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.

Things got off to a bit of a slow start with the sprint qualifying as I did a rather pedestrian 12.265 for the 200m, good enough for just 12^th, but with the top 24 going through I was safely into the sprint rounds. My time wasn’t helped by the fact I started my effort too soon, and into a block headwind, something you can’t practice day in day out on an indoor velodrome!

Learning from my mistake in qualifying I used my opponents as a windbreak down the back straight and then tried to come round in the final bend and along the home straight. Unfortunately for me I was racing Lewis Olivia, and just as at nationals in October, he just had too much speed for me as I sat on his hip unable to make it past. Into the repecharge I went, however not before racing in the Rudd Handicap Race, a 500m sprint race. I was starting the furthest back from the 10m line in my heat, chasing the other 6 – 7 riders who were lined up in front of me at various markers depending on their ability and previous handicap race results. By the back straight I’d picked off a number of riders and was scything through the field, but as the finish line approached and the handicap unwound, I just finished outside the top 2 cut.

Back to the sprint repecharge, this time it was a 4up race, 2 Italians and former Para-T teammate Jon-Allan Butterworth. Using my windbreak technique, I sat on the Italians wheel before kicking for home. This time I had enough speed and came past on the finishing straight to take my first win this year, and book a place into the quarter finals.

In the quarter finals I was up against double World Champion Robert Forstemann from Germany, and Tom Baker. Knowing the calibre of Forstemann, I knew it was going to be a tough task to make it any further in the competition, and with a mistake in positioning down the back straight, any chance I had was gone. In the 5^th-12^th place final there was a lot of switching as everyone battled for position, in the end I finished 4^th, which equated to 9^th overall. Not a bad day at the office considering the strength of the field.

On to the Keirin, where I started hard and got onto the wheel to led out the race as the Derny Pacer bike came past. With the bike peeling off with 1 lap to go, it was going to be tough to take the win from the front due to the strong wind down the back straight. I tried not to panic as a few riders came over the top of me and quickly jumped into their slip stream to wind up my sprint, timing it perfectly in the home straight to take the win, and a place into the final.

The final was a major squeeze on the start line, with 10riders shoulder to shoulder! The first corner was carnage as we all aimed for the back of the Derny.  Unfortunately I wasn’t as ruthless as I should be and settled into the back of the line-up, so as the sprint started, I found myself in the wrong position with a lot of work just to make it near the front of the race. By the time I was on the home straight, there was just too much distance to make up to the calibre of sprinters in front of me. However I kept pushing to the line to pick up a 6^th place.

Thankfully Herne Hill stayed dry for the duration, although I hope it’s the last meet I have to warm up on the rollers in a big football managers jacket and woolly hat! Finally, a big thanks to the organisers and I look forward to racing again next year.

Jody

Full Results can be found on VeloUk

The start of February saw me heading north to Glasgow, to ride at the final round of the Revolution track series, and the first time the series had ventured away from Manchester. Once again I was riding for Face Partnership with the endurance riders. I didn’t quite get off to as good as start as in the first round as I finished 6^th in the Flying Lap, and event I’d managed a 2^nd in October. The Madison kilo was a much better ride than the 1^st round though, riding with Jake Ragan we managed to post a sub 60 second kilo and good enough to take the lead at the halfway point. In the end we ended up 5^th, but the time a placing was an improvement from previous rounds. The bunch races went pretty well this time around, although I didn’t make any of the top ten places I had much stronger rides than in the October rounds and was more aware of what was going on around me. However still need some more racing and training to properly get in the mix and contest the finish sprints.

With unsettled weather conditions and having spent 2 days straight on the turbo, I was online booking another camp out in Majorca, this time it was only for 7 days, but it was long enough to continue working on the base fitness, and clocking in the hours. I was staying in the Playa de Palma, and it was pretty much a cycling hotel, with the hotel filled with cyclists. I was joined on a number of rides by fellow Paralympic Colin Lynch, who was staying in the same hotel. I also bumped into one of my main rivals and good friend, Jiri Jezek, who was staying a few hundred metres away in another hotel, I joined him out on a big group ride where we discussed the issues we’re having in our sport at the moment. It was good to get out riding with these guys as I do a lot of my training on my own, and when you’re on longer road rides it’s good to have someone there with you going through the same miles and hours. My fitness was on the way up, and I set a few PB’s up some of the shorter climbs on the island I use to test myself. The camp wasn’t without a few hiccups though, as on the 2^nd day I was knocked off by a car, which in itself was pretty shocking, but I was incredibly lucky and managed to escape with a few cuts and bruises. Thankfully it didn’t affect my training and I was able to finish the week strongly.

Once back home it was off to another bike show, this time the Bike and Triathlon show in Manchester. It was a smaller event than the one in London, but certainly felt like I signed more autographs this time around.

