Cavendish for the Omnium in 2012?

PeteinSQ

Apparently that's who Brailsford wants to line up for it with Ed Clancy concentrating on the team pursuit.

PeteinSQ

What does everyone think about this?

Will Cavendish want to do it? Or will he consider himself to be beyond track cycling now that he's a big star on the road?

Conceivably he could have won the green jersey twice by then and be going for a third at around the same time as the olympics - will he really want to revert to riding on the track?

Winning a gold medal would quite possibly make him more money as it would make him more of a household name and winning an olympic gold would be an awesome thing to do. But then he did get in a bit of a sulk after the Beijing olympics so..?

takethehighroad

I think he will want an Olympic gold, especially if he gets a green jersey this year. Not wanting to hark back to it, but the interview with Rod Ellingworth on RP is very revealing in terms of Cav's long term aims

inkyfingers

I think he would have a good crack at Gold in this event as he can obviously sprint and do a decent short TT. However I imagine he'd rather concentrate on the tour and winning the olympic road race unless they put too many hills into the course!

andyp

I very much doubt winning an Olympic gold medal will increase Cavendish's earning potential anywhere other than in the UK. If he continues to win as much as he has been then he'll being a multi-millionaire by 2012 so it's not like he'll need the money.

I can see why BC would want him to do it as he has the perfect mix of sprinting and (short) endurance efforts required to do well in an Omnium. I think it depends a lot on the Olympic RR course, if he thinks he can win on that then why bother racing the track.

PeteinSQ

In terms of earning potential I did really mean here in the UK. I don't think people should underestimate the amount of money that british sports people can earn from the UK market alone if they're recognised here.

I had sort of forgotten about the RR - perhaps he could do both depending on the timings? Or would that be asking too much of himself?

redddraggon

PeteinSQ wrote:

In terms of earning potential I did really mean here in the UK. I don't think people should underestimate the amount of money that british sports people can earn from the UK market alone if they're recognised here.

Long term especially so. Once he's retired from Professional sport, a Gold Olympic medal would come in handy if he wanted to live and earn a decent amount of money in the UK.

But he might rather go and stop abroad.

Kléber

But winning the omnium is a mixed thing, it's a bit like the heptathlon in that it's a mixed bag of events all together and most of the public don't understand the seperate disciplines.

People just want to see the fastest man on two wheels, some golds are worth more than others.

andyp

I don't think you can mix the track and road events in the same Olympics, the speed you'd need for the track would leave you short of endurance for the road, and vice versa.

Does Cavendish give a damn about being well known in the UK? He's probably the second largest name in cycling these days and is in a rare position where he's successful in his chosen field and famous throughout Europe because of this but barely recognised in the UK.

iainf72

Kléber wrote:

People just want to see the fastest man on two wheels, some golds are worth more than others.

And any kind of running event would trump any cycling event in the general publics mind.

PeteinSQ

Kléber wrote:

But winning the omnium is a mixed thing, it's a bit like the heptathlon in that it's a mixed bag of events all together and most of the public don't understand the seperate disciplines.

People just want to see the fastest man on two wheels, some golds are worth more than others.

Jessica Ennis seems to be doing ok in the popularity stakes!

Kléber

Land the Olympic road race gold on the Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace, now that's something worth winning.

Can someone explain the omnium to me in no more than 20 words?

PeteinSQ

andyp wrote:

Does Cavendish give a damn about being well known in the UK?

I've no idea - probably not.

As you say he can still win a gold medal without having to bother with the track so this could rule him out of doing the Omnium.

I'm not sure how much track specific training someone like Cavendish, Armistead or Clancy will actually do though even when they are going to compete on the track. Ed Clancy rides for Endura doesn't he and Armistead rides for a road team over in Belgium I think?

When Cavendish did the Madison in Beijing would he have trained specifically for it or would his training for riding on the road be considered to be adequate preparation?[/quote]

PeteinSQ

Kléber wrote:

Land the Olympic road race gold on the Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace, now that's something worth winning.

Can someone explain the omnium to me in no more than 20 words?

It's like the pentathlon on bikes, with the scores worked out in the same way as golf.

Moomaloid

Thought the Omnium was a bit of a pointless event (Sorry Clancy!), as is the bloody Womens 500m TT. Dont get me wrong, i like the track, but the 500 tt is just pointless. I can not believe they ditched the Individual Pursuit, which was a true test for some of the events they have included...

Kléber

PeteinSQ wrote:

It's like the pentathlon on bikes, with the scores worked out in the same way as golf.

So riders are handicapped and aim to get under par by swordfighting, pistol shooting and swimming whilst on the bike?

graeme_s-2

Moomaloid wrote:

Thought the Omnium was a bit of a pointless event (Sorry Clancy!), as is the bloody Womens 500m TT. Dont get me wrong, i like the track, but the 500 tt is just pointless. I can not believe they ditched the Individual Pursuit, which was a true test for some of the events they have included...

The 500m TT isn't an Olympic event, it was dropped along with the men's Kilo after Athens.

