2012 Olympics: Track Day 1

Highs and Lows for GB as they win Gold in Men’s Team Sprint, set world records in all events and are DQ’d in Women’s Team Sprint

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It was a dramatic day 1 in the Olympic Velodrome with so many highs and lows for the Great Britain team including a devastating debut for Jess Varnish. The youngster, along with Victoria Pendleton was disqualified in the Women’s Team Sprint in round 1 for not getting the change correct. After having broken the world record in qualifying, only for the Chinese to hit back and break it themselves, the GB girls were looking good for a Silver or Gold but that was to be denied them as officials cracked down, as they had at the Worlds on the change overs between laps for the riders.

Whilst perhaps correct in going by the book, for those watching, it reduced the event to somewhat of a farce as later on China, world record holders and worthy champions, were relegated in the final again for a bad change. Well, a change that was said to be on the wrong side of the rulebook by a few millimetres or so. At least China got a medal however whilst GB came away with nothing.

Afterwards, Victoria Pendleton, said to Jill Douglas on BBC “we’ve not had a bad change before and so its not been something we have been concerned with in the past. It’s one of those things that can happen.”

“It wasn’t Jess’s fault, not my fault, we’re both to blame. We were probably a little too overwhelmed by the whole thing, excited by the ride and a bit too eager. I think we should have kept the lid on it a bit more I think.”

“The positive I can take from it is that my form is really good because that was by far the fastest second lap I have ever done and I backed it up with the second ride. All I can do is keep my head down and focus on tomorrow.”

TEAM PURSUIT – WORLD RECORD HOLDERS!
On the upside of the day, the Team Pursuiters, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh, who have all been through the development programmes for Team GB, were mind boggling fantastic in setting a new World Record in the Team Pursuit qualifying. Prior to the competition, it was expected that Great Britain would have to fight tooth and nail but in the end, they were comfortable fastest qualifiers.

Whether other teams have some aces up their sleeves, we don’t know but we’re sure to find out in the next two rounds of the competition. The Aussies appeared to struggle, ragged when they are normally so precise and poetry in motion in this event. New Zealand were five seconds slower than GB but right up there where many expected them to be and the Russians, well they were a disappointment.

Russia, fifth fastest in qualifying, have the luxury of another round to get into the final where as normally that would be it. The Aussies however will have to come out with something special to get close and threaten the Brits and if any team can do it, it’s the former Olympic champions.

MEN’S TEAM SPRINT
Words fail me watching this team which has looked dead and buried as far as a Gold medal is concerned for so long and yet, the coaches, as ever, have triumphed in bringing their riders to the Olympics all in great form and that showed as they broke the world record several times just as they did at the last Olympics.

Every rider in the trio rode out of their skin and none more so than Philip Hindes. He had a jittery start, falling in qualifying within a few metres of the start, perhaps deliberately because he didn’t like his exit from the gate, but on the restart, they still came up with the goods by being fastest just shy of the time they rode to win in Beijing.

It got better though and they broke the world record in the first round to beat Japan and set up a clash with France in the final for Gold.

Better was to come with Hindes out gunning the legend that is Gregory Bauge by the smallest of margins for the first lap and then Jason Kenny was just unbelievable as he knocked out a second lap of 12.3. It was then left to the class that is Sir Chris Hoy to finish the job and it was a double victory, Gold and the World Record again as they defended the title they won in Beijing.

For Hoy, it was even more special. In tears on the podium, Hoy (36) was competing in his fourth Games and after winning the Kilo Gold in Athens in 2004, three titles in Beijing, with the London 2012 Gold he drew level with rower Steve Redgrave as the Briton with the most Olympic Gold medals.

For Jason Kenny, it was his second Gold medal, the first coming in the same event at the Beijing Olympics while for 19 year old Philip Hindes from Germany, almost half the age of Sir Chris Hoy, it was the debut dreams are made of.

Speaking to Jill Douglas on BBC, Philip said “I can’t believe it I am Olympic champion, it’s a dream come true. ” Jason Kenny meanwhile said “We’ve been careful with the change overs in training after the World Championships went disastrously wrong and it was something we wanted to make sure was absolutely spot on. Winning this title was unbelievable, I can’t believe how quick we have gone here today.”

“Philip went off like a rocket and we were swinging all over the back of him trying to keep up and it’s unbelievable he’s gone half a second faster within the space of a year and he delivered us perfectly.”

Sir Chris Hoy, now at the top of the table of the best of the best of British Olympic champions with five gold, said “It’s was overwhelming. We knew it was possible, so it’s not as its come out of the blue . We knew if all three of us could put together the best possible race this was possible but to get three rides like that when we’d expect maybe one to go perfectly is great.”

“We nailed it. But the great thing for me was the three rides so close together and that last ride, I dug deeper than I have ever dug before. I knew the importance of this, I didn’t want to let the boys down who have been riding so well and it’s just immense pride to do it here in the UK in front of this crowd who have been phenomenal.”

“You can’t overstate what this means to us, a once in the lifetime opportunity.”“

MEN’S TEAM SPRINT

Finals
1. Great Britain 42.600
17.274 | 12.359 | 12.967 (splits)

2. France 43.013
17.279 | 12.629 | 13.105

3. Germany 43.209
4. Australia Australia 43.355

Round 1

Heat 1
Germany 43.178
Russia 43.909

Heat 2
Australia 43.261
China 43.505

Heat 3
France 42.991
New Zealand 43.495

Heat 4
Great Britain 42.747 WR
Japan 43.964

Qualifying
1 Great Britain 43.065
2 France 43.097
3 Australia 43.377
4 Russia 43.681
5 Germany 43.710
6 China 43.751
7 New Zealand 44.175
8 Japan 44.324
9 Venezuela 44.654
10 Poland 44.712

TEAM PURSUIT

Qualifying
1. Great Britain 3:52.499 Q WR
(Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Peter Kennaugh & Geraint Thomas)

2. Australia 3:55.694
(Jack Bobridge, Glenn O’Shea, Dennis Rohan & Michael Hepburn)

3. New Zealand 3:57.607
(Sam Bewley, Westley Gough, Marc Ryan, & Jesse Sergent)

4. Denmark 3:58.298
5. Russia 3:59.264
6. Spain 4:02.113
7. Colombia 4:03.712
8. Netherlands 4:03.818
9. Belgium 4:04.053
10. Korea 4:07.210

WOMEN’S TEAM SPRINT

Finals
1. Germany 32.798
2. China 32.619 (relegated)

Bronze
3. Australia 32.727
4. Ukraine 33.491
Round 1

Heat 1
Australia 32.806
Netherlands 33.090

Heat 2
Official
Germany 32.701
France 33.707

Heat 3
Ukraine 33.620 +
Great Britain 32.567 (disqualified)

Heat 4
China 32.422 WR
Venezuela 34.415
Qualifying
1 China 32.447 WR
2 Great Britain 32.526 WR
3 Germany 32.630
4 Australia 32.825
5 Netherlands 33.253
6 France 33.638
7 Ukraine 33.708
8 Venezuela 34.320
9 Korea 34.636
10 Colombia 34.870

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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