Thomas & Kennaugh - naughty step

tremayne

Just been watching today's track racing (fantastic stuff - well played bbc - awesome performances from team GB) and listening to the interviews with our team pursuit lads. Quite amusing, but Ed Clancy has very definitely just issued a fairly unequivocal bollocking to our team sky heros! No doubt about, he has just (live on air) told them to stop mucking about (on road) and start giving the track track/training the priority it requires if another gold medal is to come later this year.
I'm sure they are all good mates - but it's no good for Ed if he suffers coz the sky boys are suffering from mixed priority! I'm sure that won't be the case, but for him to mention it, he's clearly a little unhappy.

Lastly - sir Chris Hoy? Total legend. Never ever write him off! His dad could loose a pound or two though!

LeicesterLad

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/geraint-thomas-could-quit-the-track-after-london-2012-olympics

...Right decision i'd say. Track = Zzzzzzz

tremayne

That's a bit harsh! No room for both in your life? Went to watch track racing for first time last year - Hoy, Pendleton etc and it was genuinely awesome. Really enjoyed it.

LeicesterLad

tremayne wrote:

That's a bit harsh! No room for both in your life? Went to watch track racing for first time last year - Hoy, Pendleton etc and it was genuinely awesome. Really enjoyed it.

Maybe i should show more interest, but just not really my thing, its all about speed and riding around I circles - find it lacks the tactics/unpredictability/herosandvillains/storylines/epicrides/scenery of the road...I always wonder how riders like Hoy can do nothing but ride around in circles for a whole career and not get bored! suppose the same could be said for Road, and other sports, and i'm sure somebody will be along in a minute to tell me what a fool i am though!

ddraver

^It is much more fun when you re there. It's a good day out....

RichN95.

tremayne wrote:

Quite amusing, but Ed Clancy has very definitely just issued a fairly unequivocal bollocking to our team sky heros! No doubt about, he has just (live on air) told them to stop mucking about (on road) and start giving the track track/training the priority it requires if another gold medal is to come later this year.

He did no such thing. He was just joking.
He'll be quite well aware that in 2008 both Thomas and Wiggins rode the Giro and road racing is an important part of the preparation.

dougzz

Mmmm track cycling, fortunately there was some paint drying so I had something more interesting to watch.

iainf72

dougzz wrote:

Mmmm track cycling, fortunately there was some paint drying so I had something more interesting to watch.

You had paint drying? Lucky git. I resorted to eating my own hair.

tremayne

Rich - yes , it was said via some jokes but I would he mention it if there wasn't something in it - or some niggly doubt in his mind?

LeicesterLad

iainf72 wrote:

dougzz wrote:

Mmmm track cycling, fortunately there was some paint drying so I had something more interesting to watch.

You had paint drying? Lucky git. I resorted to eating my own hair.

Nice to know i'm not alone

Yellow Peril

Fabulous performances by our track team. Hoy: Epic cometh the hour cometh the man. Trott in the Devil: absolutely fantastic edge of the seat stuff. Team puruits men and women:nail biting!

I like the road and agree with LL there are so many facets to road racing to enjoy but I can't see how anyone could say that this weekend's World Cup track event was like watching paint dry (unless you have some very jazzy and excitingly coloured paint)

inkyfingers

So, does anyone think that our only hope of beating the Aussies in the mens team pursuit is to re-recruit that skinny bloke who won the Algarve TT yesterday? I know he's focussed on the road now and is down to ride the road race and the TT at the Olympics, but Wiggins is probably the only guy who could pretty much slot straight back into that team without much preparation and would be the perfect guy to crack the whip and add some serious watts.

frenchfighter

Road cycling is more dimensional and all those track riders that taste success on the road verge that way. I see many more riders going track > road rather than the other way round. Maybe only when they are retired or want some fun.

Track cycling does provide superb photos though.

I would strongly suggest perusing British Cycling's flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishcycling/

Yellow Peril

inkyfingers wrote:

So, does anyone think that our only hope of beating the Aussies in the mens team pursuit is to re-recruit that skinny bloke who won the Algarve TT yesterday? I know he's focussed on the road now and is down to ride the road race and the TT at the Olympics, but Wiggins is probably the only guy who could pretty much slot straight back into that team without much preparation and would be the perfect guy to crack the whip and add some serious watts.

