The Olympic track racing fires off tomorrow and it’s time to remember an event discarded to the bin of noble sports.
The Olympic roster of events is constantly evolving and devolving which is why we are now watching synchronized diving as an Olympic sport. What a world, what a world. Maybe it’s a sign of me getting too old but it makes me sick. Who does this sport? Who says let’s go down to the public pool and work on our synchronized diving? No one, that’s who. Did the IOC get bribed by Big Diving? Diving is barely watchable, adding another diver who does the exact same thing adds little. Yes, I’m biased, yes, I don’t understand it. Send your hate mail to Condoleezza Rice, c/o Stanford University, I don’t want it.
Years ago Olympic road cycling cancelled the 100km four-man team time trial and I’m still bitter about that! The four-man TT was a killer event. The time was on the third rider to cross the finish line. A four person team could barely afford to lose one rider. One flat, a bonk, do we wait, do we go? This had to be decided on the road by the team while riding on the razor’s edge of anaerobic doom.
Olympic track lost the tandem match sprint. Track is also losing the individual pursuit events this year for reasons I can’t imagine. Thank you, UCI. The tandem sprint was no flash in the pan event, introduced into the Olympics in 1908. It was finally terminated after the 1972 games. God damn it, what’s not to love? We keep thinking Cav is the fastest cyclist but track sprinters are faster. Imagine two super fast riders on one bike racing another matched pair. One pair of legs does the driving, one pair just to stoke. The stoker could also be the second pair of eyes for the driver but really his mission was to plant his face against the small of the driver’s back and spin that bike up to over 85 kph! The tactics were the same as the regular match sprint. There were track stands, jumps and bumps: it was just faster and more awesome.
I don’t know the reasoning behind the decision in 1972 but I’m here to say things were a little weird back then, many bad decisions went down in the early ’70s. The Bee Gees made it to number sixteen in the American music charts and they were not terminated with extreme prejudice right then, before it was too late.
Here is some footage of a past World Championship just to demonstrate the awesome.
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Tandem Racing: two broken cyclists for each nasty crash. Otherwise, this looks like something I'd like to see more of. =)
Damn, my grammar is horrible today. I shall rewrite that last sentence, "This looks like something of which I'd like to see more."
Okay, my inner Grammar Notsee has been sated. Back to work I go...
Awesome! Thanks for the history lesson, Gianni.
Love that video...Slovaquie & Republic T.Cheque. Sweet.
Alright, now for a dumb question. I actually don't even know how a regular tandem works as I typically avert my eyes when I see one. The two riders share one drivetrain, right? So you have to pedal the same cadence, right? I'm guessing it is the same with the track bikes, but no coastin'?
Yeah, I have to say the UCI has done a piss-poor job of sticking up for cycling over the years with regard to the Olympics. We lose some key events (kilo, individual pursuit) while synchronized swimming and diving make it in. Maybe cycling needs to hire swimming's lobbyist . . .
Could cyclo-cross be added to the winter Olympics to make up for the shafting at the summer games?
Nice Gianni - forget about synchronized diving (which like any sport, if an Aussie suddenly does well in it I will like it), the removal of the individual pursuit and the kilo so BMX could come in is the real travesty.
My cycling sensei/ mate rode the ttt at Barcelona (100ks!) and has since won gold at the Paralympics as a pilot in the tandem pursuit. Not fun events!
@wiscot
Track racing in general seems to get burned. Yeah, swimmer's lobbyists. On a barely related note, somehow, sometime, there needs to be a meeting of like minded Velominati who attend some six day racing (as spectators) in Gent, or Amsterdam. Gaaawwww, it would be too much fun. It's on my Big List. Way in front of The Great Wall, The Vatican, or the Liberty Bell.
I love that every single one of the crashed riders is so gassed that they don't even care that they hit the deck, they just want air.
@Marcus
I would think if Aussis even participated in syncro-diving they would be asked to leave the country.
Barcelona TTT, That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, that's a hardman's race. That's a good sensi you have there. The tandem pursuit is as close as you can get to the tandem sprint now. A very cool event indeed. And very little crashing. Very cool.
@Ron
That is correct sir, think tandem fixie at 85 kph on a banked track!
@Ron
The only way to stop pedaling on any tandem (assuming you're riding bitch), is by taking this approach.
Good call on diverting your eyes. Tandems suck balls, not because I have anything against them, but because I hate that you can't really stand, you can't steer, and they give you those fake hoods in back that make you think you can hit the brakes but all you can really do is ghost brake, which invariably makes you feel like you're accelerating instead of slowing down.