2nd Half of the Season

It’s funny how things can change in a few weeks.

Last time I updated you on what was going on, things were going really well, great performances at the World Cup and the C1 event, and world leading times in both.

2 weeks after the C1 event in Manchester, I was pinning a number on my back again, this time swapping my GB skinsuit for that of my own team Para-T, it was time for the National Championships.

First up was the 1km Time Trial, my event and as such I had the honor of pulling on the rainbow bands as current World Champion. Having done a few kilo’s this year I was looking forward to the race and keen to try some things I’d been working on in training to build from my previous performances. However, after 250m that plan went out of the window. As it was nationals they run the 1km TT as a head to head, with your opponent starting on the opposite side of the track, sadly for me my fellow competitor wasn’t as fast as the athletes I usually race on the world stage, and to my surprise as I came into the home straight to complete my 1st lap, there was my opponent, my closing speed was probably over 20km/h different and I made an big evasive maneuver to overtake him into turn 1. This compromised my race, as this is the one place you want to be smooth, fast and nailed to the black line, as it set’s you up for the remainder of the race, and is also where you hit peak speed. In the end I settled into a good rhythm and powered on to the finish, in a time of 1:05.185. With the multiple classifications at nationals, my time after factoring was good enough for Silver behind Kadeena Cox. 

In the evening I was back on track in the flying 200m time trial, an event that we don’t get to race often, but a good one to see how much top end speed you have. This for me was one of the best rides I’ve done in quite some time, as I did a big PB of 10.485 seconds. This was good enough to take the Gold medal in the event, but also take the World Record in the event too, considering the phase of training I was in, this was very satisfying.

With a successful nationals behind me, I was looking forward to the final run in to the World Championships, and it was clear I was in a better place than I’d been for many years, and excited with the prospect of what I could do once tapered and racing for the Stripes.

With 4 weeks to go, everything changed. In a freak occurrence, a mistake, a misinterpretation and extremely bad luck, somehow, I managed to find myself in the direct firing line of the sprint Tandem Pairing of Matt Rotherham and Neil Fachie, who were at full speed finishing their effort on track, they hit me and my coach at 66km/h.

Miraculously, we all escaped in relatively one piece.  My coach was worse off, breaking his scapula and dislocating his elbow. I ended up taking most of the impact in my left lower back and kidney area.

The next 4 weeks I was having daily physio, working through goals that would get me to the start line in Apeldoorn for the Worlds.

Week 1’s goal was to get back on the bike, and able to do some efforts seated. Week 2 was to get back on track and get to appoint that I could get out of the saddle and put some power down. Week 3 progress the out of saddle accelerations until I was able to do a standing start. Week 4 was to bring it all together and go through all the phases I needed to be able to race (Start, Acceleration, Top Speed).

By the time Worlds came around I actually felt ready to race, physically everything was working without pain, and I thought it would be possible to pull something out of the bag, as even though I’d miss a few crucial phases of training everything seemed to be going pretty well.

However, the morning of travel to Apeldoorn, fate would decide I needed something else to deal with, and I had that familiar feeling of a scratchiness in my throat. 9 times out of 10 means I’m coming down with a cold, sure enough, even after topping up on my essential vitamins and taking Zinc lozenges to keep the cold at bay and reduce the symptoms I sat on the start line full of illness.

Competition day was a disorganised affair, especially for a World Championships. The start gate causing the majority of the technical delays, by the time I was due to race I think we were 2 hours behind schedule.

Finally though it was time to see what I had, and the time to beat was Jozef Metelka’s 1:06.477. I got out of the start gate cleanly, and up to speed and into a rhythm quickly, by the end of the first lap I was feeling pretty strong, but as the race continued I started to fatigue really quickly, at this point I was just trying to use my experience over the years to get to the line as smoothly and speedily as possible, the last thing you need is to panic as from experience it tends to slow you even quicker.

I crossed the line in 1.05.422, enough to take the rainbow bands, but I felt exhausted although in a weird way I didn’t feel like I got everything out in the race. I put that down to the cold and not being able to breathe and go as hard as is physically possible.

