That was an excellent starter Skip. Some of the answers give evidence to why it why it is so relevant a discussion point at this moment in time.
Within sport there is the thrill of the unknown, the final twist, the untold tale. We can select our favourites, those we support and follow their trials and tribulations. Then even, if we have no favoured participants we can simply marvel at the athletic performance and contest. Off the field, behind the scenes, there is all the manoeuvring. I will not use the word “political” because much of it is not. It is just that there are gains and losses to be made in all manner of ways – team selection etc.
Within cycling in the UK we have a conundrum. Two sports which share a common device for motion but have not a great deal else in common. World domination in one of the sports. The other ?
The question requires 3 different answers.
If you are a track cyclist, male or female, the Olympics is it. The3 blondes in a boat have come under attack from some quarters. Olympic Yngling is for females only and requires 3 in a boat. Just how many nations actually put a team together for years and pay them to do this sport? The facts make uncomfortable reading for track cycling. Numbers are: Olympic teams, World championship teams:
Men’s team sprint 13, 15, Men’s team pursuit 10, 12, Yngling 15, 28. Fact, the yngling boat has been dropped from the next Olympics and they are trying to get the girls into a more competitive boat.
A case is being made to get Victoria 3 gold medals at 2012 by introducing more events. As she said – after all there will not need to be any more competitors, they are all there already. Yes, all 11 of the opponents she faced in the individual sprint will already be there. 1.2 seconds behind in 11 for an Olympic finalist is a long way back.
In 2012 or 2008 there is no justification for not having equivalent events male and female. But the reality is that with squash, karate roller sports and golf making a play for any Olympic place, if track cycling were a “new” event, it would probably not get a look in, participation levels are way too low. A point of conjecture would be, given the demise of so many cycling tracks in this country and elsewhere in the World, were track cycling not in the Olympics, would it have any future whatsoever ? Have a look at the times for the events. Hoy may have 3 gold medals. He is a smashing lad and the best there is at what he does. I don’t think I have heard anyone who understands cycling arguing that he is Britain’s greatest cyclist. No-one argues that case for Reg Harris. Reg was a great sprinter.
If you are a female road cyclist, the answer is a qualified yes. The original introduction excellently drew out the point that with only 3 riders per team (what century is cycling organisation in?) many excellent riders from the major cycling nations do not get to participate and team tactic nuances are reduced in scope. The point that was not made is that the women’s major tours do not feature the publicity that the men’s Tour does. I am sure Dave5N is no rabid male chauvinist but that he can say “I have every confidence that Britain will be a very important Road cycling..in the next 10 years” would be a shorthand for the well discussed tale “we are good on the track but not the road yet”. Or even the current poll on the Cycling Weekly web site “do you think GB will have a Tour de France winner in the next 5 years”. (they offered no answer ”we already have one). It cannot get any better than winning the Giro, World Cup, being number 1 rider in the World, Olympic and World Champion and Tour winner, even in the emaciated state that the Tour was left after a long running and bitter legal battle with the men’s tour over use of the name. In women’s cycling we cannot get any better. But if that success has passed by Dave5N and Cycling Weekly, it reflects that for the Women, the Olympics must have huge kudos that does not compare with the men’s scene. It is the one occasion every 4 years their peloton has the full gaze of the World. As to participation and performance levels. Over 400 riders have World ranking status. Not bad when the only UCI ranked event here in the UK is the National champs. Indeed, in women’s sports, probably only Women’s Tennis has a higher number on their World tour. World Cups often attract fields of over 160. I doubt a single women’s track and field discipline has this level of world Competitiveness. There are more athletes but they are spread over many disciplines.
If you are a male road cyclist then the answer is “no”. The Tour is the pinnacle the sport. But male road cycling is in a mess. We don’t know what we are watching. Look at the top 10 from a Tour of 10 years ago and how far down do we have to go before the real winner appears ? It is entertainment and the drug stories are all part of it.. Cav has done brilliantly, as did Cooke at his age. Cav has shown if we get the right attitude amongst the men, then we can win on the road and not climb off half way through the race like at the Worlds or Olympics.
So having argued the case where does that leave us? Road Cycling is the King of Sports. We fans can argue the case, from a point of some strength with any other sport. The 1 day classics, the tours, the World Championships - the heroic fabric of our sport. Participation and competition levels for both male and females prove that there are no easy wins in the major events. Competition is truly World Class and not due to privileged access to specialist facilities. It has a one day event and the Olympic road race can be the king of those classics.
The popular press and even some authors in the specialist UK press see a rider on two wheels and cannot disassociate track from road. One is World Class, factually, the other is shamed by participation levels in Yngling. 10 medals up for grabs ? 7 male 3 female. Perhaps just 6, 3 male, 3 female, sprint, pursuit and points. Complaints - it still looks a good bet for your lottery funding compared to the road.
The administration of the sport and press reporting in cycling, show systemic chauvinism that other sports ditched over 50 years ago.
Chris Hoy may well become the only cyclist since Tom Simpson to become BBC Sports personality of the year. Good luck to him. He has worked hard and everything he does is to a superb standard. What is disturbing, is to reflect what might be our view if Cooke were male.
) and well argued-post.
