2013 Cycling Thread

[Smallville22]

Bakelants edges Voeckler to win Grand Prix de Wallonie

Home favourite Jan Bakelants edged a fierce duel with Thomas Voeckler in driving rain to win the Grand Prix de Wallonie in Belgium.
The pair broke away from the field with 24 kilometres remaining with Mathias Frank, who had to settle for third place.
“If I wanted to win, I had to improvise,” said Bakelants.
“I knew that guys like Philippe Gilbert or Greg Van Avermaet would be hard to beat in the sprint. That’s why I attacked earlier.
“Because of the bad weather I knew that the peloton would not go faster than the break in that rain.”
It was Bakelants’s fourth win of an impressive season which also saw him don the yellow jersey at the Tour de France in July after winning the second stage.

 

[Smallville22]

Bennett claims stage five, Wiggins keeps gold jersey

Ireland’s Sam Bennett timed his sprint perfectly to win stage five of the Tour of Britain in the shadow of Caerphilly Castle after a day of spiteful climbs on wet and windy roads.
Sir Bradley Wiggins and his Team Sky team-mates defended numerous attacks - including a late dart by general classification rivals Dan Martin and Nairo Quintana - to maintain his 37-second overall advantage.
But Bennett led into the final corner before holding off Michal Golas and Martin Elmiger, who finished second and third respectively, for victory in Caerphilly, Wales.
The youngster also shone in the second stage where he was pipped on the line by Gerald Ciolek.
“It was a pretty wet start today and I was trying to keep dry,” said Bennett. “I knew if I could just hang on up the climb, I’d recuperate quick enough for the sprint.”
Friday's sixth stage looks set to be decisive in the battle for the gold jersey with weekend finishes in Guildford and central London favouring a bunch sprint finish.
Last year's Devon stage decided the race and this year sees the peloton tackle a 137km route between Sidmouth and Dartmoor, with a category one summit finish on Haytor.
Wiggins is attempting to become only the second British rider to win the Tour since the race was reconstituted in 2004, following last year's winner Jonathan Tiernan-Locke.

 

[Smallville22]

Varnish raring to go after injury lay-off

Jess Varnish insists she is fully fit and refreshed as she prepares for the return of a non-stop schedule after a four-month injury lay-off.
Varnish kept herself busy following the London 2012 Olympics, where she suffered the heartache of being relegated in the team sprint.
Riding alongside Victoria Pendleton, the team sprint was her one and only chance at the Games, with Varnish throwing herself straight back into competition in the aftermath.
She claimed team sprint gold with Becky James at the Cali and Glasgow World Cups as well as individual sprint bronze and silver respectively.
Then came a back injury, which ruled her out of the World Championships in Minsk, with Varnish opting for rest as opposed to surgery to fix the problem.
The result was four months off but with the upcoming National Track Championships marking the start of another busy period she’s back and ready to go.
She could also potentially ride at October's European Championships and November's Manchester World Cup and admits the decision to rest up was the correct one.
"After the Olympics, I didn’t really have a break. Then I ended up having to take a ****** break. It was either have four months off my bike or go and have back surgery," Varnish told British Cycling.
"To be honest, that was a pretty easy decision for me really; I don't want surgery on my back at the age of 22. To have that break and really reflect on what I have done and where I want to be has been good.
"For me it's all been going well. After having returned from injury, it had taken me quite a while to get back into it.
"I had to have four months completely off which nobody really wants to have and then a couple of months just trying to get back into it."

 

[Smallville22]

