Rio Olympic Track events *Spoilers*

neonriver

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Not sure how Becky drew the current world champ instead of Krupeckaite.
I thought it was on qualifying times.

It is right according to the UCI regs but they don't make sense to me. If the reps went to form from the 200m the fastest qualifier gets the 8th seed and the 2nd fastest gets the 9th! Should be the other way round to reward the fastest qualifier.

dinyull

type:epyt wrote:

natrix wrote:

I wish they'd stop fannying around!! https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/ ... ore-medals

Who leaks these stories ... I get that these things make a difference but it can't be in anyone's interest to report it, athlete or reader ...

It's BC's physiotherapist, there's no leak.

I found it quite interesting, you'd think all of this would have been thought of years ago seeing as it's the main contact with the bike.

neonriver

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Becky v Ligtlee
Katy v Vogel.

Time to drop this into the conversation, I think.....

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics/ri ... qt7fp.html

Vogels 200 time London 10.812 Rio 10.865. Lesson 1 don't go slower at Olympics!

daniel_b

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Becky v Ligtlee
Katy v Vogel.

Time to drop this into the conversation, I think.....

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics/ri ... qt7fp.html

Oh dear, I used to think a lot better of her than that, very dissapointing, I'm sure the British team will do their talking on the track.
Hoping for an all British final as per the mens.

dinyull

It's amazing that other nations still haven't figured out that BC put everything into the Olympics.

daniel_b

Dinyull wrote:

It's amazing that other nations still haven't figured out that BC put everything into the Olympics.

Maybe they have, but they are just bitter about it, making snide remarks such as in that link.
Smacks of poor sportsmanship to me, and perhaps frustration that their own training programs\cycling organisations are lacking and or more flawed.

Pross

Dinyull wrote:

It's amazing that other nations still haven't figured out that BC put everything into the Olympics.

This. The Aussies put so much into this year's Worlds and now look at them. BC is all about the Olympics, they barely even bother with the non-Olympic events at the Worlds.

Great rides by both British girls there, close for Becky but a real top flight opponent.

FocusZing

It is a bit odd. It's not as though they don't train all the time.

neonriver

FocusZing wrote:

It is a bit odd. It's not as though they don't train all the time.

Hoy was saying yesterday that the they are willing to sacrifice a whole seasons early in the 4 year calendar to give new training ideas proper time to see if they work. They're looking to improve even when they have previously been the best and with the funding based on Olympics rather than worlds they've got that chance.

bobmcstuff

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

RichN95.

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

daniel_b

FocusZing wrote:

It is a bit odd. It's not as though they don't train all the time.

It's not though is it, they have always said they target the Olympics above all else, and how they taper their training to be at the peak for it.
it's not a secret that an athlete can't maintain top form for a 12 month period, let along a 4 year period.

I idily wonder if other countries organisations have partially given up on the Olympics as they know BC will do such a good job, and instead target the World championships instead, where they know they have a better chance.

Katy Marchant is obviously quite the find, and equally so is Callum Skinner - the ftuure looks rosy for BC track cycling, and all the more impressive given the occurrences in the late spring what with resignations and what have you.

daniel_b

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

RichN95.

Pross wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

It's amazing that other nations still haven't figured out that BC put everything into the Olympics.

This. The Aussies put so much into this year's Worlds and now look at them. BC is all about the Olympics, they barely even bother with the non-Olympic events at the Worlds.

I'm reminded of a story James Cracknell told last week. In the last Worlds before an Olympics the GB rowing four went off at World Record pace and in the boat Cracknell was urging the crew to up the pace and get the record, but Redgrave was calling the shots and held them steady. They didn't get the record, and only beat the Italians by half a second. Cracknell and Redgrave then an arguement about it. Cracknell said he was shut up when Redgrave said "The Italians think they only have to improve by half a second, we know they need to improve by five".

jscl

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

salsiccia1

RichN95 wrote:

Pross wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

It's amazing that other nations still haven't figured out that BC put everything into the Olympics.

This. The Aussies put so much into this year's Worlds and now look at them. BC is all about the Olympics, they barely even bother with the non-Olympic events at the Worlds.

I'm reminded of a story James Cracknell told last week. In the last Worlds before an Olympics the GB rowing four went off at World Record pace and in the boat Cracknell was urging the crew to up the pace and get the record, but Redgrave was calling the shots and held them steady. They didn't get the record, and only beat the Italians by half a second. Cracknell and Redgrave then an arguement about it. Cracknell said he was shut up when Redgrave said "The Italians think they only have to improve by half a second, we know they need to improve by five".

Brilliant

Shadowrider

Boardman was saying that almost every other nation used their Olympic kits and bikes at this seasons World Championships, which meant all their gains were shown at the champs, but GB continued to use the old kit.

I also spoke to someone who works for Cervelo, and he said before announcing the deal GB and Cervelo worked on the bike for about a year before the change was confirmed, to make sure the teams needs could be met.

I love teams (mainly the French) moaning about GB using things like the UK Sports bike, but in the next sentence will say its doping.

dinyull

JSCL wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

Perhaps she was peaking too soon?

jscl

Dinyull wrote:

JSCL wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

Perhaps she was peaking too soon?

No, still improvements to be made for her.

Anyway, Skinner just won his repechage but has been relegated.