It looks like there would have to be some serious track devotion with the existing team and I don't suppose the road racing schedules for Thomas and Kennaugh would allow that. I certainly expect Thomas to get much faster, I presume (probably wrongly) that he enjoys the downtime at the end of the season and takes a few weeks to get up to speed as it were. I'm sure he'll be pulling like a dray horse with Clancy come August.

Wiggins could be a quick fix but would the schedule scew up his road TT? I wonder (were he not banned) if Millar could have made a place. Does he have any Track past so to speak?

bigmat

Yellow Peril wrote:

inkyfingers wrote:

Wiggins could be a quick fix but would the schedule scew up his road TT? I wonder (were he not banned) if Millar could have made a place. Does he have any Track past so to speak?

He's done bits (and very well too) but not sure he would be the answer. There is real quality in the squad as it is, they just need to train hard and get everything as slick as they can and they have a very good chance. I don't think it will fit into Wiggins' plans this time round and I'm not sure it would send the right kind of message to the current team to have him lurking in the wings anyway.

Pross

Kenaugh was a bit of a weak link but I also think they went off too hard on the first two or three laps. The Aussies relied heavily of Bobridge who put in some massive turns. From an Olympic point of view you could argue that the best chance of a medal would be the team pursuit as the road race can be affected by so many factors including bad luck whereas in the pursuit the best team will nearly always win so if medals are all important arguably Wiggins should be riding the team pursuit.

ddraver

Wiggins does nt just want a medal though does he, he wants a road TT medal...

bigmat

ddraver wrote:

Wiggins does nt just want a medal though does he, he wants a road TT medal...

He wants a high finish at Le Tour more than any Olympic medal I reckon, the tt / road race combo fits in with that a lot better than th eteam pursuit. I think the bar has been raised high enough that it needs to be a specialist discipline - at least for the few weeks immediately befoehand.

gingermagician

BigMat wrote:

ddraver wrote:

Wiggins does nt just want a medal though does he, he wants a road TT medal...

He wants a high finish at Le Tour more than any Olympic medal I reckon, the tt / road race combo fits in with that a lot better than th eteam pursuit. I think the bar has been raised high enough that it needs to be a specialist discipline - at least for the few weeks immediately befoehand.

I'd agree - just can't see Wiggins compromising his Tour chances for the track, especially when this year's route looks like it suits him pretty well. The road TT at the Olympics fits in nicely with that preparation, whereas any specific pursuit training/drilling would realistically need to be done pre-Tour.

ddraver

Well yes, but at the olympics.....

ozzzyosborn206

i agree, i think wiggins is needed in the TP if we are to beat the aussies, GB keeps banging on about it being a process geared towards the olympics and there is time to get faster, but surely the aussies are in the same boat? wiggins has a very realy chance of winning gold at his home olympics if he goes in the TP but i can't see him winning the Tour, or the Olympic TT, just don't think with Cancellara and Martin targeting the olympics he will get a look in, last year cancellara said he had aimed more a world RR than TT

Turfle

6 more months of road miles + track time will make a hell of a difference. Thomas, Kennaugh, Swift will all be far stronger by August.

iainf72

Wiggins remembers when he won many gold medals on the track and was broke. Then came 4'th in the Tour and wasn't.

I'm no fan of Wiggins but I think he's doing exactly the right thing.

RichN95.

Turfle wrote:

6 more months of road miles + track time will make a hell of a difference. Thomas, Kennaugh, Swift will all be far stronger by August.

Also, the schedule will be different. This week it was a qualifying round and the final three days later. At the 2008 Olympics it was a qualifying round in the morning, semi-final in the evening and a final the next day. That makes a difference.

However, the Aussies are a very good team and will take a lot of beating.

Turfle

RichN95 wrote:

Turfle wrote:

6 more months of road miles + track time will make a hell of a difference. Thomas, Kennaugh, Swift will all be far stronger by August.

Also, the schedule will be different. This week it was a qualifying round and the final three days later. At the 2008 Olympics it was a qualifying round in the morning, semi-final in the evening and a final the next day. That makes a difference.

