In Memoriam: Olympic Tandem Match Sprint

The tandem bike throw.

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.

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

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minion says:

Aug 1 2012 at 5:14 pm

@DerHoggz

Cav was a track rider. I guess he only ever got 2nd in a sprint as a junior according to his wikipedia page.

Cav was an endurance track rider. Much different beast to the sprinters.
graham d.m. says:

Aug 1 2012 at 5:54 pm

The Olympics may be about money, spectacle, or whatever anymore......but it's definitely about sex. Did anyone see this story? Given to me by Mrs.graham d.m.

http://www.eonline.com/news/334478/how-much-sex-is-going-on-at-the-olympic-village-does-100-000-condoms-answer-your-question?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories

wowza! More motivation to be an Olympian I guess?
doubleR says:

Aug 1 2012 at 5:55 pm

@frank

Worst. Idea. Ever.

Is that Mark Cavendish on the front there?

Hell, if I had a babe like that on the back, I'd ride the goddamn thing, too.
Mikael Liddy says:

Aug 1 2012 at 6:09 pm

Pretty sure I had a post around here somewhere about 6 months ago about this old Dutch lady coming up to me while I was at the top of one of our local climbs & she got on to a story about how her Grandfather had won medals for Holland as a cyclist & after looking him up I saw he'd been the stoker in the tandem sprint.

Shall go searching to see what I can find...
scaler911 says:

Aug 1 2012 at 6:11 pm

@doubleR

@frank

Worst. Idea. Ever.

Is that Mark Cavendish on the front there?

Hell, if I had a babe like that on the back, I'd ride the goddamn thing, too.

Getting past the aesthetics of the bike, er, tandem, the quickest way to kill a relationship is to get a tandem. Whole lotta bitching you can't escape.
scaler911 says:

Aug 1 2012 at 6:21 pm

@eightzero

@the Engine

@eightzero

Gotta say I am really unsettled about these olympics. I participate in two olympic sports (fencing and cycling) (and Mrs./Dr. eightzero in 3, as she adds in Karate.) Participating in an Olympic sport is always advantageous, in that this "status" has direct, tangible, and personal benefits that result. Parents are more receptive to the investment of time, effort and money if they think the activity is widely recognized, and the 5-rings are something of a trademark for that. This means more participation, more investment, more coaches, more venues, more equipment selection, better competition...it's good for everyone.

That said, the Olympics at times leaves me a bit cold. The spectacle seem at times wholly about money for the rich and powerful, as well as about other non-sporting concerns. Reflect upon the lure of doping, and the win at any cost attitudes of people willing to risk everything...and other peoples' efforts...over trivial matters is unsettlling. People do give over their lives to what is really entertainment, and there is a tragedy in that.

There should be a joy to sport. It touches on our humanity in unique ways. It is emotional. Having that reduced to money terms makes me feel...dirty.

Karate (much to my regret) isn't an Olympic discipline although Tai Kwon Don't is. There's a galaxy of marshal arts I'd let in before (fucking) golf - including Ecky Thump. That said some marshal arts do have a regrettable tendency to behave like triathlon and disappear up their own fundaments.

Where's the joy in (fucking) golf?

Worse, (fucking) golf isn't even a competiton between individuals. It is between you and the course. Now fairly, this can be said about time trials too, but ... what you said. The thing about (fucking) golf that always cracked me up was how much the PGA hated John Daly. He was a out of shape, pot bellied, loudmouth wife beating, drug addicted, annoying fuck...that could hit the ball further than anyone else in the game. And people don't give a shit about score, they want to beat the shit out of the (fucking) golf ball. He actually showed up on the first tee for a big (fucking) golf tournament with a cigarette and beer in hand. Even though he was a fucking disgrace, he had huge crowds. And made huge money independent of the control of the PGA.

Fuck golf.

And yes, Mrs/Dr Eightzero participates in a "martial art" and those in general, not specifically, are Olympic sports. I ride a bike, but don't race. Except when there is somone in front of me. Or a running clock on my bars.

Fuck golf. When I'm too old to ride (never unless I keep crashing like last night) I'll take up a proper retiree sport like fly fishing.

I didn't know they were adding golf. Burns me as bad as when they 'trialled' 2 different sports at Albertville. Curling and Speed Skiing. My boy Jeffery Hamilton brought home the bronze hitting 226Kph. The OIC decided that dudes going over 200K downhill wasn't as exciting as watching a rock and a broom slide across ice. I'm sure I'll stir up some trouble especially from our Canadians neighbors, but fuck curling too.
Marcus says:

Aug 1 2012 at 6:40 pm

Disagree with all you fuckers. Despite Australia having its worst performance in swimming in a long time, it is still a very very worthy olympic sport - in fact I call it the second most "worthy". Behind running, I think it is the most "pure" sport in terms of "faster higher stronger" and in terms of human movement. Think there are about 32 medal events in the pool (plus the 2 available in the long distance swims).

Compare that to T&F - a good 44 medals I just counted on my fingers (I counted some fingers more than once). I dont think there are too many medals in swimming. Its just that the really good swimmers can transfer over into more than one event. Maybe thats an argument to cut it down but then how would we Australians feel like we can compete in world sports?

Swimming is a massive sport in Australia - we dont say that maybe the Winter Olympics should be cancelled because it is only a bunch of very marginal sports over here, do we?

Fucking James Magnussen in the 100 Free. Fuck.

And as for whoever was bagging John Daly, when he could play (and he really could), his real strength was a sublime short game. His driving was long, but the chipping/putting was what won him majors.
RedRanger says:

Aug 1 2012 at 6:57 pm

@Marcus

And as for whoever was bagging John Daly, when he could play (and he really could), his real strength was a sublime short game. His driving was long, but the chipping/putting was what won him majors.

Drive for show, putt for doe.
Marcus says:

Aug 1 2012 at 6:58 pm

Oh and by the way, on my personal measurement of the greatest Olympians which is a function of:

-the poularity/level of participation in the sport across the globe,

- the athlete's longevity over multiple Olympiad, and

- finally the number of gold and other medals won,

- Carl Lewis is the greatest Olympian by far. The fact that he probably took more HGH than any cyclist in history is not worth mentioning.
Marcus says:

Aug 1 2012 at 6:58 pm

@RedRanger maybe - if you are hunting deer.