Yates wins stage six, Wiggins maintains overall lead

Young British talent Simon Yates won stage six of the Tour of Britain, taking the lead with 200 metres remaining and holding on up the final climb in Haytor.
Bradley Wiggins finished safely in seventh, 10 seconds behind the 21-year-old Yates to retain the gold jersey.
Yates had already marked himself out as one to watch when he powered his way to gold in the men’s points race at the World Track Cycling Championships in Minsk in February.
And Yates, who also won two stages at the Tour de l’Avenir recently, added further to his burgeoning reputation with a mature ride as he stuck with the peloton throughout the 137km stage from Sidmouth to Haytor before breaking away for the win.
The 6km final climb saw attacks from Stefano Pirazzi, Dan Martin and Nairo Quintana but Sky duo David Lopez and Wiggins took turns to reel in the breakaway riders.
Francesco Bongiorno, Sergio Pardilla and the Lopez all failed to get away from the group after Wiggins had taken a turn at the front to stretch the pace.
And in the end it was Yates who proved the rider with most left in reserve. The 21-year-old hit the front with 200 metres of the climb up to the line to go to finish two seconds ahead of nearest rivals Martin Elmiger and Lopez.
"It's one of my best victories – to win a stage of my national tour. With the company that was there. Yeah, you can’t get much better," Yates said.
"I just hoped for a good position as I hit the climb and people just started to fall away. Dan Martin and Alvaro Quintana started to ****** and slowly it started to whittle down.
"I know I have quite a fast kick but I still didn’t believe it until I looked behind a few metres before the line."

Stage six result

1 Simon Yates (GBr) Great Britain 3:23:43

2 Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:00:02

3 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky Procycling 0:00:02

4 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka 0:00:05

5 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:00:05

6 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:10

7 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:10

8 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:00:12

9 Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:00:12

10 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Sojasun 0:00:31

 

[Smallville22]

Cavendish takes stage seven, Wiggins still leads

Mark Cavendish won stage seven of the Tour of Britain – his second stage this year – while Bradley Wiggins retained the overall lead.
Cavendish won the 155.8km ride from Epsom to Guildford in a time of 3 hours 46.57 seconds to register his second stage victory of the race.
The Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider sprinted from deep, holding off a late challenge from Italian rider Ella Viviani, who finished second, and Germany's Gerald Ciolek in third.
Cavendish admitted to mistiming his ****** due to over-confidence. "We planned to kick with 700 meters to go but I am just lucky that I have that second kick," he told reporters.
"The guys did a brilliant job and I am so happy."
Team Sky's Wiggins crossed the line with the rest of the peleton and leads the general classification by 26 seconds from Team IAM Cycling's Martin Elmiger.
Britain academy rider Simon Yates is third heading into Sunday's final stage in central London.
The 33-year-old Wiggins, last year's Tour de France champion, is aiming to become the second Briton in a row to win the race after Jonathan Tiernan-Locke won it in 2012.

Results

Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 3:46:57

Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling

Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka

Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura

Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Sharp

Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling

Chris Opie (GBr) Team UK Youth

Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling

Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team

Sam Bennett (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction

General Classification

Sir Bradley Wiggins, GBR, Sky Pro Cycling, 27:57:59

Martin Elmiger, SUI, IAM Cycling, + 0.26

Simon Yates, GBR, Great Britain, + 1.06

David Lopez, ESP, Sky Pro Cycling, + 1.08

Sergio Pardilla, ESP, MTN Qhubeka, + 1.16

 

[Smallville22]

Froome and Wiggins head GB charge at world championships

British Cycling performance director Sir Dave Brailsford insists Great Britain's squad is in strong shape after confirming the elite men and women riders for the Road World Championships in Italy.
Great Britain will be able to boast two Tour de France winners in their ranks in Toscana, with this year's winner Chris Froome and 2012 victor Sir Bradley Wiggins called upon for the competition, which runs from September 22-29.
The duo are part of a strong looking men's road race team that will also see Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Josh Edmondson, Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas and Jon Tiernan Locke compete, while Wiggins is joined by Alex Dowsett in the time trial.
In the women's race, Lizzie Armitstead will be joined by current junior world champion Lucy Garner plus Katie Colclough and Nikki Harris, while Emma Pooley has declined her place on the squad to focus on her PhD studies – a decision supported by British Cycling.
"We've now been able to make our final selections for both the elite men's and women's road races, and I'm pleased with the teams we’ve entered," said Brailsford, who will wait until after the Tour of Britain to confirm the Under-23 contingent.
"Both Bradley and Alex have shown great time trial form this season and I know both of the guys are up for this competition.
"Looking at the men's road race team, we have real strength and depth in the team, and it's a real boost for us to have two Tour de France winners in there along with high-calibre support from the likes of Cav, Geraint, Steve and Ian.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what Lizzie can do out on the worlds course given her great form at the minute, and I’m confident that Lucy, Katie and Nikki can give her the support she needs."