This was my 16th World Title in Para-Cycling and my 11th straight 1km Time Trial victory and considering the run in I’d had to the championships you would think I would have been over the moon. However, I was disappointed in my performance, I didn’t feel it reflected my true form, and it was only 15th fastest kilo I’d ever done, it was weird to feel so negative on the podium. On reflection I’m still disappointed, but importantly I didn’t lose, and I have many things I can learn from in the run up to this competition.

After the kilo I wasn’t due to race until day 4, this time I’d be lining up with Jon Allan Butterworth and Louis Rolfe again to defend our World Title in the mixed team sprint. With a few days recovery I hoped that my cold symptoms would have subsided, but this was a stubborn cold, and I felt pretty similar on the start line compared to the kilo. Thankfully all the technical issues had been ironed out by day 4 and the competition was running much smoother.

There were a number of teams who’d raised their game and will certainly be contenders in Tokyo, but it was our main rivals over the past few years, China, that had posted the time to challenge in qualifying. Our opening ride together went well, taking the top spot by just 2/10ths of a second. Things were all to play for in the final.

In the final the Chinese team bought in fresh legs as they replaced their man1 rider for another even faster rider, we kept our line up the same. This tactical move paid off, as the Chinese flew around the track, taking 4/10ths off their morning ride and to edge GBR into the silver medal by 0.245. As disappointed as we were to only manage Silver, it was the fastest time we’ve ridden all season, and we improved from heat to final, we were just beaten by the better team on the day, their time would have been good enough to win every World Championships and Paralympics before us, we are the only team to have ridden faster.

So that was my season done and dusted, a proper mixed bag. Some great rides early on in the season at the World Cup and C1 events, and a WR at the National championships. Then having to fight injury and illness just to make it to the start line, but I’ve come away with a World title and I have plenty of experiences to learn from as I get ready for the 2019/2020 season which starts in November.

This summer is all about getting all the background work done ahead of next season and most importantly enjoy riding my bike. To that extent I’ll be hitting the trails on my MTB to keep everything fresh, and taking on a 3 day coast to coast ride in July, which is going to be a pretty epic challenge considering I think 3hours is the longest I’ve ridden on my MTB, but it should be good fun!, My coach and I also have plenty of ideas to keep me busy and motivated during this period,, and although it feels like I have loads of time to be ready for next year there before I know it we’ll be on the final run in to Tokyo, so need to make sure every pedal rev on the bike counts.

Catch you all in the summer as I update you on how it’s all going.

