Track Racing
Reade started track racing on 24 February 2007, her first ever competition on the velodrome was in the Manchester round of the 2006–2007 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics. She took second place with Anna Blyth in the Team Sprint in a time of 34.294 seconds. The Gold Medal winning Dutch team of Yvonne Hijgenaar and Willy Kanis' time was 33.966 seconds. Like Reade, Kanis is also a champion BMX racer. Reade and Blyth's qualifying time was the fastest of the event at 33.802 seconds. In the final round, the Dutch team made a false start, however, Reade didn't notice the call back to the start and completed a lap at full sprint. In a post race interview, Reade said:
"...The first run in the final (the false start) definitely took a lot out of me because I got halfway down the back straight the second time and my legs were burning bad. I could never have dreamed I'd come away with a Silver medal in my first World Cup though."A month later, on 29 March, Reade went on to take first place in Team Sprint at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Palma de Mallorca along with Victoria Pendleton. It was also the first ever Women's Team Sprint Gold Medal title in that event. Their winning time was 33.631 seconds. Reade was a last minute replacement for Anna Blyth, Reade's partner at her first track racing event a month prior.
This success in Velodrome racing follows the example of the former professional BMX racer, Jamie Staff, who had a successful career both in Velodrome track racing and BMX racing. At the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester, she again won the gold in the women's team sprint with Pendleton. Reade was named one of the "Magnificent 7" by the Daily Mail in 2005, and on 20 November 2007 Reade was named The Sunday Times Young Sportswoman of the Year.
Read more about this topic: Shanaze Reade
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