 

[Smallville22]

Wiggins wins Tour of Britain

Mark Cavendish took the final stage of the Tour of Britain whilst Sir Bradley Wiggins claimed the overall win.
Omega Pharma QuickStep's Mark Cavendish secured his third stage of this year's tour with An Post-Chainreaction's Sam Bennett in second and Cannondale Pro Cycling's Elia Viviani in third.
Alessandro Petacchi came of Iljo Keisse's wheel to lead in the final few corners through the streets of London before 2010 world champion Cavendish came through during the final hundred metres, crossing the line following a superb sprint finish.
Cavendish expressed his delight at the ever-improving Tour of Britain. He said: "This race is thriving. The amount of [spectators] is something I didn't think we'd see."
Team Sky's Wiggins again finished in the peloton to maintain his overall lead in the general classification.
"I said I wanted to win it. It is pressure for the whole week," said Wiggins.
"Until you cross the line you just don't know. It's all right to think it's a bit of a ceremony round London, but it certainly isn't.
"You cross the line, you're pumped up. It's relief that you've finished and fulfilled it for your team and your team-mates."

Results

Mark Cavendish (GB) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 1:47:22

Sam Bennett (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction

Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling

Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling

Chris Opie (GB) Team UK Youth

Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Sojasun

Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox

Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step

Erique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team

Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura

Final General Classification

Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky

Martin Elmiger (Swi) - IAM Cycling

Simon Yates (GB) - Great Britain

David Lopez (Sp) - Team Sky

Jack Bauer (NZ) - Garmin

Sergio Pardilla (Sp) - Team MTN

Ian Stannard (GB) - Team Sky

Sebastien Reichenbach (Swi) - IAM Cycling

Michal Golas (Pol) - Omega Pharma Quick-Step

Marcel Wyss (COL) - IAM Cycling

 

[Smallville22]

Omega Pharma-Quickstep win men’s TTT in Florence

Omega Pharma-Quickstep and Specialized-Lululemon defended their team time trials on the first day of the Road World Championships.
Tony Martin, Sylvain Chavanel, Michal Kwiatkowski, Niki Terpstra, Kristof van de Walle and Peter Velits claimed the men’s team time-trial in one hour four minutes 16.81 seconds, edging out Orica-GreenEdge by just 0.81s.
Chris Froome, leading Team Sky alongside Geraint Thomas finished in third, 22.5s behind the leaders.
The Specialized-Lululemon team that included Britain Katie Colclough successfully defended their women’s team time-trial title.
The six women finished one minute 11.09 seconds ahead of the Rabo Women, completing their route in 51 minutes 10.69s.

Men's team time trial results

1. Omega Pharma-Quick Step one hour four minutes 16.81 seconds,

2. Orica-GreenEdge 0.81sec,

3. Team Sky 22.55sec,

4. BMC Racing 1min 2.71sec,

5. RadioShack-Leopard 1min 17.53sec,

6. Astana 1min 21.14sec,

7. Cannondale 1min 28.74sec,

8. Garmin-Sharp 2min 1.94sec,

9. Saxo-Tinkoff 2min 14.17sec,

10. Movistar 2min 31.03sec.

Women's team time trial

1. Specialized-Lululemon 51min 10.69sec,

2. Rabo Women 1min 11.09sec,

3. Orica-AIS 1min 33.83sec,

4. Rusvelo 2min 2.31sec,

5. Mcipollini-Giordana 2min 18.83sec,

6. Wiggle-Honda 2min 33sec,

7. Argos-Shimano 2min 50.51sec,

8. Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 3min 3.44sec,

9. Sengers Ladies 3min 5.80sec,

10. Boels-Dolmans 3min 33.70sec.

 

[Smallville22]