2018/19 Season Kicks Off

The 2018-19 season started a few weeks back at the UCI London World Cup, a bit of a historic event within ParaCycling as it was the first ParaCycling competition integrated into an able-bodied World Cup, and hopefully the start of further events being integrated in the future.
First up was the team sprint qualifying, riding in the World Champion stripes alongside Louis Rolfe and Jon Allan Butterworth. Team USA had set the bench mark time, as we took to the track Louis got
us under way in front of the partisan crowd, Jon took us up to top speed on his lap, and then I finished the race off to cross the line in the fastest time of 49.925, just fractions of a second outside our gold medal ride from the world championships in March, and the perfect way to start our 2018-
19 season.
After a few hours break I was back on the bike, and in the start gate, racing the 1km Time Trial. The last time I’d raced the 1km TT in London was back in 2012, when I famously rode all of 10m and was denied a restart. Hopefully it would go better this time.
In a head to head heat with fellow GB athlete Jaco van Gass, I got a really clean start from the back straight and was quickly up to speed. As the laps ticked by, everything I’d been doing in training was kicking in, and I felt pretty strong, I crossed the line and looked up at the scoreboard to see my time, it looked like a 1:04 something, but the clock didn’t’ stop. It would take another 20minutes until the results were official, and I could finally celebrate, and the medal presentation could take place. Officially the time was 1:04.654, one of the best times I’ve ridden at sea level, and as a first kilo of the year, a great place to build from. Joining me on the podium were Christopher Murphy (USA) and Jon Gildea (GBR).
A quick drug test and back to the hotel for some food before it was back the velodrome for the final, the atmosphere was electric with approximately 4000 people in the stands, and with us riding for GB, 99.9% of the support was for us which was pretty special to experience that kind of support
again. We managed to beat Team USA in the final, although not quite as quick as the morning, we certainly had a lot to be happy about.
I hope that the powers that be enjoyed the ParaCycling events as much as the riders competing did, and this integration becomes a regular event.
Christmas is always a funny time for athletes, especially track cyclists, as it always falls slap bang in the middle of when you want to get some hard work done, but every year I manage to balance family life, and training as best as possible, and I believe I got some good work done during the
festivities this year and also managed not to over indulge too much.
This would be important as the next race on the calendar was the Manchester International ParaCycling, and this was during the 2nd weekend of January.
For this event I was going to be training straight through, unlike the World Cup where I’d rested and tapered specifically for. Having had some big sessions in the week prior to the competition it was going to be interesting to see how this affected my race and form.
Before the ride even started I had issues! I managed to snap my cleat on my cycling leg in the warmup. A quick panic remembering where I’d put my spare leg, and a quick change and I was all set. Thankfully I broke it with about 10mins spare.
In the start gate I had a proper brain fart and messed the countdown ahead of my start! Who would have thought counting down from 5 was so hard! By the time the gun went I was in completely the wrong phase of my start, and I felt like I was stationary for the longest time (it was only 0.44seconds,
but compared to 0.15 or so of a normal start it felt like ages!), before all of a sudden I was off. After which normality kicked in and I got on with the job of riding the Kilo! I felt pretty good through the ride, but as the last laps were kicking in I could feel the previous days efforts in my legs. I crossed the line in 1:04.614.
Surprisingly a little quicker than the London World Cup, and in less than favourable conditions, so really happy with the way things are going at the moment. I took the win ahead of Alfonso Cabello (ESP) and Jon Gildea (GBR).
The final day of competition and it was an early start for the Team Sprint. With Louis Rolfe out of the competition through illness we had a late addition to the team Matthew Robertson. Qualifying went surprisingly well, with Matthew setting a big PB on his opening lap and handing over to myself and Jon Allan Butterworth to finish off. We qualified in a very respectable time of 50.512, only fractions of a second outside of our time from the London World Cup. We were going to be up against the GB
B team as they had narrowly edged out the World bronze medallists Spain to qualify 2nd.
After the ride my coach realised that I’d been under geared, a silly error that rarely happens, but one of those little things I over looked by not checking my bike prior to racing like I do at every other
competition.
In the final, with the right gear on, Matty got us up to speed with another PB for his opening lap, I was quickly onto Jon and feeling really good behind him before making a run at him in the final
corner and into the final lap. The larger gear helped as I reached the final turn and acorss the finish line. WOW 49.844, we’d taken a big chunk of our qualifying time to take the win from the GB B team.
All in all it’s been a fantastic start to the 2018-19 season, and I’m looking forward to the national championships here in Manchester in 2 weeks time, before completing the run in to the World Champs in Apeldoorn March 14th -17th.

2017 World Championship Thoughts

 

Happy new year everyone.

Over the last few days you may have caught me on the TV or on the Radio in relation to the last-minute announcement of a World Championships in LA from the 2nd-5th of March.

I thought I’d put down my thoughts on “paper” to make sure nothing is missed and that with editing my comments don’t get taken out of context.

 

Firstly, the positives, because at the end of the day I can’t be down beat all the time, I’ll be getting a reputation that I’m always moaning about Para-Cycling and the UCI.

 

It’s great that US Olympic/Paralympic Cycling have decided to organise a World Championships, to tie these in with the logistics of the able-bodied World Cup which takes place the week before is clever and should help keep costs and overheads down.

Also by establishing a Worlds in 2017 it sets a precedent that the UCI are keen to make sure that this is a yearly event in the first quarter of the year. This is great news for the numerous track cycling specific riders that are involved in Para-Cycling, it gives us a yearly goal and an important stepping stone to the Paralympics every 4 years. As an athlete that has been vocal about lack of events it’s great to see the commitment to put on an annual World Championships, this in my opinion, will help our sport grow and is the basis of developing a Para Track Cycling season, which doesn’t exist no matter what you may read in press releases.

