time I sat there for a
couple of laps and just kept it at my pace until I launched my
attack this time with a lap and a half to go. My legs tired
again with half a lap to go and I had nothing left to give at
this point; I knew the bunch would come around me again.
Finally, the points race and this time I knew I had nothing
left in my legs and my job was to stay with the bunch for as
long as possible.
Round 2
November 14th was the second round, this time taking place at
the Lee Valley Velodrome in London. I was really looking
forward to the races and improving on them from the last
round. The first race up was the 6 lap dash again and this
time I was really determined to take the win. I sat at the
back for the first couple of laps and with 4 laps to go I
started gradually moving up to the bunch to the front where I
knew I needed to be if I was to win the race. I was on the
black line at the front of the race with 2 laps to go, the
perfect place for me to open up my sprint. With one lap to go
I got out the saddle and accelerated as hard as I could: now
the sprint had begun. I held off the bunch for the most of the
lap until the final straight where three riders just managed
to glide over the top of me. Georgia Hilliard - a fellow
Junior Academy teammate – took the win in a blanket finish. I
took fourth and this really set me up for the night.
Second race of the night this time was the points race - a
race I'm not really too confident with. I aimed for this race
to sprint for points in the second and fourth sprint laps;
however this didn't really go to plan! My legs were feeling
tired from the start and the race was a fast pace; I knew it
was going to be a tough race. I got stuck in and chased down
the breaks in a hope to stick with them and gain some points
however the pace changed so often I found myself back in the
main bunch and unable to gain any points. The final race of
the night was cancelled due to a crash in the boy's race,
which damaged the track meaning the night was over! I was
quite gutted the evening was over but kind of relieved at the
same time as I didn't fancy riding a damaged track.
Since my first Revolution race as an under 14 - three years
ago - I've found the series to be very valuable in my
progression as a sprint cyclist. Not only does the event help
my endurance throughout the winter months it also gives me the
opportunity to race in tight spaces and experience being boxed
in and getting out which I can then adapt to kierin racing as
a sprinter. During my progression over the last three years I
think the Revolution has been a big part in helping me get to
where I am today. I've learnt how to race well in a bunch and
how to use my head in a race with much more people than I
would usually race which when you go from 20 odd riders to 8
or 2 riders it really helps make those tactics much easier to
adapt. Even if my results aren't the best when racing these
races it is always valuable to go and race in front of a
crowd, to take away the experience and learn from my mistakes.
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