Colclough confident for Armitstead after claiming world gold herself

Katie Colclough is adamant she can help Lizzie Armitstead to road race glory in Tuscany after being crowned world champion herself in the women's team time trial.
The 23-year-old formed part of the Team Specialized-Lululemon squad that successfully defended their team time trial crown in Italy on the opening day.
Armitstead will bid for World Championship success herself in the road race on Saturday with Colclough among those British riders aiming to deliver her to the line.
And, with a maiden career world title under her belt, Colclough sees no reason why she can't help the Olympic road race silver medallist from London 2012 upgrade to gold in Italy.
"I think I have got good form and I am hoping I can go and do a really good job for her. It is a very different course and very different type of event but I think have got good form and hopefully I can do something well for her," said Colclough.
"It is the best feeling, I have never won a world title before so I am really, really pleased and to do it with these girls who I have ridden with for the last three years, they are like my best friends, so it is really good.
"It is so nerve racking before, with all the waiting, but once you are in it, you are in the zone. It is pretty straightforward, just nice straight and flat all the way to the first 30km and then we hit the town.”

 

[Smallville22]

Euskaltel to fold after Alonso negotiations collapse

Team Euskaltel have announced they will fold at the end of the season, less than a month after Formula One driver Fernando Alonso had reached a principal agreement to take over the team’s WorldTour licence.
But those negotiations collapsed leaving the future of the team’s 14 riders, who have contracts for next season, uncertain.
"The Euskaltel representatives cannot hide their disappointment at the outcome of the negotiation process," said the team in a press release.
"It is a sad day for Euskaltel and the team, after the expectations generated by the first agreement reached in late August and public statements made at the time by Fernando Alonso and his representatives.
"For Euskaltel it is sad news that a final agreement hasn't been reached after all the hope created by the tentative agreement.
"Euskaltel has devoted all its efforts to such an agreement, doing our part without any financial restrictions as opposed to what has been stated in the media."
The team distinctive for their bright orange kit had sought sponsorship after the Basque Government withdrew funding earlier in 2013.

 

[Smallville22]

Australia’s Howson wins U23 time trial

Australia’s Damien Howson took victory in the under-23 time trial at the world championships ahead of France’s Yoann Paillot and Denmark’s Lasse Norman Hansen.
The 21-year-old was the only rider to break the 50-minute barrier over the 43.5km route between Pistoia and Florence.
"There were no secrets, just going fast on the flat course," last year's bronze medallist said.
"I won the Australian and Oceania time trials this year and I set these worlds as my next goal."
Howson will also be part of the Australian team in Friday’s road race.

Results

1. Damien Howson (Australia) 49:49

2. Yoann Paillot (France) +57

3. Lasse Hansen (Denmark) +1:10

4. Campbell Flakemore (Australia) +1:22

5. Lawson Craddock (USA) + 1:41

6. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland) + 1:46

7. Ryan Mullen (Ireland) + 1:47

8. Victor Campenaerts (Belgium) + 1:48

9. Danil Fominykh (Kazakhstan) + 2:05

10. Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina) + 2:10

 

[Smallville22]

Alonso won't abandon cycling team plans

Fernando Alonso says he remains determined to have his own cycling team after his plans to purchase Euskaltel Euskadi collapsed.
The Spanish squad, which with Alonso had reached an agreement at the end of last month, said on Monday that talks had come to an end despite its best efforts to secure a deal that would secure its future following the loss of its main sponsor.
Alonso said it had proved impossible to put a deal together, but insisted that has not changed his plans for the future.
"We've tried it until the end, but it's just been impossible to have a cycling team in 2014," said Alonso in an statement posted on Twitter.
"My passion for this sport, my will to cooperate and do my bit remains intact, so this is only the beginning of the future.
"From tomorrow morning we are going to work on building, if needs be from scratch, a team we can be proud of.
"The best cycling team we can form, respecting this sport and with humility.
"Cycling and its fans deserve the best and now we have time on our side, time in which we'll be very attentive to any circumstance that we can learn from and, above all, that can make us better for next year.
"It wasn't to be, but it will be! This adventure has only just begun. Let's look forward to 2015!"