With my fitness going in the right direction, it was time to test myself out on the road, and I was set to race in the Eddie Soens Classic at Aintree race course. It was the first race of the season for most people and historically has been cold and wet, but with 250 riders from all categories of racing it was going to be organized chaos! The race set off at a good speed and I was off with the Cat 2 riders in the group just ahead of the Cat 1’s and Elites. It wasn’t long before we were caught and the bunch was 250riders strong and shortly after that the first crash happened, fortunately I managed to avoid it, but with the rider on the ground each lap the bunch would have to squeeze past before regrouping. A few more laps in and there was another crash, this time I wasn’t so lucky and got caught the wrong side of it. After not quite making it back on, I ended up riding to the end of the race in a small group, and with the peloton out of our range it turned into a strong training ride. Still it was pretty enjoyable, and my legs felt pretty good throughout.

Then it was back to Majorca again, this time with almost all the GB Para-Cycling team. It was one of the most relaxed camps I’ve been on, although the craziest weather conditions. We had sun, rain, wind, snow, and hail, but all in all it didn’t stop me getting in all the training I had planned. This camp was about adding intensity to my rides, and working on specifics that’ll hopefully convert into more speed on the track during my kilo.

Well that’s spring done and dusted, off to race at the Good Friday Meet (weather permitting) and then it’s into the meaty part of my training block, as I aim to make the 2014 Commonwealth Team.

Catch you all soon, as I keep you updated on my progress

Jody

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.”

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.

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.

Wow, it’s almost over. All the hype and build up to 2012, the Olympics, the Paralympics, and here we are about to head into 2013.

What a year for sport, and amazing to have played a small part in it!

Back in February my season kicked off in sunny Los Angeles, where I was racing at the Para-Cycling World Track Championships.

They turned out to be an interesting championship, in the Team Sprint riding with Darren Kenny and Sarah Storey we suffered our first defeat since 2006, taking silver behind the Chinese, who had found an amazing man 1 that really did make the difference to their team. In the 4km Pursuit, qualifying was interesting, as there was an official standing on the track in the back straight! Cue a restart, and I managed to post the 3^rd quickest time. In the Bronze medal final I tried to learn from my pacing issues in qualifying.  However after the 1^st kilometre I could see my opponent and decided to chase him downrather than doing a full 4km.  After 5 ¾ laps I’d caught and over taken Roberto Alcaide from Spain to take the Bronze medal.

In the kilo I managed to maintain my unbeaten record to take the 1km title in 1:06.001. Not my best ride, actually the first time I’ve won at the worlds without breaking the WR, but still it was good enough to take my 5^th consecutive world title and the coveted rainbow bands. So LA turned out to be a mixed bag of results, but I did get a full set of medals!

After the worlds it was back to training and preparations for the London Paralympics. Another visit to Majorca for another 10day training camp kick started the final cycle off. It ended with me heading to the Tower of London for a bit of modelling and showing off the Adidas kit that all the GB athletes would be racing in at the home games.

In between all the training, with the build-up to the games I ended up doing quite a bit of publicity, the most fun was the 3 part Sainsbury’s short films, and the Paralympic promo video for Channel4. Some of the shots in the films were pretty cool, and due to the way they were filmed, they gave you an insight into track cycling that you just don’t normally see.

With the year flying by, the Olympics came and went, and before you knew it, I was at the holding camp in Newport, putting the final touches to my preparations for London. Things were looking good, as I PB’d in pretty much every session on the holding camp, just one little hiccup was a crash on day 2, but I survived with just a friction burn on my hip and elbow. A massive relief considering I hit the deck at 75kph!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPF60oou0z0

Then it was time to race, with the kilo up first I was ready to go, with all my competitors going before me I was feeling really confident as I stepped on the track, especially as the fastest time was still half a second slower than my Beijing winning time and still some 9/10^ths of a second slower than my WR, and I was going faster than ever now.  I just needed to race at my best and that was it, unfortunately it all started to go wrong in a big way! I made my start just as I have countless times in training, however something was wrong, the gate held me, the next thing I know I’m wheel spinning and going sideways. Not ideal. So I stuck my hand up, and called for a mishap, pulled off the track and got ready to take to the start again. However that was it, I was unfairly denied a 2^nd start, and that was it, a big fat DNF next to me name, and what followed wasn’t my proudest moment, but it will go down in Paralympic history in the same way as John McEnroe’s outburst at Wimbledon in 1981.

I basically threw all the toys out of my pram at anybody who would listen, in denial that I wouldn’t be defending my kilo title, and was removed from the velodrome. Knowing I was out of order I wanted to apologise, and try to put things right, at least to all the kids that had witnessed my foul mouthed tirade. So a little later I came back out to apologise to everyone in the crowd, then to the sponsors and governing bodies and organisers in a press conference and media scrum. Then finally I headed back to the village as I had to compose myself and come back and race the 4km pursuit the following day.