 

Well that’s the positives, but below is a list of things about these world championships that I don’t understand and what has got me to the point of being vocal and making a stand and to stick up for the Para-Cycling athletes.

 

First up, 7 weeks or 52 days of official notice (and I’m not talking about rumours, but actual published dates) of a World Championships is downright crazy. If Track Para-Cycling had an actual season of qualifying and World Cup events like our able-bodied counterparts, and athletes were regularly competing week in week out on track, then the idea of an additional competition in 7 weeks would be more than welcome, especially as it would be for the prestige of winning a rainbow jersey.

However, that is not the reality, in fact our Para-Cycling track season (not counting national championships) this year is literally 4 days long and starts on the first day of competition in LA on March the 2nd ending on the 5th due to no other events on the schedule.  This is an area the UCI needs to work on when it comes to Track Para-Cycling as there are no regular events to compete at that we could effectively class as a season. Every year is an unknown, and some years we might get lucky and have 2 maybe even 3 events a season and others we may have zero. This is one of the major reasons a lot of nations and riders focus on the road and not the track, because they know that they’ll be C1 events, World Cups and World Championships, with regular events throughout the year. Because there is no “track season” then the only investment in track training and racing is when competitions count towards the next Paralympic games points qualification system, and all of a sudden it’s of interest to take part in track.

 

7 Weeks isn’t long enough for any athlete to focus their training and target being in prime condition to take on a World Title.

Additionally, in a Post Paralympic year many athletes take extended breaks due to no planned world championships, so athletes are hastily returning back for panic training so they don’t’ look like complete amateurs in LA, but quite a few are simply declining the opportunity to race as they won’t be ready to compete.

Within British Cycling team we are fortunate that due to Lottery Funding we can train full time and don’t have the commitment of a full/part time job, but this isn’t the same for other nations with many riders having work commitments that they may be unable to leave at such short notice to compete in 7 weeks time. We also have the advantage of being a track based program so gaining access to the velodrome is far simpler and I am grateful for that.

 

If we take the athletes out of the equation, 7 weeks is still a crazy amount of time for federations to get everything in place for a world championships. There are the logistics to start with, so that’s flights, transfers, hotels, equipment freight, training times, VISA’s, entries, and that’s just off the top of my head.

 

Then you have the actual costs to the nations, with the event being so late in the day to be confirmed, a lot of nations will have already committed money to other races/training in the 4-year cycle to Tokyo or have spent all of their money on the Rio cycle and haven’t received the next Paralympic budget. This is important because originally there was no plan for a 2017 track Worlds, with 2018 looking like the next opportunity for a Track Worlds. So now money is having to be reassigned, or for some countries the harsh fact is that there is no money, especially when you consider that for many nations this is a Long-Haul event meaning it’s likely to cost more than an event in Europe.

None of the above makes sense to me, but this is the situation we’re in after the last-minute confirmation on LA 2017.

 

I must question why these championships were cleared by the UCI, and why the rush to have them in the 1st Quarter of 2017. Surely they could have been scheduled for the last quarter of 2017 therefore still holding them in the year following a Paralympics? We didn’t’ have a Worlds in 2013 post London 2012, our first Worlds wasn’t until the last-minute addition of the 2014 World in Mexico.

The only positive I can draw from this is the commitment for regular track World Championships within the Para-Cycling calendar, but the way in which this has been facilitated is certainly not in the athlete’s or national federations best interests.

 

So, who benefits from these championships taking place, I can only hypothesize but with LA is currently bidding for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, and they need to be seen to supporting Para Sport ahead of their IOC evaluation which take place in April 2017. As in recent games their coverage of the Paralympics has been woefully inadequate in comparison to their Olympic coverage, and in comparison, to other nations with Great Britain leading the way on that front. I’m guessing the bid process includes money to put on events in LA and they’ve used that money to put on an event, and the UCI pockets a substantial hosting fee (a fee so substantial it’s the stumbling block for more nations putting on a track world championships).