 

[Smallville22]

Barker ready for 'different' team pursuit

Elinor Barker admits the changes to the women's team pursuit will be noticeable at the British Cycling National Track Championships this week even if the outcome is starting to feel the same.
Barker will ride the team pursuit alongside Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell and Dani King for Wiggle Honda in Manchester as the event moves up from three riders to four and from 3,000m to 4,000m.
Those changes, bringing it into line with the men's team pursuit, were made immediately after this year's World Championships in Minsk where Barker, Trott and King combined to win gold.
Barker came in for Rowsell, concentrating on the roads at the time, while a virus suffered by the same rider first allowed the 19-year-old to join Trot and King at November's Manchester World Cup.
All four will now ride together for the first time and Barker, set for the 500m time trial at the National Track Championships in addition to the endurance events, believes it will feel different.
"It'll be the first time we have ridden the 16-lap race so I think it will be different and will take a bit of getting used to," Barker told British Cycling. "It'll definitely seem like a very different event I think.
"However, it's still team pursuit and still very much a similar event so I'm just going to go out and enjoy riding in the rainbow stripes for the very first time.
"I only came up to Manchester to start working with the others a few weeks ago but the team is full of Olympic and world champions so I can't see it going too badly to be honest.
"The 500m isn't my best event but I really enjoy it. Training has been going well; I have been doing quite a bit of motor pacing stuff on the track in Newport which is good preparation for the bunch races so hopefully they will also go pretty well."

 

[Smallville22]

Van Dijk claims second gold

Ellen van Dijk secured her second title at the 2013 World Championships with a dominant display in the elite women’s time trial.
The 23-year-old Dutch rider, who had earlier won gold in the team time trial on Sunday, was last to set off across the 25.3km course from Le Cascine to Florence and by the first checkpoint had built up a lead of 20 seconds.
Van Dijk comfortably maintained her advantage to cross the finish line in first place to a great ovation from the crowd.
"I'm super happy. It's difficult to describe how I feel now. I'm so excited because I dreamt so long of this one and the pressure was high to finish it off. It's great to have won," she told Cycling News.
"My intention was to start fast but I wanted to keep going a bit longer than I did. I maybe got over excited and went too fast, but I maintained the time difference and so it was all ok."
New Zealand’s Linda Villumsen was 24 seconds back in silver with America’s Carmen Small edging out team-mate Evelyn Stevens for bronze by just four hundredths of a second.

Results

1. Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) 27:48

2. Linda Villumsen (New Zealand) +24

3. Carmen Small (USA) +28

4. Evelyn Stevens (USA) +28

5. Trixi Worrack (Germany) +31

 

[Smallville22]

Dowsett backing himself in time trial

Sir Bradley Wiggins may be the second favourite for time trial gold at the Road World Championships in Tuscany but Alex Dowsett insists he shouldn't be written off himself.
Wiggins and Dowsett are the two Brits chosen for the time trial in Italy with Germany's defending champion Tony Martin being placed as the man to beat by the bookies.
He did however lose out to Wiggins, who arrived in Tuscany having just won the Tour of Britain title, in the Olympic time trial in London last summer, settling for silver.
For Dowsett the time trial will test recent concerns over his wellbeing, the 24-year-old, who suffers from haemophilia, was ill in the build up to the Tour of Britain.
Dowsett remains confident though and admits only after he has completed the 57km course will he know if his positive mindset was truthful or misleading.
"The only thing that constitutes a success is a win," said Dowsett. "Whether that's realistic or not remains to be seen.
"If I finish and feel that I've got everything out and given everything that I've got then I've got to be satisfied with any result.
"That's the beauty of a time trial, it's just you and the clock."
Dowsett had been set to ride in Sunday's team time trial for Movistar but British Cycling performance director Sir Dave Brailsford changed his mind during the Tour of Britain.
The move enabled Dowsett to ride the final few days in Britain, including Sunday's final stage through central London, before enjoying a short rest prior to the time trial.
"Originally the plan was for me to go for the team time trial at the World Championships but then the boss reassessed the situation," added Dowsett.
"It was a shame not to be contributing to the team time trial because it's a discipline that we've shown time and time again that we are competitive in.
"But, to be honest, I think for me personally the best scenario would be to have a couple of days rest so I can come good."