Pross

JSCL wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

I'm not convinced. I thought Katy was new to the sport and has improved massively as she gains experience whereas Jess seemed to have stalled a bit in her progress. Becky was probably the bigger gamble considering her injuries and lack of racing but must have been hitting a trajectory that suggested she could hit the form she has found.

dinyull

Sorry, I didn't mean peak as in age. I meant her performance this season had or was peaking too soon.

jscl

Dinyull wrote:

Sorry, I didn't mean peak as in age. I meant her performance this season had or was peaking too soon.

I know what you meant

I'm not really going to get in to a debate about it. But I think jess could have performed equally as well, if not better at these Olympics.

Boardman is also right about timing and use of kit in lead-up to Rio, it's always been part of the GB preparations and always will be.

DeVlaeminck

JSCL wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

I don't know if she deserved an individual spot or not but it does seem to have been a monumental cockup not to qualify for the team sprint with the talent we have.

As for the GB team performance - I don't think we are doping but I can see why some question the improvement - it's not as if a new bike and skinsuit comes close to explaining it. It's almost as if the coaches deliberately under prepare for other events to mislead the other nations into setting targets that aren't enough - perhaps our womens team sprint failure was just a misjudged example of that.

jscl

DeVlaeminck wrote:

JSCL wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

I don't know if she deserved an individual spot or not but it does seem to have been a monumental cockup not to qualify for the team sprint with the talent we have.

As for the GB team performance - I don't think we are doping but I can see why some question the improvement - it's not as if a new bike and skinsuit comes close to explaining it. It's almost as if the coaches deliberately under prepare for other events to mislead the other nations into setting targets that aren't enough - perhaps our womens team sprint failure was just a misjudged example of that.

The women's team sprint is a strange one. I had lunch with Shanaze earlier and she's still having the same issues of being able to sustain power for long enough in the sprint. I think that's mostly down to the previous years of BMX'ing, but no doubt it'll sort itself out and I think we'll have a very strong team sprint going forward for the women. Jess has moved on now and is happy outside of cycling doing other things and I hope the things she's planning to do work out for her.

They *say* that the Olympic kit is worth at least two tenths of a second extra per lap. Add that up over a 4km TP or a sprint, it's the difference between winning and losing. Being able to deliver off the Olympic kit on the UKSI bikes and the standard Adi kit, you can guarantee at least the above improvements when you're riding in the new skinsuits at Rio and the new Cervelo's.

dinyull

JSCL wrote:

Dinyull wrote:

Sorry, I didn't mean peak as in age. I meant her performance this season had or was peaking too soon.

I know what you meant

I'm not really going to get in to a debate about it. But I think jess could have performed equally as well, if not better at these Olympics.

Boardman is also right about timing and use of kit in lead-up to Rio, it's always been part of the GB preparations and always will be.

Having just had a little view of your twitter, I'll stand down and accept that you probably know what your talking about haha

dinyull

JSCL wrote:

DeVlaeminck wrote:

JSCL wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

I don't know if she deserved an individual spot or not but it does seem to have been a monumental cockup not to qualify for the team sprint with the talent we have.

As for the GB team performance - I don't think we are doping but I can see why some question the improvement - it's not as if a new bike and skinsuit comes close to explaining it. It's almost as if the coaches deliberately under prepare for other events to mislead the other nations into setting targets that aren't enough - perhaps our womens team sprint failure was just a misjudged example of that.

They *say* that the Olympic kit is worth at least two tenths of a second extra per lap. Add that up over a 4km TP or a sprint, it's the difference between winning and losing. Being able to deliver off the Olympic kit on the UKSI bikes and the standard Adi kit, you can guarantee at least the above improvements when you're riding in the new skinsuits at Rio and the new Cervelo's.

On that, what't he craic with wheels?

I seem to remember the (Mavic I think) track wheels used to only come out at Olympics but I read earlier this week that they had to move to Campag because the Mavics were too wide for the Cervelo's. If that's true was it an oversight or are the new wheels part of the Olympic kit now?

Richmond Racer 2

Ok

So look at the rides and times many of the riders from other nations are doing in Rio vs London - ESPECIALLY the sprinters.

The trend is that they are well off their times in London

Take Oz for example. They put loads of focus on World's and even World Cups to secure funding. UK Sport fund BC on the basis of the 4 year Olympic cycle with the only goal being meeting the medal target. Stripey jumpers count for nothing as far as UK Sport are concerned.

Now this is one differentiator. But there are others, not least of which are the likes of the CA coaching staff being too soft, and some egos running rampage unchecked.

blazing_saddles

JSCL wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

Given how sieve-like BC seems to be if there was some BC-wide cheating program it would have been all over the Daily Heil years ago...

Talking of which are some people still outraged that Jess Varnish wasn't selected?

Seeing how good Katy M is, I have to say no - it was the right decision - sadly.

But if you look back several months, Jess was ahead of Katy and delivering much better. If you give the same lead-up and gave them both the Olympic kit, Jess would still be beating Katy at this Olympics, I firmly believe.

For a man in the know, you don't know that much.
Who said that Jess has selection grievance with Katy?
I think that's what folks assume and they are wrong to do so.
I've had to bite my tongue since this sh*tstorm hit the press, cos reality is nothing like how thing were painted in the press.

TheBigBean

Doping chat aside, I dislike any sports person that thinks they only do their sport once every four years. BC's process of only caring about the Olympics is very much in that category.

Richmond Racer 2

To add: dauntingly for the ROW, I think GB are going to be even more dominant in Tokyo