 

Also in 2017 it is re-election time for the UCI president, and putting on these championships would certainly tick a box next to Para-Cycling and it shows a commitment to future events, and growth of this side of the sport.

 

However, both scenarios look good on paper, the reality as I sit here typing is that this event has the potential to look disastrous, with minimal fields competing as whole nations decline to attend due to logistical and monetary issues. Leading athletes who won medals and set records in Rio refuse to compete due to the last-minute nature of the event.

 

In addition to this if the event is a failure, then this reflects very poorly on Para Track Cycling, and in a time when the IPC are looking to the sustainability of track racing for future Paralympics, a poorly attended, laughably last minute event certainly doesn’t show the sport in the same positive light as the competitions on track in London and Rio, which were both 4 day sell outs and witnessed some fantastic racing and performances.

 

Finally, I just wanted to answer a question I’ve been asked a few times. Why don’t I boycott these championships if I believe they are so wrong?

To be honest I have thought about this long and hard, and it comes down to this.

I’m not sure that individually boycotting the event would help, the solution to these issues are complex and need to be found by all of us, the athletes, national governing bodies and the UCi working together with potential host nations to ensure the future of the sport and opportunities for talented young Para-Cyclists of future games.

 

Also, I’m a racer through and through, and I couldn’t sit at home knowing I wouldn’t be on the start line to defend my world titles no matter how fit or unfit I may be. Add to this that I’m funded by UK Sport and British Cycling to be a track cyclist, I feel obligated to attend and to do my best to represent my country.

 

In the past I’ve slammed the UCI for not putting on track cycling events, and I feel like I’d be a huge hypocrite if, when they actually put on an event and I declined to race.

I feel like I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t.

 

I’d love to know what you think either way.

Am I making a fuss over nothing, or is this something that as a prominent rider within Para-Cycling I should be doing for the good of the sport.

 

I look forward to reading your comments on my website, Twitter feed or Facebook.

 

Here’s to the panic training.

 

49 day’s to go.

 

Jody Cundy OBE

7 x Paralympic Gold Medalist and 12 x UCI World Champion.

 

 

 

 

100 Days to go

Well that’s certainly come around quickly. The 4 years between games always seem like so far away, and a huge amount of time, but before you know it we’re on the last run in to Rio.

 

So what’s happened in the 4 years since the last Paralympics and my famous John McEnroe moment in the track center of the London Velodrome?
Well I’ve done a bit of training, won a few races (2014, 2015 and 2016 World Championships), set 3 WR’s (1km TT, Flying 200m and Team Sprint), performed rehab on an elbow injury, and spent a week in hospital with a night in ICU when I couldn’t breathe.
All in all, it’s been an enjoyable period, it would have been nice to have had a few more races in there, but I’d be nit picking.

 

First step is selection, with the selectors meeting over the next few days to go over all the athlete’s performances ahead of the official announcement at Channel 4 on June 16th. Things look good on paper with the 2 golds I won at the recent world championships, but anything is possible, and with only 6 men’s places and 8 women’s the selectors will have some tough decisions to make, fingers crossed it will all go well and I’ll be on my way to my 6th Paralympic Games.

 

Until then it’s all about the training and trying to make every pedal rev on the bike and rep in the gym count, so when I’m in the start gate in Rio (fingers crossed) nothing is left to chance and I’m in the best condition I could be in, to race the perfect race.

 

Catch you on the 16th when I’ll be able to let you know whether it’s a thumbs up or down!

 

 

 

 

2014 ParaCycling Track Worlds, Aguascalientes, Mexico

Pre Worlds blog

With just a few days to go until the world championships in Aguascalientes, and April 2013 being my last blog entry, I thought it was about time to do a give you a bit of an update.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 2 years since the last major competition on the track. Of note the only competitions I’ve competed in have been the National Championships, and the ParaCycling Cup in Newport Wales last November. These events were an enjoyable return to racing, and I had a fair amount of success at both. Breaking the kilo WR twice (although neither has been ratified), along with winning 2 golds and 2 silvers at the Newport event. The 2nd gold coming in the scratch race, a new event in the ParaCycling programme.
Having had so few racing opportunities it’s been very hard to motivate myself and keep on top of my game, but having set myself multiple goals in training it’s kept me fresh leading into these championships. Everything in the run up to this competition seems to be going really well. I’ve had multiple PB’s in training, and my confidence to perform at this meet is sky high, I just can’t wait to take the start line now.

