- General
- Selection
- Competitions
- Drug testing
Schedule/Results
- Track
- MTB
- Road
Photography
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Part 5
Course Maps
- Velodrome
- MTB Course
- Road Course
Event Previews
- Track
- MTB
- Road
- Time Trial
Team List
- Track
- MTB
- Road
Diaries
-
Marion Clignet
-Anna Wilson
-Karen Kurreck
Olympic news for September 13
McGee and McGrory
By Jeff Jones, online editor
 |
There was predictably a strong focus at yesterday's track cycling press conference at the Dunc Gray velodrome on the Australians, although several athletes from other countries were present. Again in the spotlight was local boy Brad McGee, who will be seeking to try and win a gold medal in the individual and team pursuit events.
After breaking his collarbone a week and a half ago, McGee's Olympics looked in doubt, but he was able to quickly recover after a quick operation to insert a steel plate into his collarbone. The break was to the lower left part of the shoulder and was clean (unlike Stuart O'Grady's which was messy).
He told reporters at the conference that "I am at 100 percent of my racing capability...I can do everything that I can do when I'm at my peak." That includes pulling hard on the bars and exploding out of the start.
Doctors told him that they could remove the plate, but it would then take 3 months minimum for the bone to recover and if he fell again it would be disastrous. "I'll have the plate in until the end of my cycling career," said McGee.
Australian coach, Charlie Walsh fielded questions as to who would be starting in the madison and points races. Scott McGrory is preparing in Adelaide at the moment "where he feels comfortable", while Brett Aitken will be his likely partner. There were some concerns that Aitken's hayfever may prevent him from putting in a top performance in Sydney, but these were allayed. McGrory, an experienced six day racer will also race the points race (September 20) and will back up for the madison on September 21.
Tournant keen
French eyes will be glued to Arnaud Tournant and Felicia Ballanger on the first night on September 16 when the Games kick off. Both are the favourites for the 1 km and 500 m time trials and want to start the French medal tally with two golds.
Tournant is just 22 but is an outstanding talent. He holds the world record in the kilo (1.00.148), has five world titles to his name, and is unbeaten this year in his only two competitions (Colombia and the French Nationals). He will contest the kilometre time trial and the Olympic sprint with Laurent Gané and Florian Rousseau and there is a strong possibility that he'll walk away with two gold medals in Sydney.
He will only ride in four 1 kilometre races this year with the two most important appointments to come: Sydney and Manchester (where he is the defending World Champion). He said that the world record in May was the "cherry" but the Olympic medal would be the "cake" underneath.
Women's Individual Pursuit
The 3000 metre women's individual pursuit will be held on September 17-18, and many of the competitors are eyeing each other off in training. Strong gold medal prospect is triple world champion in the IP, Marion Clignet, who also holds the 'absolute' world record (3.30.974) set in 1996. She has been training in Sydney for 10 days now, and is putting in some very fast times on the track.
One of her main rivals she feels is the equally experienced Dutch star, Leontien van Moorsel who has had this event as a major goal for the past four years. Van Moorsel's victory list on the road is outstanding - 42 races this year already. However, she may have been concentrating on that too much to be at her best on the track, because she also wants to ride the time trial on September 30. She only arrived in Sydney on Monday and will therefore have less than one week to prepare on the track.
After her first session she said that "The Olympic village has made a great impression on me. I realize that now it really begins and that means I'm going to doubt myself or I can achieve everything."
She and Clignet had words on the track as they trained together and she commented on how fit the Frenchwoman looked and what her plans for the meet were. The points race (September 21) is a possibility, but that will depend on how she feels in the pursuit. "I don't have so much time to adapt," said Leontien of her late arrival. "But I know I would have gone crazy if I came to Australia earlier."
The next strongest contenders include New Zealand's Sarah Ulmer, who has been performing exceptionally well on the US road circuit this year and can certainly put in a good performance in Sydney. She rode 3.33.412 in Cali, Colombia in May, beating Italian Antonella Bellutti, Alayna Burns (Australia) and Erin Veenstra (USA). She is an excellent chance for a medal, along with Clignet and Van Moorsel.
Reigning Olympic Champion, Bellutti, has been doing her last minute preparation at altitude in Colombia, leaving her trip to Sydney quite late. She intends on retiring this year and would dearly love another Olympic Gold.
