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Cyclists' success can be inspiration to GB



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Published Date: 20 August 2008
By Frank Malley
THE Union flag has been raised so often in the Laoshan Velodrome this week that there were times you half expected to see the Changing of the Guard as well.
Eight gold medals already. Fourteen Olympic medals in total so far. Britain's greatest haul of cycling medals for a century with the BMX and mountain bike events to come and the prospect of another gold in the former from Shanaze Reade.

When the final wheel turned on the track Chris Hoy had completed a golden hat-trick, only the second Briton to do so in a modern Games.

Bradley Wiggins, who missed out on a third gold of his own when he and Mark Cavendish finished eighth in the Madison, has six Olympic medals to his name (from Sydney, Athens and Beijing) matching the achievement of Sir Steve Redgrave.

True, there are cynics who might say cycling medals in Beijing are a bit like A-levels. Dumbed down. Easier to come across than in the past.

They would point to too many similar events and there is no doubt it is more of a one-dimensional sport than some.

Yet it is impossible to win three gold medals at a single Games without lashings of will and determination and natural talent.

Just as it is impossible for a sport to increase its gold medal haul from two to nine, as cycling has done in the four years since Athens, without meticulous organisation and inspirational leadership.

The ycling team's success starts with performance director Dave Brailsford, a man who has compiled an elite back-up team, including psychologist Steve Peters, former gold medallist Chris Boardman and Australian Shane Sutton.

There is no doubt the underachievers in track and field, in particular, could learn from the application of Wiggins, Hoy, Rebecca Romero, Chris Newton, Victoria Pendleton and the rest of British cycling's star performers.


The full article contains 319 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 19 August 2008 9:36 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: 2008 Olympics
 
1

Laird Drambeg,

Andover 20/08/2008 09:58:15
Umm, "one-dimensional"? To me it's the purest form of sport - you go out and race, head to head, and the first across the line wins. Quite honestly I've about had it with swimming. Does going backwards while swinging one's arms back, or moving both arms (and legs) in the same motion simultaneously increase dimensionality? Then there's the one where you have to do all four different strokes in one race, and of course the multiple combinations of relays. More interesting... not "too many similar events"? I must be missing something there. Same with gymnastics where they prance around on beams & floors and then swing from high, even and uneven bars.

We don't have a running race where one has to go backwards while swinging one's arms forwards and vice versa. Would that increase the interest level? How about bringing in the 3-legged race and the wheelbarrow race as Olympic events?

Would it make it more interesting for the cynics if cycling had judges with scores for the one who rides the bike most elegantly with exact pedalling cadence or has the most correct angle of body/arms/legs relative to the tubes of the frame of the bike... wearing a top-hat of course?

Hmm, maybe I'm just cynical about all the other so called "events"; maybe the cycling events don't last long enough to pique a real interest to the uninitiated; or maybe those cynics just look at it and say "oh yeah I rode a bike once, I remember"... in which case maybe they should try racing one, just to see how hard it is and possibly begin to appreciate the scope of the British cyclists achievements.
2

Ken S.,

Reading 20/08/2008 10:07:51
#1 Laird Drambeg,

I've got no problem with straightforward cycle racing but one or two of the indoor events look a bit artificial.

The one that has a moped trundling in front for the first bit of the event -- what the @#*$ is that all about?!
3

Laird Drambeg,

Andover 20/08/2008 10:35:35
Ah, you mean the Keirin, which has a bit of controversy of its own: it's an event invented in Japan where there are huge crowds and heavy betting on it and there's a rumour going around that the Japanese cycling association bribed some IOC officials to get it included.

Track cycling has always had "paced" events, usually with a separate pacer, riding a Derny or a big put-put bike (on big tracks), for each competitor. I always quite enjoy them, though without a good commentator to clue you up on what's happening -- the jockeying and jostling for position etc. -- it can be a bit confusing or seem pointless.

I believe that part of the attraction is the higher speeds since the riders get drafted up to full speed and then get turned loose to race. If you noticed, Hoy was going at a helluva speed on that last lap, especially around the last corner... even a bit scary.
4

Ken S.,

Reading 20/08/2008 10:59:58
#3 Laird Drambeg,

Keirin -- ta for that info. What people get up to in the privacy of their own velodromes is no-one else's business, and I can understand how it is interesting/entertaining.

However, I reckon Olympics should be for out-and-out racing, not masonically tactical stuff!
5

Osama Bin Liner,

edinburgh 20/08/2008 13:05:23
Even at 36, Hoy may well be one of the Scottish team's best chances of a Gold in London.
6

Ken S.,

Reading 20/08/2008 14:43:52
# 5 Osama Bin Liner

"..Scottish team.."
You reckon independence by 2012 then?

Remember, they're British while they're winning; Scottish otherwise.

Of course, for my noble countrymen it's English while we're winning and British otherwise ;-)
7

Osama Bin Liner,

edinburgh 20/08/2008 16:24:21
#6 - That's the plan......
8

Ken S.,

Reading 20/08/2008 22:18:04
#7 Osama Bin Liner
On yer bike!
... Maybe a year or two beyond that?
9

Laird Drambeg,

Andover 20/08/2008 23:39:56
#4 Ken S
"However, I reckon Olympics should be for out-and-out racing, not masonically tactical stuff!"
Hmm, I don't see many events where they have just that, apart from the short sprints.

All the same, as a former competitor, it's hard for me to judge how much my enthusisasm is colored by experience but no doubt track cycling's appeal is not helped by TV.
10

Ken S.,

Reading 21/08/2008 09:03:45
#9 Laird Drambeg,

Long races might well entail tactics but there is still the additional glory of breaking a world record to be striven for. Maybe that is my definition of an appropriate Olympic event - anything that can involve being fastest/highest/longest.

"..track cycling's appeal is not helped by TV..."
I would have thought it was the ideal telly sport, the whole scene fitting neatly on the screen - a bit like snooker.

Actually, I'm only moaning on here because I daren't do so in conversation with my older brother, who is devoted to cycling. Very proud of still doing time trials @ 70 years old and getting club award for "fastest slow rider" !!
11

Laird Drambeg,

Andover 21/08/2008 23:32:03
#10 Ken S.
"...but there is still the additional glory of breaking a world record to be striven for."
The track sprint events are timed over the last 200m though its rare for that record to be broken, kinda like the long jump where altitude & atmospheric conditions are also important. The 200m line is clearly marked on the track though commentators may not highlight that point. I don't see how jockeying around for the 1st two laps of the sprint detracts from the "fastest" criterion, given the obvious advantage of being behind at the start of the final effort.

"I would have thought it was the ideal telly sport, the whole scene fitting neatly on the screen - a bit like snooker."
Nope - you just don't get the same impact of the speeds involved as you do on site, which the close-ups, interesting as they are, detract from even more. There's also the sounds and atmosphere which are lacking. The Madison, e.g., just looks like a confused mess on TV, whereas at the event it's actually quite easy to follow. In that respect, the most exciting sports event I've ever seen is the last night of a 6-day race.

Hats off to your brother - I wish I was still able myself. He must have very good joints.

 

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