London 2012 - Cycling

Mark Cavendish just said Hoy is a nice guy and a gentlemen. Just shows that nice guys can win. Some people should look at themselves, you don't have to be a dickhead to win.
 
Gutted for Pendleton, looks like some typical Aussie gamesmanship unfortunately, but the second sprint was won fair and square.

But congrats to Hoy, the guy is an animal and it's amazing how he still dominates at 36. Legend.
 
I'm surprised the USA takes it seriously, I would expect more gold from them if they did. Anyway, well done GB.
 
Must say the commentary for the cycling events has also been fantastic, really captures the excitement of the sport.
 
All the Olympic sports commentators are great, all of them ex-athletes, and in the rare occasions when they're not, the co-commentator is.
 
DixieDean said:
How many nations take cycling seriously? I wanna put into context all these golds we keep getting in the sport.
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Cycling in general is big in a lot of countries (Belgium, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands, Australia, America, UK, Russia,...) but the track cycling really has become something of a 'Commonwealth-specialty' lately. Especially the sprint categories. In most other countries I listed above, cyclists choose road cycling. Probably because it pays much more.
 
Leg-End said:
Must say the commentary for the cycling events has also been fantastic, really captures the excitement of the sport.
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It has.

As an aside, Alan Green commentates on the rowing and is actually very good. It is i think due to him simply enjoying the pure sport in front of him, and having known/followed the competitors in a way he doesn't [or can't] with football.
 
Nick 0208 Ldn said:
It has.

As an aside, Alan Green commentates on the rowing and is actually very good. It is i think due to him simply enjoying the pure sport in front of him, and having known/followed the competitors in a way he doesn't [or can't] with football.
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It's to do with him not coming off as a forever moaning, miserable, biased old bastard when he comments on it.
 
King_Eric said:
Cycling in general is big in a lot of countries (Belgium, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands, Australia, America, UK, Russia,...) but the track cycling really has become something of a 'Commonwealth-specialty' lately. Especially the sprint categories. In most other countries I listed above, cyclists choose road cycling. Probably because it pays much more.
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That makes sense when I think of the tour de france. It's a shame more countries don't take an interest in track cycling. I can't sit through the Tour de France but the sprint cycling makes fantastic TV.
 
DixieDean said:
That makes sense when I think of the tour de france. It's a shame more countries don't take an interest in track cycling. I can't sit through the Tour de France but the sprint cycling makes fantastic TV.
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It is a shame indeed. In Belgium we used to have a great tradition in track cycling in the 60s and 70s (Merckx, Sercu) and while the 6-days races are still popular in Belgium, the real track cycling like it's done on the WC's and Olympics is not really that popular anymore here.

Even though I'm mainly a fan of the road cycling (there's much more to it than just the Tour by the way), the track cycling can be very entertaining. Especially disciplines like the madison, points race or omnium.

I also hear a lot of cyclists saying that track cycling is a very good way to start your cycling career. You can still make the transition to the road later on in your career, after having learnt the trade on the track. You'll learn much more technical stuff and steering ability there than on the road. Endurance and stamina are not that important for teenagers anyway and will come automatically when getting older.
 
Just hear a stat for the pub quizzes on the radio, David Brailsford has personally overseen a whopping 30 medals for Great Britain.
 
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