However, the Aussies are a very good team and will take a lot of beating.

Oh, no doubt at all the Aussies are red hot favourites, and even if the next six months go perfectly, the chances of the Brits overhauling them are quite slim imo. That said, I think they've got the horsepower to give them a chance.

Moomaloid

Is there anywhere to view that interview? I saw the final yesterday and it did look a sloppy performance from the Brits, especially when the Aussies looked so impressive. Really fluid and visibly faster. In fact, exactly how the Brits have looked in the past. The strongest was the Stephen kid, is it 'Burke'? and it was G who looked to be struggling. However i do think they could get back to winning form. Not sure if the Aussies plan any changes in lineup, watching them i can't imaging they will. That certainly helps.

Looks like they've just gone away and studied how team GB did it previously and have worked their way back to the top. The Olympics is gonna be interesting. Oh and Geraint, its all about the Road son.

On the subject of entertainment i have to say the day was fantastic. Never been to a track race and was expecting lots of time to kill but the schedule meant there was always a race on the track. The atmosphere was good, if obviously partizan. And if people are looking to bring cycling to the public then the instant gratification of the racing is perfect. Really enjoyed it. Would've loved a bit of Madison racing mind.

RichN95.

Moomaloid wrote:

Is there anywhere to view that interview?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... 9_02_2012/

About 1 hour 08 in

Surrey Cyclist

'Sloppy performance from the Brits'?, 'naughty step'?', 'struggling'?
Listen to you guys. GB did a 3:56 in a lineup that hasn't been completely dedicated to pursuiting. That's a really solid performance and one that puts them in olympic medal contention on current form. I know it's usual GB blabber to say 'It means we know where we stand against everyone else', but I for one agree. They saw Australia beat them by 2 seconds so they can go away and plan how they are going to close that gap.
As August approaches the subtleties that define fast pursuiting, that have probably faded for Kennaugh and G in the past couple of years, will be tweaked and the athletes will only improve. I'm sure they'll be knocking on the door of the world record and therefore the Aussies in 4 months time.
If it comes down to a GB / Aus final I think it could be one of the all time Olympic classics.

tremayne

SurreyC - It's interesting isn't it. Plenty countries out there would be made up with such a result. As it is, nitpickers like myself are questioning the result and looking at some of the minute issues that may have contributed to a 2nd placing rather than 1st.

I watched every minute of coverage. Loved it all, and was shouting at the telly at times (in encouragment) which startled both my wife and the cat!!! I feel the event was an enourmous success and weekends like that make me feel very proud of the amazing work the athletes have put in - along with the incredibly sound management that will be going on in the background.

I started the thread part in jest (hence the less than serious title) but part as I doubt Clancy would make jokes (and yes - thats all they were) if there wasn't a tiny tiny doubt in his mind that these guys (x2) need to 'up' their track focus.

I'm sure everyone involved will do whatever it takes to get the male pursuit team in the best possible shape - (and that may even involve Wiggo) - and if anything, that just relfects my own personal opinion that we have the best 'behind the scenes' set up in the world.

rick_chasey

Surrey Cyclist wrote:

'Sloppy performance from the Brits'?, 'naughty step'?', 'struggling'?
Listen to you guys. GB did a 3:56 in a lineup that hasn't been completely dedicated to pursuiting. That's a really solid performance and one that puts them in olympic medal contention on current form. I know it's usual GB blabber to say 'It means we know where we stand against everyone else', but I for one agree. They saw Australia beat them by 2 seconds so they can go away and plan how they are going to close that gap.
As August approaches the subtleties that define fast pursuiting, that have probably faded for Kennaugh and G in the past couple of years, will be tweaked and the athletes will only improve. I'm sure they'll be knocking on the door of the world record and therefore the Aussies in 4 months time.
If it comes down to a GB / Aus final I think it could be one of the all time Olympic classics.

Two seconds is a lot in team pursuit, and it did look sloppy.

inkyfingers

Their performance would have been impressive if team GB was not the current Olympic champions and WR holders in the Team Pursuit.

It's a problem for the whole track team, anything less that their Beijing dominance will look dissapointing in London 2012.