Preview: Olympic Track Cycling (2-7 August)
01st August 2012
Olympic Track Cycling (2-7 August)
Thanks to the powers that be, the track programme has been decimated, both in terms of the events themselves and the number of riders allowed per event. The kilometre time trial (like getting rid of the 100m in athletics), the Madison (great for spectators), the individual pursuit (the blue ribbon event for track cycling in many peoples minds) and the points race have all been removed.
So what does this mean – basically it makes it easier for riders to pick up medals in events they wouldn’t normally be able to - as many of the usual favourites (2nd and 3rd string riders in their own country – but often better than the 1st string riders in other countries) in each discipline can’t compete. With only one rider per country Chris Hoy will not be able to defend his individual sprint title from Beijing – Jason Kenny has been selected for that event.
We are now left with 5 events for both the men and women – Keirin, Omnium (a bit like the Heptathlon/Decathlon in Athletics), Team Sprint, Team Pursuit and Individual Sprint.
MEN'S EVENTS
Geraint Thomas and Ed Clancy
==============================================================================
Men's Team Sprint (2 August)
2 August - 16:15 Qualifying
2 August - 17:46 First Round
2 August - 18:15 Finals
The Team Sprint starts with a qualifying round, with the best eight teams going forward to the first round (4th v 5th, 3rd v 6th, 2nd v 7th, 1st v 8th). The four winning teams in the first round contest the medals, with the two teams with the fastest times competing for gold, and the other two teams going head to head for bronze. The remaining four teams are ranked fifth to eighth in accordance with their first round times.
The first Men's medal on offer - the host Nation will be out to show the rest of the World they are still the number one cycling nation.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 France
3 Australia
==============================================================================
Men's Team Pursuit (2 & 3 August)
2 August - 16:42 Qualifying
3 August - 16:18 First Round
3 August - 17:59 Finals
The Team Pursuit starts with a qualifying round. Teams are seeded in the first round according to their qualifying times. The winners of the two heats between the top four teams advance to the finals; the remaining six teams are ranked according to their times from the first round, with the best two teams competing for bronze.
This is the event Great Britain have dominated in recent times, and they are our best medal chance on the Men's side. The World Record will be under threat in this event.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 Australia
3 New Zealand
==============================================================================
Men's Sprint (4, 5 & 6 August)
4 August - 10:00 Qualifying
4 August - 11:01 1/16 Finals
4 August - 16:00 1/16 Final Repechages
4 August - 16:35 1/8 Finals
4 August - 17:34 1/8 Final Repechages
4 August - 18:20 Race for 9th-12th Places
5 August - 16:34 Quarterfinals
5 August - 18:47 Race for 5th-8th Places
6 August - 16:00 Semi-final
6 August - 17:43 Finals
The event starts with a 200m time trial to determine the rankings for the 16 riders in the first round. From then on the competition is a knockout, going to quarterfinals, semifinals and the final, which are all the best of three heats.
Jason Kenny is likely to have his work cut out in this high speed event.
Predicted Result
1 Gregory Bauge (FRA)
2 Jason Kenny (GBR)
3 Robert Fosterman (GER)
==============================================================================
Men's Omnium (4 & 5 August)
4 August - 10:30 Flying Lap 250m Time Trial
4 August - 16:54 30km Points Race
4 August - 18:25 Elimination Race
5 August - 10:00 4km Individual Pursuit
5 August - 17:01 15km Scratch Race
5 August - 18:16 1km Time Trial
In each event the winner gets one point, the second placed rider gets two points, the third three points, and so on. At the end of all six events the rider with the lowest total score is the winner.
Big chance for local Ed Clancy in the Omnium to pick up an individual medal, hopefully he should be on a high after the Team Pursuit and looking for a second Gold medal on home turf.
Predicted Result
1 Ed Clancy (GBR)
2 Elia Viviani (ITA)
3 Glenn O'Shea (AUS)
Others to watch: Zachary Bell (CAN) and Lasse Norman Hansen (DEN)
==============================================================================
Men's Keirin (7 August)
7 August - 10:00 First Round
7 August - 11:19 First Round Repechages
7 August - 16:34 Second Round
7 August - 17:50 Finals
The event starts with heats (with repechages), with the best 12 riders progressing to the second round. The top six riders go through from the second round to the final, with the bottom six competing again for 7th–12th place rankings.
Chris Hoy will be out to win the only individual event he's in and if the team sprint has gone to plan could become Britain Greatest Olympian (as the winner of the most medals).
Predicted Result
1 Chris Hoy (GBR)
2 Maximilian Levy (GER)
3 Mickaël Bourgain (FRA)
==============================================================================
WOMEN'S EVENTS
Dani King and Laura Trott
==============================================================================
Women's Team Sprint (2 August)
2 August - 16:00 Qualifying
2 August - 16:30 First Round
2 August - 17:59 Finals
The Team Sprint starts with a qualifying round, with the best eight teams going forward to the first round (4th v 5th, 3rd v 6th, 2nd v 7th, 1st v 8th). The four winning teams in the first round contest the medals, with the two teams with the fastest times competing for gold, and the other two teams going head to head for bronze. The remaining four teams are ranked fifth to eighth in accordance with their first round times.
A battle between the Brits and the Aussies - they have even been drawn together for qualifying. Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish will be out to kick start the GB medal rush.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 Australia
3 Germany
==============================================================================
Women's Keirin (3 August)
3 August - 16:00 First Round
3 August - 16:43 First Round Repechages
3 August - 17:46 Second Round
3 August - 18:38 Finals
The event starts with heats (with repechages), with the best 12 riders progressing to the second round. The top six riders go through from the second round to the final, with the bottom six competing again for 7th–12th place rankings.
