Does Bourgain play Badminton?

[Stig-OT-Dump]

Apologies for not being up to date on this one, and if it has been covered elsewhere then please forgive me. I have only just got back from last weekend's trip to Box Hill.

Now following on from badminton players getting kicked out for not trying to win, we have had the BBC trying to cause a stir with Philip Hindes tactical crash. Then today the French lodged a complaint about the rower's seat forcing a re-start. In the midst of all this, is the French decision to put Bourgain in the road race with a planned withdrawal after only a few km:

a) a sensible apporach to deal with the ludicrous UCI rules about representation, or
b) wholly flying in the face of the Olympic oath and spirit of the games and something to be roundly abhored?

Personally, I reckon that if it had happened after the Badminton fiasco it would have had much more reporting than just a relay of [Sir} Bradley's tweet about it being disrespectful. I don't think it honoured the Olympian vow, but I also think that the restrictions for cycling track events are shockingly wrong. However, in teh light of all that has happened since, I'm a little disappointed that it hasn't been brought back into the debate.

 

[johnr]

I'd say the whole olympic structure is not fit for purpose. Multinational corporations pour billions into a pot and whoever can get a ladle into it scoops what they can either for personal enrichment or for their little fiefdom. The sports administrations are the vehicles for these parasites and the majority of athletes as little considered as serfs.

It's ludicrous that the multimillion pound velodrome is used for 10 races competed in by only a handful of the best riders: imagine the 100m with one Jamaican and one US runner. Even the face the BBC has fronting the events expresses incomprehension at the farce, and he's contracted to nod. grin and occasionally touch his forelock.

I suppose what I'm saying is that expecting cycling's worthies to do anything other than trouser the readies is expecting too much.