Mexico is going to be an interesting challenge, as there are one or two things here that certainly aren’t the norm.
Track temperature is the first challenge, with it being over 40 degrees C in track centre during our first training session, staying cool and most importantly hydrated is going to be most important. One positive though is that our muscles work well when they’re nice and warm.

The next thing to deal with is the altitude, with the velodrome situated at over 1800m there’s certainly less oxygen in the air. I have a feeling the pursuit and scratch races are certainly going to be hard work, as they are aerobic races. The sprint events should be easier on the breathing, although we’re all noticing that we have to breathe harder to recover after any effort. Again there are positives to this altitude, the air is thinner so it’s easier ride through, which in turn means we go faster, which is always a positive. If the recent able bodied world cup is anything to go by it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the world record broken in every event here, it’s that fast!

Another challenge we’ve been facing as a team, is the fact we can’t eat any of the meat out here, well certainly not any of the Mexican sourced meat. There have been numerous cases of contamination with the banned substance Clenbuterol. As such we’ve been eating a lot more fish, mainly tuna. So far so good, but think it may wear thin before the end of the competition. I do know that on my return to the UK I shall be heading to the nearest steak house!

The final challenge for me is going to be my own performance. For 2014 I’ve been working specifically on the kilo event, and as such my training has been very strength and speed focussed, which is great for my favoured event and the team sprint, however as I’m the designated points scorer in the C4 class for the Rio qualification process, I’ll also be riding in the 4km Pursuit and Scratch race. Both are endurance events and certainly will be testing the small amount of endurance work I’ve done in the run up.

Today is my last training session before the competition starts on April 10th. I’m ready to go, and looking forward to blasting out of the start gate. Hopefully I’ll update you on here, as the racing gets under way. But be sure to check out the official event website (www.eventosdeportivosidea.com), and my personal twitter feed (@jodycundy) for up to date news.

 

Catch you all soon

 

Jody

Jody to attend ParalympicsGB’s Sports Fest in Sheffield

Paralympic multi-medallists Jody Cundy, Hannah Cockroft and Sarah Storey are amongst numerous Paralympians who are supporting ParalympicsGB’s Sports Fest, which will be held at the EIS Sheffield on April 26 and 27.

The attending athletes will participate in the Meet the Medallists sessions, where they will be available to answer questions, sign autographs and have their photo taken. They will also help out in the main hall, encouraging attendees to try out their sport.

Multi-medallist in Swimming and Cycling and winner of five Paralympic golds, Jody Cundy will be present on Saturday April 27. He is fully committed to encouraging more disabled people to try out sport:

“I’m really looking forward to attending Sports Fest”, he said. “Sports Fest is a fantastic opportunity for disabled people to trial for the sports, or to just try out new activities. On the cycling team we are always on the lookout for new talent and the ParalympicsGB Sports Fest is a fantastic opportunity for disabled people to trial for the sports, or to just try out new activities.”

Also in attendance will be Sports Fest ambassadors Will Bayley (Table Tennis) and Maddie Thompson (Wheelchair Basketball), as well as representatives from other Paralympic sports.

The ParalympicsGB Sports Fest will go to different regions in the UK in 2013 and 2014. Register for the Sheffield event or for more information on future events via www.paralympics.org.uk/sportsfest.

 

Jody able to continue training after road traffic accident

Following a road traffic accident yesterday lunchtime whilst training in Majorca near Santa Maria Del Cami, we can confirm Jody only suffered minor injuries, including a bruised hand and cuts to his knee and elbow.
He was able to finish his training ride and will remain on the island until the end of his training camp this Friday.

