Countdown to the Olympics with cyclist Pete Mitchell

THE Cycling Revolution series held in Manchester throughout the winter months is a brilliant showcase of what the pinnacle of British Cycling have to offer, and are some of the highlights of my racing season.

As an elite athlete and sprint cyclist, the vast majority of my time is spent training and the opportunities that we get to race are precious few.

Throughout a 12-month period, it is likely that I will race fewer than 10 times, and with most of these coming in two or three stints, the opportunity to race in front of a packed 4,000 capacity crowd is one that I relish.

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It also provides a stage to experiment with tactics, or to dust away the tactical cobwebs that may have developed.

The second night of the Revolution series (my first) was last Saturday. A busy schedule of six races in three hours, finishing at 10.30pm, kept both the crowd and cyclists on their toes.

I tried a different technique for the qualification 200m time trial and was pleased with my time of 10.34 seconds, just three weeks back into my training schedule, after an easier period.

The night continued and I showed some of the tactical mistakes that I was expecting, with it having been a little time since I last raced.

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The highlight of the evenings racing, however, was world road champion, Mark Cavendish, winning the final endurance event.

The crowd were near on hysterical and it was a brilliant insight to what it might be like inside the Olympic Velodrome next August.

There is, however, still plenty of racing to be done between now and then, and the next step for me will be the Beijing World Cup in January – yet another perfect platform to compare myself against the world’s best.

To keep up-to-date with my progress, follow me on twitter @PeteMitchellGB

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