velodrome again.
Another dominant display by Great Britain in the track cycling at the Olympics, where every one of the riders that took to the track won a medal, has brought the usual sour grapes from the usual suspects.
I don’t know what the other lot, German, France and Australia as per, are complaining about as Britain only came away with 60% of the gold medals on offer, down from 70% in 2008 and ’12.
But they can’t help themselves, the leaders of the EU and the world leaders in whinging.
They never really seem to grasp the whole concept of an Olympic cycle, of peaking for the main event that only comes around every four years not the yearly World Championships. They power their way to rainbow jersey after rainbow jersey while Britain picks up the odd one here and there and are shocked when they come away from the Olympics with the also ran medals, or worse.
Through all the talk about what Britain gets up to, all the innuendo of dastardly deeds you wonder if they actually look at themselves, especially two of the chief whingers, Meares and Vogel. Do they analyse one of the main differences between the GB riders and themselves? Huge arses and thunder thighs. Look at Meares and Vogel, then look at the British women. One set has huge arses and thunder thighs while the others have well developed legs but not abnormal ones.
The Germans seem somewhat obsessed about massive thighs, all their riders look to be, well is it over compensating for something. The British riders, men and women, while yes being more muscle bound than your average punter in the street, don’t have the humongous upper legs and backside.
But please don’t tell ’em, let them just blame it all on magic wheels.
Yup there’s money in British cycling and that money has produced results. The adding the word “doping” to money and kit is just like those that go on about global warming “deniers”. They know what the word brings to people’s minds and that’s what they’re trying to get people thinking. Look Britain have cheated us again.
Nope, you’ve not been cheated, it’s just every four years you’re not good enough.
I mean just look at Meares. Is that all the Aussies have, is there no one pushing to get a place ahead of her. And then look at the British team and the golds won here.
Eight years ago the men won the team pursuit Paul Manning retired and Bradley Wiggins went onto the road. Steven Burke and Peter Kennaugh replaced them in 2012 and they retained the title. Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas left to go on the road and had to be replaced this time. Wiggins was back and Owain Douell was added. There’s only been one constant in Ed Clancy.
In the men’s team sprint Jamie Staff had to be replaced from the winning trio in 2008, they eventually settled on Philip Hindes and won again in 2012 but after that they had to replace the irreplaceable in Sir Chris Hoy and they did so with Callum Skinner and retained their title. Skinner who also replaced Hoy in the individual sprint and the Keirin, ended up with a silver in the former, after some magnificent rides, and could have got something in the latter but for a schoolboy error.
In Meares own disciplines Britain replaced Victoria Pendleton and the useless lump Jessica Varnish. Becky James picking up two medals and Katy Marchant one.
Jason Kenny also replaced Sir Chris in the Keirin, winning his third gold medal of the games in doing so joining his one time sparring partner on six golds in total, standing top of the British medal chart. Sir Bradley has more medals in total but as he himself said who counts silvers and bronze when you’ve so many gold.
That Keirin final though. Thank god for the British coaches that had the best video evidence that none of the riders everyone thought had passed the derny bike’s wheel had done so.
Kenny is as near sporting perfection as you can get… Laura Trott.
The women’s team pursuit has been competed last just the last two Olympic games. Last time over 3km with three riders in a team, this time like the men over 4km with four riders.
Over these two games the British women have taken to the track for six races. They have won each of those six races in world record times and picked up the two gold medals. Perfection.
Perfection again done with replacements. Of the original trio – Dani King, Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell – King wasn’t in Rio, along with that replacement one more rider had to be found. Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker. And not a beat was missed.
You have to feel sorry for Ciara Horne, she was the unused reserve rider for the pursuit and so the only one that didn’t make it onto the track and so the only one to not win a medal.
Trott carried on her perfection in the omnium, again retaining her title as Olympic champion. She is outstanding on a bike.
The reserve for the men’s team pursuit didn’t get a go in that world record setting, gold winning race, or indeed in either of the opening two races but he did get a go in the omnium and he did finally get the one thing missing from his palmares.
After finally landing the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, eight years after being the only British track cyclist to leave Beijing without a medal, after stating he didn’t need track cycling, after the disappointment of the road race in London in 2012, Mark Cavendish finally has an Olympic medal. Though you suspect he’s a touch narked it’s a silver and not gold like all his mates.
I dunno, it looked like he was on a one man mission to sabotage himself. So brilliant in his weak events that he hates and so clumsy in the ones he should do so well in. The daft undertaking in the elimination to go out so early. And then in the points race on one of the first sprints, if not the first he kind of sat up early when first and let Viviani, the eventual winner, go over the top of him.
And then there was the crash. Cav took the blame, Viviani said it wasn’t his fault, the Korean lay in a heap and everyone expected Cav to get the boot. I expected it, not because I was blaming Cav but it’s just the way things go for him in situations like this and well it didn’t look good and well as we’ve seen others have it out for the Brits.
So Britain come away with 12 medals. Six gold, four silver and two bronze. The next in the table were the Dutch with two whole medals. While those whinging countries listed above managed five medals between the three of them, one whole gold in that lot.
And so their tears flowed and the bitterness of those whingers made Britain’s success at yet another Olympics all the more sweeter…
The only shame for the GB cycling team was that they had to wear that god awful, chavtastic, tracksuit at the medal ceremony.
Oh and a big thanks to Shane Sutton…
https://twitter.com/BritishCycling/status/765835812885831680