Olympic RR - Women (spoilers etc)

[Chuffy]

You forget that Vos is a track champion and Olympic medalist on the track too! She's by some distance the best cyclist in the world today. Armistead got the best result she could - nothing she could have done would have beaten Vos today.

Not quite sure of that. Vos wasn't pulling away from Lizzie, so their speeds must have been equal, with just Vos' initial jump being the difference. I reckon if Lizzie had gone first the roles could have been reversed. Not criticism btw, just how it might have gone.

 

[ColinJ]

Having seen a lot of punctures earlier in the race, and with a gap too small to give time to stop for a wheel change, I found watching that last 40 km really stressful, especially with wet roads making every bend a potential hazard. (Incidentally, wasn't the bend that Cancellara crashed on yesterday the same one that caught some of the chasing group out today?)

I organised a forum ride out to (Armitstead's home town) Otley 2 weeks ago and was struck by how many seriously fit looking female cyclists we saw out training round there. I'm sure that today's result will inspire many more women to have a go at racing, which can only be a good thing.

 

[slowmotion]

You forget that Vos is a track champion and Olympic medalist on the track too! She's by some distance the best cyclist in the world today. Armistead got the best result she could - nothing she could have done would have beaten Vos today.

FM, I know nothing about road race tactics, but how can you possibly say that Armistead never had a chance against Vos? She was beaten by a fraction of a second after God knows how many road miles. I don't get it. BTW, (seriously) is there an article that can explain how this road race thing works? I would love to get more out of watching it. Today's race was wonderful.

 

[totallyfixed]

Predicting the end of a race once it has finished is a tad easy, FWIW I predicted a Vos win earlier in this thread but still no kudos to me because currently Vos is on the top of her game so not a difficult prediction. However, I have been racing for more years than I care to remember and after endurance events where there are only a two or possibly three protagonists left it really comes down to who has the most strength left and this is not always clearly obvious. What was clear to me was that Vos didn't want to strike for home until the last possible minute where she would have the best chance to win and leaving not enough time for Lizzie to counter attack, which is why I think Lizzie's best chance was to go from further out. But well done to all three for making it infinitely more exciting than the men's race.
Great for women's cycling and maybe a wake up call to producers to show more, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

FM, I know nothing about road race tactics, but how can you possibly say that Armistead never had a chance against Vos? She was beaten by a fraction of a second after God knows how many road miles. I don't get it. BTW, (seriously) is there an article that can explain how this road race thing works? I would love to get more out of watching it. Today's race was wonderful.

Yes, it was wonderful. In my view, there were ways Vos could have been beaten, but those mainly involved her missing the decisive break. And since she was absolutely on the prowl for a break that wasn't going to happen. Vos is a rider who really doesn't have any weaknesses except perhaps against a pure sprinter, plus she has been on top form this year. She is a superb athlete, has the sheer guts of someone like Cooke, and a tactical head - and that is why she knew exactly when to go for the line and Armistead, for all her talent and growing ability, did not and could only try to respond to whatever Vos did. Vos was always in charge of that break.

 

[lordloveaduck]

An answer to the nature break question!

I would rather have my bladder explode.

 

[Keith Oates]

It was a good win for for Vos and also a great result for Armistead and the race itself was very exciting, so let's hope the Women's racing gets more support and exposure from the media in the future. The only thing for me, that dampens my feelings, is that I think Nicole Cooke is beginning to show the 'sell by date'.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[summerdays]

Having seen a lot of punctures earlier in the race, and with a gap too small to give time to stop for a wheel change, I found watching that last 40 km really stressful, especially with wet roads making every bend a potential hazard. (Incidentally, wasn't the bend that Cancellara crashed on yesterday the same one that caught some of the chasing group out today?)

I was definitely feeling the tension, especially every time the commentators mentioned "they are guaranteed a medal", having seen how quickly the USA competitor dropped off the front group. Did they say what happened to her?

 

[Blue Hills]

A great race - ended up watching pretty much the whole thing - way more interesting than the men's race. Great advert for women's cycling - it will surely have an effect.

 

[raindog]

I'm with FM on this. Lizzie could have permutated that finish in several ways and Vos would still have won. Considering the stature and experience of Vos in women's racing and Lizzie's comparative youth, getting silver was a fantastic achievement.
Well done gal!

William Fotheringham mentions that she was inspired by her fellow Yorkshirewoman, the great Beryl Burton and Otley Club member. Good to see the old riders getting a mention by the youngsters - bike racing, what a fantastic sport.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/29/london-2012-lizzie-armitstead-silver

 

[beastie]

That was wonderful. Quite how they stayed upright on those wet roads is a complete mystery to me.

Don't you ride in the rain?

 

[beanzontoast]

The weather made the finishing stages even more unpredictable, but a great race to watch. Good that it was a close finish too.

It's amusing that the media goes on about the numbers of people out on the course watching as if this wasn't to be expected. For the vast majority of those people, seeing the cycling road race was the only opportunity they would have to see any of the Olympic sports live. If egg and spoon was an Olympic sport and it went past where I live, I'd be out there in any kind of weather watching it! The prime time tv coverage is the more significant thing in terms of promoting cycling.

 

[Danny]

Not quite sure of that. Vos wasn't pulling away from Lizzie, so their speeds must have been equal, with just Vos' initial jump being the difference. I reckon if Lizzie had gone first the roles could have been reversed. Not criticism btw, just how it might have gone.

Lizzie of course said the same thing when she was interviewed at the end of the race, but I suspect Vos was too strong whatever she did.

 

[Danny]

William Fotheringham mentions that she was inspired by her fellow Yorkshirewoman, the great Beryl Burton and Otley Club member. Good to see the old riders getting a mention by the youngsters - bike racing, what a fantastic sport.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/29/london-2012-lizzie-armitstead-silver

It was a good article, and I was delighted to discover that Lizzie is a vegetarian.

Does anyone know more about how the British Cycling "talent spotting" works? The race commentators kept saying Lizzie had been "spotted in the school playground", but Fotheringham's article makes it clear that it was a bit more sophisticated than that. Even so I am amazed anyone could spot talent by getting someone to race round a school playing field.

 

[VamP]

As an aside, I timed the women at 6 minutes 30 seconds up Box Hill - a whopping minute faster than my PB. Anyone got an idea of the men's times?