Author Topic: GB Provisional Olympic Squad  (Read 3864 times)

GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« on: 13 June, 2012, 08:12:36 pm »
So Millar is in!

ROAD

Men (five from):
Mark Cavendish,
Steven Cummings
Chris Froome
Jeremy Hunt
David Millar
Ian Stannard
Ben Swift
Bradley Wiggins

Women (four from):
Lizzie Armitstead
Nicole Cooke
Katie Colclough
Sharon Laws
Lucy Martin
Emma Pooley

TRACK

Sprint:
Philip Hindes
Sir Chris Hoy
Jason Kenny
Victoria Pendleton
Jessica Varnish

Endurance:
Steven Burke
Ed Clancy
Peter Kennaugh
Andy Tennant
Geraint Thomas
Wendy Houvenaghel
Dani King
Laura Trott
Joanna Rowsell

BMX

Liam Phillips
Shanaze Reade

MOUNTAIN BIKE

Liam Killeen
Annie Last

I feel sorry for Alex Dowsett, he would have been worth a punt in the TT, but his season has been fucked up with injury....
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #1 on: 29 June, 2012, 04:22:15 pm »
And Millar wasn't even pushing to be included unlike some others who had been banned for drugs. It seems he took some persuading as he initially thought he shouldn't be in the team.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #2 on: 04 July, 2012, 12:11:18 pm »
And the final team:

Cav
Wiggo
Froomey
Stannard

And.....

Millar!
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!

Rig of Jarkness

  • An Englishman abroad
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #3 on: 05 July, 2012, 07:13:32 am »
I fear that Cav's been let down again, just as he was in Beijing.  Even if he survives the Tour without broken bones or worse, you have to wonder what sort of state Wiggo and Froome are going to be in.  After giving everything for the Tour win are they really going to be in a fit state to support Cav a week later ?

I can't agree with the women's selection either.  Nicole Cooke has done practically nothing over the last 4 years.  How come she gets selected over Sharon Laws ?
Aero but not dynamic

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #4 on: 13 July, 2012, 03:57:34 pm »
you have to wonder what sort of state Wiggo and Froome are going to be in.  After giving everything for the Tour win

And a week of compulsory post-Tour crits, rather than a structured recovery programme..

Rhys W

  • I'm single, bilingual
    • Cardiff Ajax
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #5 on: 13 July, 2012, 04:38:29 pm »
No, Team GB will be based in Newport Velodrome amidst high security (I think the team pursuit boys have already left Manchester). I have a ticket for the "open day" in a couple of weeks - it comes with a warning that you can be ejected if you try to bring in a camera phone!

I've seen the U23s riding the roads in the vicinity of Newport before, and I hope to bump into Brad in Sainsburys again - but this time I will not listen to the rational part of brain that was telling me "it can't be him - don't be silly, what would Bradley Wiggins be doing in Sainsburys in Cardiff on a Sunday afternoon?"  :facepalm:

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #6 on: 13 July, 2012, 05:43:17 pm »
How many other nations will be able to have 4 TDF stage winners in their teams? (and will Ian feel left out?)

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #7 on: 19 July, 2012, 06:23:54 pm »
Track squad finalised, with Kenny being picked ahead of Hoy for the individual sprint.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18914825
"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #8 on: 19 July, 2012, 06:41:13 pm »
Good decision I reckon.
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!

Rig of Jarkness

  • An Englishman abroad
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #9 on: 20 July, 2012, 07:10:22 am »
A characteristically dignified response from Sir Chris - a true champion.  I'll be taking his lead and supporting Kenny 100%.
Aero but not dynamic

JT

  • Howay the lads!
    • CTC Peterborough
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #10 on: 20 July, 2012, 09:17:42 am »
Kenny is much better than Hoy tactically and that counts for a lot in the individual sprint.

At the London World Cup he'd just come off a big block of strength training and didn't have the speed -- you could see he was much bulkier than usual. I think this also carried through to the Worlds a few weeks later.

Kenny just needs to improve his qualifying time as in the past he's tended to qualify quite low and had a harder passage through the competition as a result.
a great mind thinks alike

Rig of Jarkness

  • An Englishman abroad
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #11 on: 20 July, 2012, 09:15:47 pm »
Kenny is much better than Hoy tactically and that counts for a lot in the individual sprint.
agreed
Aero but not dynamic

Rhys W

  • I'm single, bilingual
    • Cardiff Ajax
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #12 on: 21 July, 2012, 08:44:45 pm »
The team pursuit squad were spotted heading out from Cardiff up towards Caerphilly Mountain this morning.