 

[Smallville22]

Martin defends title, Wiggins second

German Tony Martin crushed his rivals including Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins to clinch a third consecutive time trial title at the cycling world championships on Wednesday.
Martin, the 2011 and 2012 world champion, clocked 1:05:36 over 57.9 kms from Montecatini Terme.
Briton Wiggins took the silver medal, 46 seconds off the pace, with Swiss Fabian Cancellara finishing third two seconds further back in a carbon copy of the 2011 podium.
Martin, using an impressive 58 chainring while Wiggins used a 56, powered through the flat course in Tuscany at an average speed of 52.911 kph - a performance that would have earned sixth place in last Sunday's team time trial, which he won with his Omega Pharma-Quick Step outfit.
"I had put a lot of pressure on myself," the 28-year-old Martin told a news conference.
"I said it before that I wanted to win so finishing second would have been disappointing. I always put a lot of pressure on myself, it's the only way it works with me."
The German, who won a Tour de France individual time trial at the Mont Saint Michel this year, was less than a second behind Cancellara at the first check point.
Martin, a silver medallist behind Wiggins at the London Olympics, was then 14 seconds ahead of Cancellara at the second check point and 29 ahead of the Swiss, a four-times world champion in the discipline, at the third before claiming his 45th professional victory, 32 of them coming from time trials.
Wiggins, who rode solely on power output, finished strongly to deny Cancellara a silver medal.
"I feel pretty relieved that it's over and pretty satisfied with silver," said Wiggins, who will ride Sunday's road race in support of Tour de France champion.
"There is nothing more I could have done. I got the effort about right for the distance. You can't control the others, I just got beaten by a better bike rider."
Wiggins rode the flat course on power output, not paying attention to the time difference.
"If you react to Tony, he was on another level today, you just blow up," the Briton explained.
He did not even know that he and Cancellara were extremely close in the final kilometres.
"I was not really aware of it. The last 15 minutes were a bit of a blur, you're just counting down the kilometres," he said.
"You can't raise it you just try not to slow down."
Cancellara, who won the title in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, was also only focused on his own performance.
"I knew it was going to be a big battle but I didn't even know about where Bradley was," he said.
Martin was the only one keeping track of his opponents.
"I knew I had about 40 seconds at the last check point so the last five kilometres were quite pleasant," he said with a smile.

Results

1. Tony Martin (Germany / Germany) 1:05:36.65"

2. Bradley Wiggins (Britain / Great Britain) +46.09"

3. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland / Switzerland) +48.34"

4. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus / Belarus) +1:26.01"

5. Taylor Phinney (U.S. / U.S.) +2:08.00"

6. Rasmus Quaade (Denmark / Denmark) +2:36.33"

7. Marco Pinotti (Italy / Italy) +2:41.92"

8. Adriano Malori (Italy / Italy) +2:51.07"

9. Gustav Larsson (Sweden / Sweden) +2:58.47"

10. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Belarus / Belarus) +2:59.54"

 

[Smallville22]

London picked to host 2016 Track World Championships

Chief executive Ian Drake is relishing the challenge ahead after British Cycling earned the right to host the 2016 UCI Track World Championships in London.
British Cycling began the process to bring the World Championships to the capital in the run up to last summer's London 2012 Olympic Games.
And they learnt their fate following a decision made by the UCI management committee in Florence with the iconic velodrome in the Lee Valley VeloPark set to act as the venue.
Britain won nine Olympic medals, including seven gold, on that London track last summer with the 2016 World Championships to act as the final stage of the qualification process for Rio 2016.
They will take place between February 24 and 28 and are one of a number of high-profile sporting events including athletics, hockey and swimming to be coming to the capital.
And British Cycling chief executive Drake said: "Winning the bid to host the final Track Cycling World Championships of the next Olympic cycle is important strategically for us.
"It's good for the current generation of athletes, but it's also an important tool for inspiring the next generation who will follow in their footsteps.
"The events we've delivered over the last decade in the UK have rightly been regarded as world class but the delivery of a World Championships in this iconic venue will be the biggest task we've taken on to date."

