Track Talk: Catching up with the Olympics

A Madison Exchange. 2008 Los Angeles World Cup
Photo by Lyne Lamoureux. Used with permission.

The Big Legged Ones have been ripping and romping their way around the boards in Beijing. The final day of events includes the Men's and Women's sprints and the Men's Madision. Try to catch the Men's Madison, if you can. Great show! Bobby Lea and Michael Friedman ride for the United States. Dizzy and confused? Lost somewhere between the Kieren and the Pursuit? Let's have a look at what's gone down over the last few days of track competitions.

But first, a wee bit of eye candy for the boys, thanks to the kidz over at twotoebeachy. Because we wouldn't want to think track was boring or anything.

Track Legs.
Photo by Lyne Lamoureux. Used with Permission.

The British team has ruled the boards during this Olympics. And no wonder, since the British cycling federation devoted extensive resources to building a strong track program. The results have been stellar.

The British opened by winnning the Men's team sprint, defeating the world champion team from France. Then, the British team swooped up gold medals in both the men's and women's pursuit. Bradley Wiggins won the men's race by 3 seconds over Hayden Roulston of New Zealand. Rebecca Romero and Wendy Houvenaghel went 1-2 in the women's pursuit. As a side note, Romero is the first British athlete to win medals in two different sports. In Athens, she won a silver rowing crew. In other pursuit news, Taylor Phinney qualified 7th, but could not advance past eventual silver medalist Hayden Roulston. Sara Hammer failed to qualify for the medal rounds, falling 2 seconds off the 4th place pace of New Zealand's Alison Shanks. Bradley McGee, past ace at the pursuit, failed to make it out of qualifying. Given his assorted injuries over the last few years, this result is perhaps not entirely surprising.

If sweeping the pursuit were not enough, the British men went 1-2 in the Kierin. First raced in the 1940s, the Kierin originated in Japan, where it is still a betting sport. The Kierin runs over 2000 meters, with the first 1400 paced by derny. The derny steadily up's the speed until the field of six riders approaches 50 km an hour. In the finale, the derny pulls off the track, and the riders sprint for the line. Crazy times. Anywho, Chris Hoy won that thingy, followed by team mate Ross Edgar. French speed demon Arnaud Tournant could only manage sixth in the final round.

The Danes ride the team pursuit earlier this year.
Denmark finished second to Great Britain in Beijing.
Photo by Lyne Lamoureux. Used with permission.

In the team pursuit, the British team broke the world record in round 1. Then, in the finals? They broke it again, riding a silly fast 3:53.314. Denmark finished second some 7 seconds down (which is almost a year in pursuit time), New Zealand third. In an unusual turn of affairs, Australia finished outside the medals in Beijing. In past years, the Aussies have dominated the boards in the endurance events. This time around, they have ceded the top spot to the British.

Marianne Vos finally got her medal, after two disappointing rides on the road. In the women's points race, she proved the only rider capable of taking a lap, and won the gold in commanding style. The women rode 25 km, with sprints for points every ten laps. The current world champion in this event, Vos picked up 20 points for lapping the field, then scooped up ten more in the sprints along the way to finish with 30 points. Yoanka Gonzalez of Cuba finished second with 18 points, and Leire Olaberria of Spain finished third with 13 points. Sara Hammer of the United States failed to finish after being caught up in a crash in the third sprint. In the men's points race, Joan Llaneras of Spain won the Gold with 60 points, by two points over Roger Kluge of Germany, whose silver marked Germany's second cycling medal in this olympics. Chris Newton of Great Britain finished third. This is Llaneras's second gold medal in the points, as he won it also in 2000.

Which brings us up to the present...

The sprint event has already begun, and will conclude with the semifinal match-ups. The qualifying round for the sprint is a time trial. Chris Hoy of Great Britain set an Olympic Record in qualifying, covering 200 meters in 9.815 seconds. Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain (pictured at the top of this post) also set an Olympic record in qualifying. Her time? 10.963 for 200 meters. Zoom.

Theo Bos riding the sprint at the Los Angeles World Cup
Bos did not advance to the semifinals in Beijing.
Photo by Lyne Lamoureux, Used with permission.

In the first men's semi-final race, Chris Hoy of Great Britain will meet Mickael Bourgain of France. In the second semifinal, Jason Kenny of Great Britain will meet Maximillian Levy of Germany. They will ride two races, unless a third is needed to break a tie. The races cover three laps, with only the last 200 meters timed. The riders placing 5th through 8th will meet in a single four-up heat to determine their final placings. The women's race follows much the same pattern. Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain sprints Willy Kanis of the Netherlands in the first semifinal, while Shuang Guo of China will meet Anna Meares of Australia. Jennie Read of the U.S. will race for in the four-up heat for 5th.

Bobby Lea will ride the Madison for the United States in Beijing.
Mike Friedman will ride as his partner.
Photo by Lyne Lamoureux, Used with Permission.

Last, but certainly not least, the must-see track event of the games. Or at least, one of them. The Madison - also known as "the American" in European languages - comes from the six day track events run at Madison Square Garden in the 1890s. It is run over 50 km, and pairs of riders take turns "slinging" one another into the race. Do not try this at home, kids. Sprints occur every 20 laps, and the teams accumulate points according to their placings. The winner is determined by the number of laps covered, and in the event of a tie, the sprint points.

The current Olympic champions in this event, Australia, failed to qualify. Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins will ride for Great Britain. Six Day veteran Bruno Risi and partner Franco Marvulli of Switzerland won silver in Athens. Greg Henderson and Hayden Roulston will ride for New Zealand, and points gold medalist Joan Llaneras will pair up with Antonio Tauler for Spain. Germany brings the silver medalist in the points race, Roger Kluge and Olaf Pollack, second at Worlds in this event, to the Madison. Mike Friedman and Bobby Lea will ride for the United States.

Enjoy!