Cyclotron was an event created for the initial UK run of the television series Gladiators.

Rules

In this event, contenders and Gladiators were sat on bicycles situated on two circular steel tracks angled at ninety degrees. The bicycles were attached by a long pole to a central spinner. Contenders would be given a head start

Head start (positioning)

In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...

 in the event, akin to Skytrack

Skytrack

Skytrack is an event played in several incarnations of the television series Gladiators. In this event, contenders and Gladiators race on an inverted figure of eight course suspended from the ceiling...

 and on the whistle would begin cycling round the circular track. Contenders would gain points for staying out of capture of the Gladiator.

International differences

The event was only intended for the UK and never appeared in any of the other international incarnations. There are no current plans to introduce it into any of the 2008 revivals.

Event history

Cyclotron was intended to debut during the sixth (1997) series of Gladiators along with Tightrope

Tightrope (Gladiators)

Tightrope was an event played during the initial UK series of Gladiators. In this event, contender and Gladiator have to pull themselves along a rope to a half way platform and then zip line back down it to the finish post.-Rules:...

 however mechanical problems occurred during training for the event.

The event underwent modifications and had still been planned to appear during the 1997 series upon commencement of filming, with the event being listed in the 1997 programme. Notably, upon introducing Tightrope, host Ulrika Jonsson

Ulrika Jonsson

Eva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...

 mentioned that Tightrope was "one of this season's brand new events." In addition, a computer generated image of Cyclotron was added to the starting credits of the 1997 series.

The problems persisted and Cyclotron had to be pulled from the event roster. The event remained on the starting credits for the full 1997 series. The event concept was dropped completely for the 1998 series, with producers opting to bring in three different events, Dogfight

Dogfight (Gladiators)

Dogfight was an event played during the initial UK series of Gladiators. In this event, contender and Gladiator battled in the air, suspended from zeppelin airships.-Rules:...

, Catapult

Catapult (Gladiators)

Catapult was an event played during the initial UK series of Gladiators. In this event, particiants were suspended in the air to bungee cords and had to bounce themselves up and down with the contenders trying to throw balls into the goals the Gladiators were marking.-Rules:On the whistle, two...

 and Vertigo

Vertigo (Gladiators)

Vertigo is an event played in several incarnations of the television series Gladiators. In this event, a contender and Gladiator race across separate courses of tall swaying poles spread across the arena floor. The winner is the first to complete the course....

.

To this date, Cyclotron is the only known event to have been created for a Gladiators series not to be televised.