Cycling

Hotwired said:
Yeah I wouldn't have a go on that sloped arena without some instruction.
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Do it, it's lots of fun. I've been round the Olympic Velodrome in London as a taster session and it was great. They get you to practice a fair bit until they think you can go round safely before letting you loose to try the higher parts of the track.
 
CircleFaust said:
i dont think you free wheel on the velodrome track bikes?
that would be scary . would love a go all the same
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You're right, you can't freewheel. I found I got used to it quickly although you've got to be aware that it's difficult to stop in a hurry.

marc2003 said:
I think when they let the public on the velodrome, you won't be getting a go on those bikes. :p
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If it's the Olympic Park Velodrome then it's certainly not on bikes that are worth multiple thousands of pounds like the pros ride although the bikes seemed decent enough.
 
Same at Derby velodrome, you can't ride any old pile of junk, even if you have your own track bike it has to be inspected and meet certain criteria, it's easier just to hire their own TBH.
 
Some recent Manchester velodrome pics here I assumed these were their hire bikes.

Interesting 5live discussion today where they said how the UK team had all new bikes and kit for Rio, all part of the psychological demoralization of the opposition.
[it is an arms race, I think there is a comparison to be made with formula1 - access to wind tunnels latest kit ... maybe outcome will be the same]
 
Heard Jason Kenny being interviewed on the radio today. Interviewer asked him what Laura said to him after his race. Kenny said " Oh, something on the lines of WOOOHOOWOOHOO!" :D
 
jpaul said:
Some recent Manchester velodrome pics here I assumed these were their hire bikes.

Interesting 5live discussion today where they said how the UK team had all new bikes and kit for Rio, all part of the psychological demoralization of the opposition.
[it is an arms race, I think there is a comparison to be made with formula1 - access to wind tunnels latest kit ... maybe outcome will be the same]
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The latest kit definitely has an impact in a sport where 'marginal gains' matter. But the margins of victory weren't that marginal, Team GB were very dominant in most of the races.

If there's a F1 comparison to be made, then having the latest bikes and clothing is like a F1 car having the latest chassis and aerodynamics. But the biggest factor is still the engine, i.e. the rider.

It's the same every Olympics, with other nations whinging about the gear, particularly the French and Aussies who love a good moan ;) But even if all teams were using identical gear I don't think the results would have been much different because the winning margins were mostly pretty huge and that can't be put down simply to better gear (psychological advantage is very possible though).
 
jpaul said:
Some recent Manchester velodrome pics here I assumed these were their hire bikes.

Interesting 5live discussion today where they said how the UK team had all new bikes and kit for Rio, all part of the psychological demoralization of the opposition.
[it is an arms race, I think there is a comparison to be made with formula1 - access to wind tunnels latest kit ... maybe outcome will be the same]
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Odd, because Dyer reckons they re-use quite a bit of kit, and it was obvious Phil Hines was using the old bike because it was all black, although that may be because it's a stiffer frame and he is the one putting down a ridiculous amount of watts from the off.

"Dyer said the British squad was all focused around the Olympics. “While we peak athletically for the Olympics, we also peak in our research and innovation for the Olympics … The helmets we are using here, for example, we used in 2012 but haven’t used them since 2012 until now. The bikes obviously are new, the first time. And no end of different components and strategies are only appearing for the first time,” he said."
 
The Dyer and follow-up interview is on 5live Iplayer here about 2'50"
which ironically includes Cern's whinging Aussies remark since they follow up to say that Aussie coaches/nutritionalists/psychologists have been attracted by UK money and left to the detriment of Aussie athletes.
[there is an Australian sports journalist or cyclist Jacqueline ****, is it, in interview]
 
jpaul said:
The Dyer and follow-up interview is on 5live Iplayer here about 2'50"
which ironically includes Cern's whinging Aussies remark since they follow up to say that Aussie coaches/nutritionalists/psychologists have been attracted by UK money and left to the detriment of Aussie athletes.
[there is an Australian sports journalist or cyclist Jacqueline ****, is it, in interview]
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Interesting interview. Seems to me it boils down to:

* Improvements in gear / kit, saved for premiere at the Olympics
* Psychological edge
* Physical edge
* Funding and performance cycle is focused heavily on Olympics. Future funding is based on results at the Olympics, so the team don't need to worry so much about other tournaments.
* Whinging

I thought the point about Usain Bolt was an interesting one. He always focuses his training to peak for the Olympics. The rest of the time he cherry picks what tournaments / meets he attends. British cycling seems to have a similar focus. For example, Wiggins & Co in the team pursuit were purely put together for Olympic success and that's all they were aiming at.
 
Team GB do not use their Olympic kit at the worlds because their funding is contingent on Olympic success. They try to match everyone else at the worlds using older kit and then roll out the new package for Olympics. As well as being technically superior, it gives them a big lift.
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Could explain a lot of whinging and perspective issues other competitors have had.

Team GB are compromising nothing for the olympics even to the point of having dedicated olympic gear that goes nowhere near less important competitions.

I'm sure I read that even the helmets were last used in for the 2012 event :eek:

Opponents are in fact correct if they see a higher performing GB team at olympics than they were used to in other competitions.

There is some glory and money etc for lesser competitions but it's pennies compared to the solid gold funding carrot being dangled if they hit the key target of the olympics. You are given substantial team and personal money, enough to not do other work just to focus on olympic results.

Other teams may well have been pulling out all the stops for world championships etc but competing against a GB team that wasn't hence the surprise when GB cyclists put everything and the kitchen sink into this event.

I would also say it unsettles competitors when they try to calibrate themselves against a GB team that deliberately underperform in other events. I'm not talking cycling slower on purpose but they are not using the best possible gear they could outside the olympics.
 
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Hotwired said:
I would also say it unsettles competitors when they try to calibrate themselves against a GB team that deliberately underperform in other events. I'm not talking cycling slower on purpose but they are not using the best possible gear they could outside the olympics.
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No disrespect meant to any athlete, but those inside the team might psychologically work a little less hard at other events as well knowing they have lesser equipment and therefore arent expected to win everything in sight

After all in some events we are probably only talking about 1-2% or something that small between qualifying for the final or not
 
I think a key thing is the rest of the world compete against us, we are the benchmark, the Goliath the Worlds Davids want to take down. We only compete against our targets and that target is a proscribed success rate at the Olympics, the rest of the World are irrelevant to us, just a small bump in the track we have to ride over. We have a four year cycle and everything is geared to peak on that cycle and sod what anyone else is doing. It may be a little sterile and unromantic but it works and is a system that experts from other sports now do secondments in to understand the psychology, physiology and approach to it all.
 
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Mark Cavendish bucks this trend a bit in so much he won 4 tdf stages and silver in the Olympics, so good performance on a < 4 year period, is that down to being a superior athlete, better financing, simpler task ?
(interesting saw some of his interview on Sunday Brunch where he asserted it was down to individual's self motivated training at the location they individually chose to live, that was important for tdf&other participation as opposed to any regular central team work, nutritionalist or coaching input - maybe he was oversimplifying though - he came over well )
 
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