- General
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- Competitions
- Drug testing
Schedule/Results
- Track
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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
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Diaries
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Marion Clignet
-Anna Wilson
-Karen Kurreck
Olympic news for September 20
Records fall in another top quality night
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Despite being the shortest session of the track racing, Tuesday, September 19 will go down in history as the first time that the 4 minute barrier was broken in the teams pursuit. The slick, powerful German team rode 3.59.781 to go under the World Record that was set by the Ukrainians in the quarter final. It was a significant mark and widely appreciated by the near capacity crowd.
It was also an important win for veteran track designer Ron Webb, who has built 59 velodromes in his career (the Sydney velodrome was the 58th). Webb has seen several World and Olympic Records fall in Sydney, all using a UCI permitted position. He said afterwards that it demonstrated that this track was the fastest sea level track in the world, surpassing Manchester. "It was very satisfying for me to have witnessed this."
Lance Armstrong in Sydney
Lance Armstrong flew into Sydney late Monday directly after his success in the 64th Grand Prix des Nations in Yvetot, France. It was a long flight, although he was spotted riding the next morning in the company of teammate Tyler Hamilton and US team coach Jim Ochowicz. He gave a press conference later that day, where again he affirmed himself as in near top condition to contest the Olympic time trial and road race.
Have you recovered from your accident?
LA: I still have some stiffness in my neck. It won't trouble me in the time trial. What I do fear is another fall and an injury in the same place. But, physically, I am at full form. Almost at 100 percent.
What did you suffer exactly?
LA: I had a fracture of my seventh cervical vertebrae...but there was no operation and I could recover and get back on the bike quite soon. It could have been a lot worse.
Tyler Hamilton adds his thoughts about the crash:
TH: I assumed the worst. The impact was amazing - so loud. When I saw Lance flying and hit the ground I didn't think he was too good.
Do you consider yourself unlucky?
LA: If I was a cat, I think I would have used my nine lives up. But, I've heard in Italy that cats have 12-13 lives, so I hope I'm an Italian cat.
How are you treating this trip to Sydney?
LA: Australia is an ideal country to take vacation but I'm not coming for a vacation. It was not the reason I came for. I hope to have success but I can't make any promises.
Have you thought about the Olympics all year?
LA: To be totally honest with you, from January to June, the Tour was the only thing that was on my mind. On July 23 when it was over the Olympic Games was all I thought about. The Tour de France is the greatest race. I don't want to diminish the Games but the Tour remains the priority.
What if you win the gold medal?
LA: There is something about the Olympic experience being from America. The Olympics are huge back home. It is very special to me. It was a career high when I made it to my first Olympics. I could win six Tours and if I lost at the Olympics people at home would wonder what was wrong with me.
What did you think of the two road courses?
LA: I saw them today (Tuesday) for the first time. They are circuits with many corners. The time trial is a technical course with a lot of accelerations, and that will suit me. The road circuit is more difficult than what was said about it. The climb is longer and and harder than you would think.
What do you think about the presence of Marco Pantani at the Olympics?
LA: I don't know why he's coming for this race. He is not that popular amongst his teammates even if he is of course in Italy. I don't think that this race will suit him. The finish is not in Courchevel. In Italian team, there are several potential winners but I don't think Pantani is well placed.
What is your opinion of the new anti-doping tests?
LA: I am not a scientist, I don't know if these tests are suitable. Perhaps they will bring more credibility to our performances...Cycling has undertaken more than any other discipline in the fight against doping. I don't think that the problem affects as many people as it is said. I am very proud of my sport and I believe the riders share this point of view.
Pantani answers
Marco Pantani stepped off the plane from Milan and it didn't take long for the questions to start flying about the CONI affair. CONI are the Italian Olympic Committee, and in recent weeks they have been requesting a series of blood tests on the Pirate after some of them suspected him of doping. While the regulation medical tests that were carried out on the Italian team were all clean, the extra ones carried out on Pantani were unfair, according to him.
He even threatened not to come if the situation was not cleaned up, and has said that he will take matters to court. He received support from UCI president, Hein Verbruggen who said "If Pantani has had problems then he has already paid a high price, but now is the time to stop them. Pantani has become a symbol in cycling."
As for Pantani, he said that, "I don't believe this little case...Once I accepted the big responsibility to be a part of the national team, emphasizing that other people made the choice, someone else attacked me about other things. It would be nice if someone of importance noticed other things about the people who ride. And they attempted to clean up the sport, but they should also clean up the justice," said Pantani.