With the crowd behind me I ripped around the velodrome in qualifying to a new British Record, and 3^rd best time. In the final I made short work of my opponent and took Bronze with an overtake in 5¼ laps. I covered the first 1km quicker than the winning time from the previous day. Considering the disappointment the day before, and the fact I hadn’t focussed on the pursuit as I placed all my eggs in the kilo basket, a bronze medal really did feel like winning gold. Having watched the footage back, it looks like I started the tiniest of fraction too early hence the gate held me when I pulled forward. Unfortunately though, the false start wasn’t called by the commissaires, so I didn’t get the immediate restart the rules state.

London will always be memorable for me for some amazing highs and some equally amazing lows, but I’m glad I can say I was there and I won a medal in front of the best and noisiest crowd anyone can ask for.

My racing year finished with a few more races on the track, a bronze medal in the Team Sprint at nationals, a 2^nd place in the flying lap at the Revolution track series, and in my final race of 2012, a win in the 10mile scratch race in the final round of the MRTL Premier Division track league.

2013 will be a really important year for training, as I plan my revenge in Rio. On the way to 2016 I have also set myself the ambitious target of riding for England at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. So the hard work starts again, and my motivation is sky high.

Thanks to all my family, friends and supporters, all my sponsors.

Have a great Christmas and New Year, and happy cycling.

Jody

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.

In his last racing appearance of the year and his first in an elite endurance competition, Jody faced the likes of Olympians Steve Burke, Ed Clancy and Andy Tennant at the first Round of the Revolution Series 2012/2013.

And Jody was certainly up for the challenge as he got the loudest cheers of the night from the crowd and started his agenda by taking second place behind Ed Clancy in the first event of the night, the Flying Lap, in a time of 13.908. Having put in a stunning performance, Jody held his own in the remaining events, but admitted afterwards:

“I haven’t done too much training since the Games and I’m certainly not in the shape I should be in, so I’m quite pleased with my second place in the flying lap. I really enjoyed mixing it up with the endurance guys and racing in front of such a fantastic crowd always feels special.” He added “I might be putting a little bit more time into bunch racing and see how much I can improve.”

Don’t forget you can catch up with the Revolution series on ITV Player.

Photo ©Swarbrick.com

Excitement is building ahead of Revolution Series Round 1 this Saturday night in Manchester and Jody can’t wait to do battle in the elite team competition.

A Bronze medalist in the 4km pursuit at the Paralympics in London, Jody will ride in one of 12 elite teams at the Manchester Velodrome as the 10th season of the Revolution Series begins and the national appetite for track cycling continues to grow.

He’ll compete against team pursuit Gold medalists Ed Clancy (Rapha Condor Sharp) and Steven Burke (IG-Sigma Sport), while British Time Trial champion Alex Dowsett will ride for Team Sky. Maxgear return to defend their title while Team Raleigh, IG-Sigma Sport and Endura-NetApp debut at the Revolution.

The 34-year-old was infamously disqualified from the C4-5 Men’s 1km time trial at the Paralympics back in August, but bounced back with Bronze in the C4 4km individual pursuit the following day, and he’s raring to compete in the world’s only elite track cycling league.

“The chance to race in able-bodied events really drives me as there is always someone better than me to race against,” Jody said. “That takes me out of my comfort zone and helps me raise my game. It’s great to race people head-to-head and really get stuck in.

“Testing myself against Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant and Steven Burke will be exciting, especially when you know how fast they are in a team pursuit. Hopefully I’ll be up to the challenge but it’s formidable for anyone. Especially for a sprinter like me in an endurance racers’ world!”

As for his outburst at the Paralympics, when a faulty start gate appeared to cost him a Gold medal (his first 1,000m in the 4km pursuit was fast enough to win 1km Gold), Jody added:

“Every time people have talked to me about London the response has always been the same, they’ve been very supportive … some have said I was restrained compared to what they’d have done. Which I have to say is slightly worrying!

“The interest in cycling at the moment is sky-high, especially in Great Britain as we’ve dominated on the road and track,” Jody added. “The Revolution Series is also a brilliant way for fans to experience cycle racing live for the first time. There are sell-out crowds, frantic racing, the chance to see some of the best riders in the world along with a lot of promising young riders, all potential stars of the future. It’s the perfect blend of action to ignite anybody’s interest.”

ITV4 will show Revolution Series Round 1 highlights next Wednesday, 31st October at 8pm and the show will be available for catch-up in ITV Player.

Revolution Rounds 1-3 are sold out but tickets are still available for the fourth and final round at the new Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow on 2nd February 2013 – buy tickets here.