 

[Smallville22]

Wiggins happy with journey back from the depths

Even for a four-times Olympic champion, finishing second can sometimes be enough.
On Wednesday, Sir Bradley Wiggins settled for silver in the world championships' time trial, completing a fine comeback after abandoning the Giro d'Italia.
The Briton, who had the upper hand at the London Games last year, finished 46 seconds behind German Tony Martin, beating Swiss Fabian Cancellara by two seconds.
"There is always a tinge of disappoiment because you can't be world champ but in the same time you have to accept when you are beaten by a better athlete on the day," Wiggins told a news conference. "I'm pretty happy."
Wiggins has had a rough season after a remarkable 2012 when he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France before winning the road time trial Olympic title.
His Team Sky said that Chris Froome, the eventual winner, would be the leader on the Tour after Wiggins had said he would be out to defend his title.
He was also ****** out of the Giro in May, his main target of the season, because of illness before announcing later that month he would not be on the Tour as he was losing his race for fitness.
"It was hard, it was challenging, I pretty much went back to the drawing board," said Wiggins.
"I started training while the Dauphine was on (in early June) pretty much on my own. Just going out in Lancashire, stopping at petrol stations to fill up my bottle, changing my tubes when I punctured."
While all eyes were on Froome and his challenge to succeed his team mate on the Tour's list of champions, Wiggins resumed training on his own.
"It felt like a complete fall from grace," he said.
"I like that solitude, I like that feeling. It was nice, it was kind of the start of the road back really, missing the Tour, with all that it was the best thing that happened to me.
"I had a good two years before that so for me to start right back at the bottom again and realise just how much work it took to get to the top."
Wiggins's return to competition came in July at the Tour of Poland, where he won the individual time trial and before going on to win the Tour of Britain.
"It's been a long summer but quite a successful one with the win in Poland, the Tour of Britain and this," he said.
"It's a great platform to go through the winter and to next year."
When quizzed about his plans for 2014, Wiggins, however, would not elaborate.
"I don't know yet, to be honest," he said. "It's not something that's been occupying my mind these last few weeks."
"I've come a long way. I've won the Tour of Britain and now silver here. I definitely look back and I'm pretty happy."

 

[Smallville22]

National titles for Clancy and Varnish

Ed Clancy and Jess Varnish emerged victorious at the British Cycling national track championships in Manchester.
Two-time Olympic team pursuit champion Ed Clancy defeated London 2012 team-mate Steven Burke to win the individual pursuit while Joseph Kelly completed the podium.
Four laps to go in the final I just gritted my teeth and dug in as much as I could," said Clancy.
"It was hard, I just went flat out. It was good to see Steven Burke and Joe riding hard; it's looking good for the team pursuit.
Meanwhile, Varnish took the 500m time trial title ahead of Victoria Williamson and Danniele Khan.
"It's not a personal best but it's the best I could have done today, I'm just happy to take the win," she said.

 

[Smallville22]

Giro d'Italia to begin a day early in Belfast

The 2014 Giro d’Italia will now get underway in Belfast on Friday May 9, organisers have announced.
The race, which usually begins on a Saturday, will begin a day early in 2014 to accommodate an extra rest day during which the teams will transfer from Ireland to Italy for the rest of the race.
The change of date for the Grande Partenza was officially approved by the UCI this week.
Belfast will also hold stage two of the race before it moves on to Dublin on the Sunday and then to Italy before the fourth stage on the Tuesday.
Giro d'Italia director Michele Acquarone apologised to spectators ****** to change travel and accommodation arrangements to watch the opening stage of the race.
"I apologise with fans who already plan their trip to Ireland. We have to change our plans and we have troubles too," he said via Twitter.
Stage one will begin in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter before finishing in the City Hall area while stage two will also start and finish in Belfast.
Sunday’s stage three will begin at The Mall in Armagh before crossing the border on the way to a Dublin city centre finish.
"I have been advised of the earlier start date for the Giro d'Italia in Belfast, which moves forward by one day to the 9th May, and am confident that this will not cause any difficulties," said Northern Ireland Tourism Minister Arlene ******.
"Everyone in Northern Ireland is looking forward to welcoming this hugely exciting competition to our shores next year and to embracing the passion, colour and atmosphere that comes with the Grande Partenza."