Slovenians slum it
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The conditions during the Olympics in Sydney are unique at the moment, with the unseasonably warm weather, the complete absence of heavy traffic (unless you're headed to Homebush on a bus), and the large number of Olympic athletes cruising around. Just minutes before the cycling commenced at the track in Bankstown yesterday, cyclingnews.com caught up with a few members of the Slovenian road team as they made laps of Centennial Park.
Uros Murn and Andrej Hauptmann had not been off the plane that long, and were clearly seeking a little guidance. Murn was out in Australia for last year's Commonwealth Bank Classic and had the opportunity to ride the course then.
"It suits a rider like me because it is not too hilly," said Murn of the road race course, shortly before he headed back to the athlete's village about 20 kilometres away. Follow the blue line.
The British secret
The Brits have been amongst those teams setting the boards alight at the Dunc Gray Velodrome, with several top performances including a gold medal to Jason Queally's, silvers to Rob Hayles and the Olympic sprinters, and bronze medals to Yvonne McGregor's and the team pursuit.
The secret they claim is money and good coaching. Top athletes are funded by the British Lottery as part of the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP). The cycling WCPP is managed and administered by the British Cycling Federation (BCF). The programme started three years ago and enabled the BCF to hire top coach, Peter Keen their first Performance Director.
Peter Keen had already had success in coaching Chris Boardman and Yvonne McGregor, but had to broaden his skills when managing the whole team. The BCF claims that he is "the single biggest reason for Britain's cycling renaissance."
Of course, a bit of cash doesn't go astray when well spent. The Lottery funding enabled Keen to hire other top coaches, managers, masseurs, support crew and buy good quality equipment for the team. In the past three years, more than 3 million pounds ($US 4 million) has been injected into the team. This is a five-fold increase in funding compared with previous years.
The future is also bright, as Keen and the WCPP have set up talent spotting programs to identify promising 12-13 year olds and to help thme through to junior world level. "The BCF, with the support of the National Lottery, UK Sport and Sport England has ambitious plans for youth and schools programmes, coach education and high performance that we believe will make us the World's number one cycling nation in a decade. Jason Queally has provided us with a perfect launch for this mission," said Peter Keen after his winning ride.
Day 5 preview
The men's and women's sprint competitions will conclude this evening at the Dunc Gray Velodrome, and the competition is set to be fierce. The men's semis will see American Marty Nothstein up against German Jens Fiedler in what promises to be a fantastic battle. Nothstein was the fastest in qualifying and is "on top of his form" right now, but Fiedler has looked incredibly good in the early rounds.
"I have been riding with a high level of confidence, and my training has lead me to this point in the Olympics," said Nothstein. "There will be some strong competition in the semifinals with four past world champions. Right now, I have an abundance of speed and power, and feel very good about the way I am riding."
The other semi is between Frenchmen Florian Rousseau and Laurent Gane - the World Champion versus the National Champion. The French are assured of a ride for the gold, and Gane looks to be the one at the moment.
In the women's semis, Felicia Ballanger will come up against Michelle Ferris, who has struggled in the run in, but has made it. Ballanger is a formidable rider and will be favoured to beat the Aussie. Upsets have occurred more than once with the French team in this competition, but not with Ballanger so far. The other semi will see Russian Oxana Grichine against the Ukraine's Iryna Yanovych, with the Russian probably the favourite. However, Yanovych produced a couple of great rides last night to edge out Tanya Dubnicoff and is not to be underestimated.
The other event this evening is the men's 40 kilometre points race. A field of 23 will ride the 40 kilometre event, with favourites being Juan Curuchet (Arg), Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Matthew Gilmore (Bel), Rob Hayles (GBr), Jimmi Madsen (Den), Silvio Martinello (Ita), and Bruno Risi (Swi).
Start list
1 Juan Esteban Curuchet
(Arg)
2 Stuart O'grady (Aus)
3 Franz Stocher (Aut)
4 Matthew Gilmore (Bel)
5 Brian Walton (Can)
6 Marlon Perez (Col)
7 Jimmi Madsen (Den)
8 Christophe Capelle (Fra)
9 Thorsten Rund (Ger)
10 Rob Hayles (GBr)
11 Kam Po Wong (HKg)
12 Silvio Martinello (Ita)
13 Makoto Iijima (Jpn)
14 Sergey Lavrenenko (Kaz)
15 Ho Sung Cho (Kor)
16 Wilco Zuijderwijk (Ned)
17 Glen Thompson (NZl)
18 Alexey Markov (Rus)
19 Juan Llaneras (Spa)
20 Bruno Risi (Swi)
21 Vasyl Yakovlev (Ukr)
22 Jamie Carney (USA)
23 Milton Wynants (Uru)