Cameron Meyer was interviewed by the Beeb and said these days the level on the track is so high that you can't just turn up from the road and be competitive straight away any more. You now need at least a 5 week track specific training block if you're going for medals. Although perhaps he was referring specifically to the team pursuit, which now appears to be ultra competitive.

PeteinSQ

Tom Butcher

I can't see there being much money in being Olympic Champion in the Omnium - try talking to the likes of Wiggins or Adlington about how much they made from their first Olympic gold medals - by all accounts it's not a fortune especially for someone with Cav's road earnings. I reckon if he goes for it it'll be to prove to himself he can do it.

stagehopper

Given there's unlikely to be a hill of any note in the 2012 Road Race I can't see any reason why Cavendish would consider the track.

On the Omnium itself, this is the last under the current format:

Sprint (200m time trial: standing start)
Scratch race (men 7.5km, women 5km)
Individual Pursuit (men: 3km, women: 2km)
Points race (men: 25km, women: 10 km)
Kilometre time trial (men), 500-metre time trial (women)

Post-Copenhagen it adds an event and also becomes more endurance based:

Flying lap (250-metre time trial)
Points race (men: 30km, women: 20km)
Individual pursuit (men: 4km, women: 3km)
Scratch race (men: 15km, women: 10km)
Kilometre time trial (men), 500-metre time trial (women)
Elimination race (24 starters)

William H

I doubt Cavendish will be willing to devote a large amount of specific training to it, so I guess the question would be whether he could win it on a limited amount of training.

The revised format would seem to suit him pretty well

msw

Slightly off-topic, but did anyone else think that the pursuit element of the omnium was a bit muddled? In one head-to-head in the men's the winner *caught* the other guy but apparently had to keep riding because the time v all the other competitors was important... making it essentially a 3km time trial with someone else in the way if you go fast enough.

graeme_s-2

msw wrote:

Slightly off-topic, but did anyone else think that the pursuit element of the omnium was a bit muddled? In one head-to-head in the men's the winner *caught* the other guy but apparently had to keep riding because the time v all the other competitors was important... making it essentially a 3km time trial with someone else in the way if you go fast enough.

Isn't this how the qualifying elements of the normal Individual and Team Pursuits work? It's only the later knock out rounds where your time doesn't count as long as you beat your opponent.

afx237vi

Tom Butcher wrote:

I can't see there being much money in being Olympic Champion in the Omnium - try talking to the likes of Wiggins or Adlington about how much they made from their first Olympic gold medals - by all accounts it's not a fortune especially for someone with Cav's road earnings. I reckon if he goes for it it'll be to prove to himself he can do it.

I agree with this. Unless you do something extraordinary like Hoy or Steve Redgrave, what is the real life economic value of winning an Olympic gold? You get invited on Question of Sport, go to a lot of congratulatory dinners... then what?

Take that British lady who won gold in Vancouver... Max Clifford was all over the news the next day saying he could make her a star, yet 99.9 per cent of the population have forgotten her name already. Cavendish is a bit different, obviously, but I really don't see how an Olympic gold would benefit him.

Kléber

Exactly, a gold medal gets you a bit of frame but if he wants money in August, he should win a few stages in the Tour and he can name his price for the summer criteriums, he'd make more from one exhibition ride in Belgium than he'd get from being on the front of a box of Kellogg's Frosties.

I suspect he might still try, given the Olympic road race is going to be hard to control with small team sizes, and that he apparently is frustrated at not winning in Beijing, he's got a point to prove.

But for money and glory? Forget it.

RichN95.

I can't see him not doing the Road Race - so whether he's tempted back to the track will probably depend on the schedule. He probably won't have to do much specialist training to do the omnium - just work on his starts.

Now if you want an ex-trackie who I reckon would be nearly unbeatable in the omnium if he returned, then Theo Bos would be your man

jp1985

Kléber wrote:

Can someone explain the omnium to me in no more than 20 words?

one big f**k up

miffed

Id hope Cav could be the first brit rider in a long time to be a star because of his road success. With Skys envolvement and the increased participation Id love to see road cycling taken seriously in the wider public interest. Therefore the road race might be of genuine interest.

Also dont British Cycling set up the road course? Why wouldnt they design one with a sprint finish and not many hills if they have "the fastest sprinter in the world" on their team? Surly thats just being sensible.

doddy178

miffed wrote:

Also dont British Cycling set up the road course? Why wouldnt they design one with a sprint finish and not many hills if they have "the fastest sprinter in the world" on their team? Surly thats just being sensible.

LOCOG chose the route, the UCI and IOC (but mainly the UCI) have to approve it.
It's very likely it's going to be flat, with no hills as McQuaid & Co. want it to take in more landmarks rather than taking it up a short sharp hill that was originally slated.

I hope he sticks to road, a gold medal in the Mens RR would be fantastic.

andyp

Where have you got your info from about the course? Last I heard the UCI were not happy with LOCOG's proposed course and were asking them to make it more selective, not less.

iainf72

Yes, I think I posted a link where the UCI said the proposed route was not selective enough. They wanted to take in landmarks and I think there was talk of Windsor being the start.