Rig of Jarkness

  • An Englishman abroad
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #13 on: 25 July, 2012, 06:41:15 am »
It would be nice if they could send Froome up the road into a break.  He could attack them on the last hill and time trial to the win - it would help make amends for the almost zero press coverage of his 2nd place in Paris.  Meanwhile the rest of the team get an easy ride and will have lots of energy left to lead out Cav should Froome's break be caught.
Aero but not dynamic

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #14 on: 26 July, 2012, 12:31:54 pm »
It's an interesting squad for the road race. Only one is under 6 feet tall. Only one didn't win at least one stage in this year's Tour de France, and he is the national road race champion. Only one is not contracted to Team Sky. Two of the riders are known to have a salary of over £1.5 million.
I remember the 2002 Commonwealth Road Race, when the Australian team had essentially just come off the Tour. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/commonwealthgames2002/hi/cycling/newsid_2170000/2170285.stm
They had to soft pedal for the first few laps to avoid lapping most of the field and eliminating them.
Has anyone seen the start sheet? If GB don't control the race we might see a series of eliminations of lapped riders on the circuit of Box Hill.

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #15 on: 26 July, 2012, 01:05:18 pm »
The nearest I can find to a start sheet is this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_road_race
I wonder if lapped riders will be pulled off the road at Box Hill. I'm all for an emphatic display of force by the top pros, but it will look a bit brutal. The alternative is for lapped riders to stay on the course, which will be messy.

My own preference for an unlikely win would be Yukiya Arashiro.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukiya_Arashiro

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #16 on: 26 July, 2012, 01:15:03 pm »
The field for the TT is much more rational.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_road_time_trial
Which is odd because TTs can accomodate a much wider ability range.
I must approach New Zealand's Jack Bauer with a view to entering the 24 hour.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #17 on: 26 July, 2012, 03:18:58 pm »
No one's seriously going to get lapped, are they?  Box Hill's an insignificant hill in road race terms, and there is plenty of chance to regroup before each ascent.
Getting there...

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #18 on: 26 July, 2012, 04:40:02 pm »
No one's seriously going to get lapped, are they?  Box Hill's an insignificant hill in road race terms, and there is plenty of chance to regroup before each ascent.

For the top guys, regrouping shouldn't be an issue... but some of the guys from the non-cycling superpowers could be well out the back by the 9th ascent of Box Hill, and a good part of the Headley Heath circuit is not conducive to bringing back a break quickly.

It's worth noting that at the 2010 World's in Geelong, the early break built up a ridiculous time gap of 23 minutes over the peloton - the Box Hill-Headley Heath circuit should take around 22 minutes, so whilst it's unlikely, lapped riders are not beyond the bounds of probability.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/racing/article/preview-london-2012-olympic-road-race-course-34715/
"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #19 on: 26 July, 2012, 05:37:08 pm »
No one's seriously going to get lapped, are they?  Box Hill's an insignificant hill in road race terms, and there is plenty of chance to regroup before each ascent.
The Iranians, Turks, Malaysians and the bloke from Hong Kong might have trouble holding the wheel of riders fresh from the Tour unless the pace is deliberately kept low by a controlling team. If the race is on from the start it will prove interesting.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #20 on: 26 July, 2012, 05:57:40 pm »
It would be nice if they could send Froome up the road into a break.  He could attack them on the last hill and time trial to the win - it would help make amends for the almost zero press coverage of his 2nd place in Paris.  Meanwhile the rest of the team get an easy ride and will have lots of energy left to lead out Cav should Froome's break be caught.
That sounds nice - but AIUI the road race has been 'promised' to Cav.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: GB Provisional Olympic Squad
« Reply #21 on: 26 July, 2012, 06:20:36 pm »
No one's seriously going to get lapped, are they?  Box Hill's an insignificant hill in road race terms, and there is plenty of chance to regroup before each ascent.
The Iranians, Turks, Malaysians and the bloke from Hong Kong might have trouble holding the wheel of riders fresh from the Tour unless the pace is deliberately kept low by a controlling team. If the race is on from the start it will prove interesting.

There's some bloke called Sagan who's on his own too!  :P
Those wonderful norks are never far from my thoughts, oh yeah!