GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
I have been impressed with her punditry. Given she was left out, and under circumstances that must have been tough for her, she has been very professional.
Track racing, Rio 2016 **spoilers**
- Thread starter SWSteve
- Start date
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oldroadman
Veteran
- Location
- Ubique
There lie the tough thing about track selection. With a plethora of talent, the numbers matter and depending on who you want to listen to, they were either good or not quite there. Hard call but that's what coaches get paid for. Always someone who misses out and you think, what if? Looking at the way the team sprinters and the pursuiters rode last night, so far the decisions look about right. I think there is a good chance the team pursuit will be won in sub-3.50. kenny looked on fire again last night, sprint and keirin to come now. All will be revealed.
If I could have just one wish, Cav to get a result in the omnium and come home with a medal.
I do think Olympic Golds are not won through compromise.
If Cav wanted one badly enough, then he should have figured it out early enough to commit to that 100%. One could argue that he hasn't done that and went for the Omnium as that fits with his RR and especially the TdF. That sounds to me as a compromise??
SBW (for whatever reasons
) has committed to the Olympic Team Pursuit and I think he will get his reward.
Cav could have committed earlier and 100% won a place in the 'banker' disciplines but he hasn't and is 'left' with the Omnium.....
Let's hope his form continues from the Tour and he gets a Gold, not 'just a medal' ....
If Cav wanted one badly enough, then he should have figured it out early enough to commit to that 100%. One could argue that he hasn't done that and went for the Omnium as that fits with his RR and especially the TdF. That sounds to me as a compromise??
SBW (for whatever reasons
) has committed to the Olympic Team Pursuit and I think he will get his reward.Cav could have committed earlier and 100% won a place in the 'banker' disciplines but he hasn't and is 'left' with the Omnium.....
Let's hope his form continues from the Tour and he gets a Gold, not 'just a medal' ....
HF2300
Insanity Prawn Boy
I think the difficulty is the impression, rightly or wrongly, that at times selections have been made for reasons other than performance or suitability for the event.
I do think Olympic Golds are not won through compromise. If Cav wanted one badly enough, then he should have figured it out early enough to commit to that 100%. One could argue that he hasn't done that and went for the Omnium as that fits with his RR and especially the TdF. That sounds to me as a compromise??
SBW (for whatever reasons
I think that's a little unfair. It's not unreasonable to suggest Cav could have committed to pursuit but it would have been at the expense of two years' road programme and even then, with a strong pursuit squad and Cav not having seriously pursuited for 10 years or so it's not obvious he'd have been in the final cut; I suspect he knew that when he aimed at the omnium qualification.
As it is, he was selected for both pursuit and omnium for Rio, believed that was the case when he left the Tour and is officially still a pursuiter, though it's likely now only an injury reserve. I think it could also be argued that far from being a compromise, staying in the Tour might have been better Omnium preparation.
Given the culling of Olympic track disciplines and the potential final cut for the pursuit it might be right to say he was left with the omnium, and agreed it is less of a banker and more of a lottery, but is it right to say he 'went for the omnium' to fit with his road programme? I'm not sure.
HF2300
Insanity Prawn Boy
Smutch, just thinking about this I assume you meant the differences within the 250m tracks such as this track, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Cali etc., not the grossly different ones like the old outdoor tracks?
HF2300
Insanity Prawn Boy
Thinking about this I wonder if the Aussies were protecting a (weak?) rider. It didn't seem to quite make sense for them to keep the last rider in as long as they did.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Yeah - Boardman commented at the start of the evening that the Rio track was a different shape to London, with longer straights and tighter bends (which is fairly obvious just from looking at it on TV). I was really just wondering what effect (if any) that has on racing.
I've ridden on both London (Lea Valley) and Herne Hill and the differences are pretty stark, as you'd expect. Doing a change in a pace line on Herne Hill is quite a relaxed experience. At Lea Valley, it's feckin' scary coming back down off the bank to join the back of the line - you really need to be careful not to run into the back of the last rider.
But I'm not an experienced track rider by any stretch of the imagination, and I've never done any proper track racing - just a couple of informal team pursuits and team sprints.
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smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Regarding Cav, I get that he wants an Olympic medal to fill in a gap in his palmarès, but IMO an Olympic track medal is small potatoes compared to what he has achieved on the road.
deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
And for tonight's game of hide the cycling here's the fallback live stream...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/olympics/36777469
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/olympics/36777469
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
I didn't buy a TV, a sofa and a TV licence, etc....
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Do you have a red button? It's on BBC Olympic 7, which is 478 on Sky, and should be available on Freeview etc as well.
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
I refuse to pay Murdoch money so do not have Sky. Nor do BBC provide a proper red button service so I can only get one red button option, which as present might as well be live coverage of someone having a shite
coffeejo
Ælfrēd
- Location
- West Somerset
My emphasis. You've got to live in the right area to get it. I don't. But I do have a smart tv so watch it on the live feed on the BBC Sport app.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
FFS. You can't even watch the cycling if you do give Murdoch money - the feckin' golf is over-running. What is this, Eurosport?
deptfordmarmoset
Full time tea drinker
- Location
- Armonmy Way
Yes, it needs a HD set up to get the olympics red buttons.
