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.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@minion
What are you doing?
@frank
Shudder.
You've just ruined everything.
@brett
With apologies to Sir Wiggins. I see they made others look like twats too...
Fixed it. More close up makes avatar moar better.
@Marcus
I'm still all a glow over Misty Hyman...
And maybe a little harsh with Michael Phelps, I just like the word miscreant so.
@frank
You are correct about NBC covering the road races so well. The announcing was total rubbish but the time dedicated to it was perfect.
elmo was from a different time. Now I'm an angry minion who likes calling the lot of you wanker c#*ts.
@frank
fucking gold!
And no argument on the money issue. It is just so easy to see that corruptive influence at every turn. Sport is a huge industry, but as you prosaically point out, it doesn't always have to be. I'm just a cynical old bastard.
Can anyone explain why cycling had to drop the pursuit and the Kilo to get BMX and Mtn Bike in while there are 34 versions of swimming. What is the point of backstroke, breast-stroke, butterfly other than to give the people who aren't very good at freestyle the chance to get a medal? How many competitive cyclists are there in the world? How many competitive swimmers? One tenth? Why are we getting screwed?
And another thing, what is the point of men's beach volleyball? Drop it!
@Pistolfromwarragul Because TV audiences can more easily follow what goes on in a pool than they can a velodrome. Those Wanker C*&ts at the IOC are probably going to take the Kieren next Olympics to make way for DH.
It certainly was in 1960 anyway...
On the coverage thing, I'd say don't complain until you've heard the International Feed, which is what I get. Basically a network pays for access but doesn't do their own coverage or production so these are the generic commentators. Supermarket brand. People who didn't get offered work by anyone else.
In the TT they were excitedly talking about Tony Martin catching up with Wiggins. Quite a talking point, given that Martin had gone off before him (it was actually Chavanel). And then for the last minute they were in a lather about whether Cancellara would be close to Wiggins, when there'd already been an on-screen clock showing him outside Wiggins' time with 500m to go.
On the issue of athletics/swimming, to be fair that's what gets the biggest TV audiences, therefore the biggest advertising and sponsorship. I agree it is somewhat bloated with events like synchronised diving, swimming etc although I'm not sure what athletics events would be removed. But that's the relative power of the federations. FINA is big and has a lot of clout, so naturally they press for more events.
The UCI is relatively weak and pusillanimous to boot.