Jody said “It was a very busy and I was following a car that was obviously looking for somewhere to park. Approaching a space the car slowed down and indicated right, at which point I decided it was safe to overtake and continue on my way.”
“However as I began my overtaking the car pulled to the left instead, which left me with nowhere to go and I ended up punted off the road and into the verge on the side.”
“Thankfully I am in one piece and the bike survived mostly intact”

Jody added “I have had some close encounters with cars in the UK in the past, but luckily always managed to stay on the bike. It is almost part and parcel of being a professional cyclist and I was quite lucky yesterday to walk away with only a few cuts and bruises.”

Jody to ride at Revolution Round 4

https://www.quaytickets.com/Online/Images/2012/clients/national-cycling-centre/revolution-season-10.jpg

The battle for the Revolution Series Elite Championship is poised to go down to the wire in Glasgow on Saturday 2nd February with Jody making yet another appearance.

The culmination of the Elite Championship will see a nail biting finish as the top three team fight for the overall title. Leaders Rapha Condor JLT will be weakened by the loss of Ed Clancy, who is called away for final preparations for the World Track Championships. This will give second place, Rudy Project RT, hope to snatch victory with Christian Grasmann and Nico Hesslich looking to continue the consistent form of the German outfit.

You can catch up with all the results from previous rounds on the Elite Championship page or read the full Round 4 preview.

Standard tickets are sold out for Revolution Series Round 4 but Track Centre Lounge and VIP tickets are still available – buy Track Centre Lounge tickets here.

Watch Revolution Series Round 4 highlights on Thursday 7th February at 8pm on ITV4 and catch up in ITV Player here.

Jody announced as guest speaker for MWR Preston Sports Awards

Jody SpeakingJody has been announced the guest speaker for this years MWR Preston Sports Awards

Now one of the most popular events on Preston’s sporting calendar, the 8th Annual MWR Preston Sports Awards will be held on 8 March at Preston Guild Hall. Celebrating the fantastic sporting achievements of 2012, together with Preston’s honour of being European City of Sport 2012, the awards will be going that extra mile this year.

Altaf Patel, Partner at MWR solicitors, said: “We are delighted that Jody Cundy accepted the invitation to speak at this year’s Preston Sports Awards. Having such a prominent sporting profile, he was the obvious choice. The awards ceremony is a hugely important event for Preston, and we are proud to continue as main sponsors.

In response, Jody  said: “I am honoured to have been chosen to speak at this year’s Preston Sports Awards. I understand the ceremony is all about local talent, and anything I can do to help inspire athletes is very important.

For 2013 the MWR Preston Sports Awards will be presenting a total of 17 awards, providing the ideal opportunity to recognise excellence across all areas of sport.

Jody Receives Honorary Degree from the University of Hertfordshire

The University of Hertfordshire has awarded Paralympic and World champion Jody Cundy MBE, an Honorary Master of Science in recognition of his outstanding services to Paralympic sport.

Jody has gone on to become a multiple Paralympic champion and holds a string of world records, including breaking the world record for the kilo while winning gold at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. Most recently, he won a bronze medal in the men’s individual C4 pursuit race in front of a home crowd at London 2012.

At the ceremony on Friday 23 November – held in the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Albans – Jody, who has had an eighteen year sporting career, received his Honorary Degree alongside over 4,500 new graduates celebrating academic success.

Commenting on receiving his Award, Jody said: “Having had a close relationship with the University of Hertfordshire for many years – especially during my swimming career – I feel honoured to be awarded an honorary master’s degree. It has been such a special year for sport and I am very grateful for all the support”

In reading the citation, Nick Brooking Director of Sports at the Sports Village, said: “As well as competing, Jody believes that nobody is limited by their disability. We are extremely pleased to give him an Honorary Award in recognition of raising the profile of Paralympic sport.”

The University has also shown its appreciation to fourteen other pillars of the community by awarding Honorary Degrees and Fellowships for outstanding contribution to academic disciplines, charity, professions or public service – presented by Lord Salisbury, Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire; Mrs Jo Connell, Pro Chancellor of the University; Professor Quintin McKellar, Vice-Chancellor and Professor Graham Galbraith, Deputy Vice-Chancellor.