German Judith Arndt and Australian Alayna Burns can not be counted out either. Arndt was the Bronze medallist in Atlanta and is a very experienced campaigner. Burns is riding on home soil, and has the considerable weight of Australia's expectations on her shoulders. A medal would be an outstanding achievement for her.
US rider, Erin Veenstra Mirabella has been a steadily improving rider in the past two years after she won the Pan-Pacific gold medal in 1999. She currently rides for the Timex trade team on the road. Great Britain's Yvonne McGregor will be trying her best to win the gold in the pursuit and the road time trial. She is the British track champion but did not break 3'40 in Manchester when she won her title. Other contenders in the 12 rider race include Lithuania, Russia, Colombia and the Czech Republic.
Andersson out
By Tomas Nilsson, cyclingnews.com correspondent
Swedish time trial ace Michael Andersson, Mercatone Uno, will not be able to start in the Olympic Games, after succumbing to serious blood poisoning over the weekend.
Andersson was taken in ambulance to the Halmstad County hospital intensive ward on Monday with a very high, 40-41 degrees Celsius, fever, dehydration and low blood pressure. The fever had started Friday night and increased over the weekend. The doctors could stop the life threatening development quite fast with antibiotics.
"His life was at danger but we managed to stabilize his condition," Dr Mats Erntell told news agency FLT. By Tuesday night the crisis was considered to be over.
"I have informed the Swedish Olympic Committee that I will not be able to race in Sydney. I might be up and out of hospital but not in a condition to race," the cyclist said in a press statement read by one of his doctors at a press conference. Andersson did not feel strong enough to meet others than his nearest.
The cause of the blood poisoning is still unknown. Blood test analysis results will be revealed Wednesday. His state is stable according to hospital sources but he will remain in hospital for at least ten days.
Andersson was supposed to rehearse for the Olympics at the Grand Prix des Nations in France this coming weekend before travelling to Sydney directly after. He was a sensation last year when he came in second in the World Championships time trial, just 14 seconds short of Jan Ullrich. The TT parcours in Sydney does not however suit the huge Andersson very well. The World's parcours, and 50 km distance, in Plouay on the other hand is considered to be almost perfect for him. It is uncertain if his illness will stop him from attending the World's.
Andersson's place on the Olympic team will probably be taken by reserve Nicklas Axelsson, Panaria Gaerne, but it is not yet known whether Andersson will be substituted in the ITT. Martin Rittsel is already entered in the ITT and of the remaining Swedish riders, Magnus Bäckstedt, Crédit Agricole, should be the best time trialist.
Ullrich and Klöden in the Black Forest
German time trial hopes, Jan Ullrich and Andreas Klöden are specially preparing for the Sydney event in the Black Forest in Germany. Both Telekom riders rode the Vuelta but abandoned in order to rest a little for the Games. They will fly out to Australia on September 18 and along with many other athletes will do their final preparations at a training camp in Brisbane.
Gonzalez in, Etxeberria out
Spanish national selector, Francisco Antequera has made a change to the Spanish road squad that will compete in Sydney. In place of David Etxebarria will be his ONCE teammate, Santos Gonzalez, currently lying 4th in the Vuelta. Etxebarria was not considered fit enough after his performances in the Vuelta so far (he abandoned today), and Gonzalez will be given the chance. In addition, Juan Carlos Dominguez will not be riding the time trial anymore, as Gonzalez will replace him as well.
"He impressed in the time trial in Tarragona and has improved since then," said Antequera. "He is maturing as a cyclist and could become one of the big riders in Spain."
The Spanish men's team is now Santos Gonzalez, Oscar Freire, Abraham Olano, Juan Carlos Dominguez, and Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero.
Olympic training/racing
The Randwick Botany Cycling Club is another club located in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and is certainly a popular stamping ground for local racers. The 2 kilometre Heffron Park circuit is its venue, located off Robey Street in Maroubra, and is famous for attracting more wind than anywhere else in Sydney.
The club holds races on Saturday afternoons starting approximately 2:30 pm, and has extended a welcome to all Olympic athletes who want to keep their cornering skills sharpened. The criteriums are 18 laps (about 40 km) and the locals are keen to test their skills against the uninitiated.
Check their website at randwickbotanycc.com for a description of the circuit and details on how to get there.