You can all wave “goodbye” to your Post GT Depression Syndrome, because the Men’s Olympic Road Race is only three days yonder. I don’t typically give two shits about this particular event; while contested by national teams, unlike the Worlds it appears as just another one-day race on a calendar filled with events that carry much more historical and nostalgic significance. What’s worse, it seems the brilliance has faded from the flame of Olympic Spirit – after all, what is an international sports rivalry without the associated political Boggie Dance of Political Superiority? Merckx, I miss the Cold War.
But this time is different. Contested in London over a route that may or may not favor the squat little speed demon Mark Cavendish, the Cycling world has been abuzz about whether his presence on Team Sky alongside Pippi Longstockings implies his impending doom or his certain success – because everyone knows those are the only two possibilities. Be that as it may, the route boasts to be lumpy enough for breakaways or small field sprints, which makes this particular Velominatus, for once, really excited to see what happens. Oh, and as a special request to the riders, if we could keep everyone off the juice this time round, that would be peaches and creame.
With that, check the start list and pretend like that is going to help you make your predictions. Then look at the route and do the same before making a wild guess and hoping you come up good. One-Day VSP rules apply; get your picks in by the time the countdown timer goes to zero and pray for daylight.
Good luck.
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Just to clarify, I'm not calling you out on these points @eightzero. Just that I thought the race was great regardless of the winner.
@pakrat
Not to worry. Opinion is all good. VLVV.
@pakrat His "whinging" is entirely correct though! Those countries sitting back waiting for GB to implode didn't win the race either. I would have thought a bit of effort from a few nations would have been warranted to put them in with a shot too. Although I do see it from that point of view too I can completely understand Cav wishing things had been different, so I don't see it as whinging just as him wearing his heart on his sleeve like he always does. Pretty hard to be too magnanimous at the end of a race in which your dreams and the hopes of a nation have been crushed, and the emotions are so raw.
@meursault
Nah, if we don't barrack based on petty jealousy, ill informed opinion, spite and personal preference all it would be is a group of people sitting around saying "jolly good show chaps, best man won, better luck next time". Boring.
Where did my Yellow jersey go?
@Oli But why single out the Aussies? Of course they didn't chase, with Stuey up the road. Or, for that matter, any other teams who already had credible people up the road (and no chance of beating Cav in a bunch gallop)? There is a huge difference between Cav's way of whingeing and Millar's way of expressing entirely understandable disappointment. And let's not forget that GB had a team of six, thanks to Bermie. That's hardly cricket, is it?
Couple of quotes from Stuey, telling it how it is as usual.
"O'Grady called his day in London "one of the rides of my life" according to The Age. At 38-years-old this would be his final Olympics and he wanted to go out with a bang.
"That was one of the rides of my life. Today was going to be my last Olympic appearance and I wanted to go all in, the people of London out there today, that was the most incredible [experience] I have ever had in my life ...without my wife," he said.
From the moment the breakaway left the uninterested peloton, O'Grady was seen talking with his companions, using his vast experience to ensure the pace was controlled and that everyone remained motivated for the task that lay ahead.
"I was telling the guys last night, 'without radios, most of those blokes are just sheep. They haven't got a director telling them what to do.' They are at the Olympics. I was using a bit of experience and keeping them motivated," he said."
The Australian team's unwillingness to chase O'Grady flared up at the finish with Mark Cavendish questioning their approach. O'Grady added that race radios and smaller teams of five had set the tone for the majority of the race action but gently reminded the listening press that no team were going to gift Cavendish with an easier ride.
"It's like one day cricket and test cricket, it's two completely different games. You've got the Great Britain team saying they've pre-written the history books before this race, so of course who wants to come to the finish with Cav? Everyone has the occasion to get a result for themselves in the Olympics, which a lot of the smaller countries, and domestique guys don't get very often, so it was the rest of the world versus Cav and Great Britain. They can calculate and do statistics, and whatever, but at the end of the day it's a bike race. You get the right combination of guys out in front and it doesn't matter who you've got behind, it's going to be very hard to bring back but that's the gamble they took. That's bike racing, that's why we love it."
@G'phant Fair point about singling out the Aussies (although with all due respect O'Grady was never going to win and the Aussies knew that), but perhaps that's because the Germans helped a little bit and he saw it as a race between himself, Greipel and Goss. My real point is that everyone jumps on whatever Cavendish says in the aftermath of a race. Of course sometimes he says the wrong thing in the disappointment, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly a bad person. If I had the form he had and the intense pressure of an entire Nation (and most of the rest of the world!) expecting a win I'm not sure I would comport myself perfectly after failing.
@Oli
Agreed. A rider that old and clearly close to retirement had no chance of winning this race.
Firstly, I've been in Hobart away from the internet for a few days, so first thing I can say is,
Thanks English taxpayer for the biggest laugh ever at the opening ceremony.
Boo hiss to Veino. Look left to check on the bunch then swing 10 metres across the road? I hope Veino keeps his promise for whatever he told Uran he could have.
Cav's only chance was to bridge the gap and write his name in the record books. His fault he didn't do that, not the Aussies. If Jack Bauer can get into the bunch, then WTF?