Victoria Pendleton's second chance to win a medal, though the nature of the event is likely to favour her big rival Anna Meares.
Predicted Result
1 Anna Meares (AUS)
2 Victoria Pendleton (GBR)
3 Shuang Guo (CHN)
==============================================================================
Women's Team Pursuit (3 & 4 August)
3 August - 16:56 Qualifying
4 August - 16:11 First Round
4 August - 17:42 Finals
The Team Pursuit starts with a qualifying round. Teams are seeded in the first round according to their qualifying times. The winners of the two heats between the top four teams advance to the finals; the remaining six teams are ranked according to their times from the first round, with the best two teams competing for bronze.
A recent addition to the track calendar, Britain's Women are just as good as our men and a good bet for Gold and are highly likely to break the world record on the way.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 Australia
3 New Zealand
==============================================================================
Women's Sprint (5, 6, & 7 August)
5 August - 10:58 Qualifying
5 August - 16:00 1/16 Finals
5 August - 16:48 1/16 Final Repechages
5 August - 17:38 1/8 Finals
5 August - 18:06 1/8 Final Repechages
5 August - 18:51 Race for 9th-12th Places
6 August - 16:43 Quarterfinals
6 August - 18:41 Race for 5th-8th Places
7 August - 16:00 Semi-final
7 August - 17:26 Finals
The event starts with a 200m time trial to determine the rankings for the 16 riders in the first round. From then on the competition is a knockout, going to quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final, which are all the best of three heats.
Victoria Pendleton will be hoping to add to her medal total in her final race before retiring.
Predicted Result
1 Victoria Pendleton (GBR)
2 Anna Meares (AUS)
3 Simona Krupeckaite (LTU)
==============================================================================
Women's Omnium (6 August)
6 August - 16:08 Flying Lap 250m Time Trial
6 August - 17:06 20km Points Race
6 August - 18:18 Elimination Race
7 August - 10:19 3km Individual Pursuit
7 August - 16:07 10km Scratch Race
7 August - 16:53 500m Time Trial
In each event the winner gets one point, the second placed rider gets two points, the third three points, and so on. At the end of all six events the rider with the lowest total score is the winner.
Laura Trott, 2011 World Champion is Britain's hope for Gold.
Predicted Result
1 Laura Trott (GBR)
2 Sarah Hammer (USA)
3 Annette Edmondson (AUS)
==============================================================================
There is no doubt Great Britain are the best track cycling nation in recent years, our predictions give them 8 Gold and 2 Silver. Whilst they are fully capable of winning them all, it is unlikely they will be so dominant - race tactics, accidents etc will all play their part during the events - after all who could have predicted Shelley Olds would puncture whilst in the winning move in the road race, or Fabian Cancellara would crash out of his road race and no one would have considered Luis Leon Sanchez Gil snapping chain on the start ramp in the time trial.
4 Gold and 2 Silver is well within their reach.
==============================================================================
Thanks to the powers that be, the track programme has been decimated, both in terms of the events themselves and the number of riders allowed per event. The kilometre time trial (like getting rid of the 100m in athletics), the Madison (great for spectators), the individual pursuit (the blue ribbon event for track cycling in many peoples minds) and the points race have all been removed.
So what does this mean – basically it makes it easier for riders to pick up medals in events they wouldn’t normally be able to - as many of the usual favourites (2nd and 3rd string riders in their own country – but often better than the 1st string riders in other countries) in each discipline can’t compete. With only one rider per country Chris Hoy will not be able to defend his individual sprint title from Beijing – Jason Kenny has been selected for that event.
We are now left with 5 events for both the men and women – Keirin, Omnium (a bit like the Heptathlon/Decathlon in Athletics), Team Sprint, Team Pursuit and Individual Sprint.
MEN'S EVENTS
Geraint Thomas and Ed Clancy
==============================================================================
Men's Team Sprint (2 August)
2 August - 16:15 Qualifying
2 August - 17:46 First Round
2 August - 18:15 Finals
The Team Sprint starts with a qualifying round, with the best eight teams going forward to the first round (4th v 5th, 3rd v 6th, 2nd v 7th, 1st v 8th). The four winning teams in the first round contest the medals, with the two teams with the fastest times competing for gold, and the other two teams going head to head for bronze. The remaining four teams are ranked fifth to eighth in accordance with their first round times.
The first Men's medal on offer - the host Nation will be out to show the rest of the World they are still the number one cycling nation.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 France
3 Australia
==============================================================================
Men's Team Pursuit (2 & 3 August)
2 August - 16:42 Qualifying
3 August - 16:18 First Round
3 August - 17:59 Finals
The Team Pursuit starts with a qualifying round. Teams are seeded in the first round according to their qualifying times. The winners of the two heats between the top four teams advance to the finals; the remaining six teams are ranked according to their times from the first round, with the best two teams competing for bronze.
This is the event Great Britain have dominated in recent times, and they are our best medal chance on the Men's side. The World Record will be under threat in this event.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 Australia
3 New Zealand
==============================================================================
Men's Sprint (4, 5 & 6 August)
4 August - 10:00 Qualifying
4 August - 11:01 1/16 Finals
4 August - 16:00 1/16 Final Repechages
4 August - 16:35 1/8 Finals
4 August - 17:34 1/8 Final Repechages
4 August - 18:20 Race for 9th-12th Places
5 August - 16:34 Quarterfinals
5 August - 18:47 Race for 5th-8th Places
6 August - 16:00 Semi-final
6 August - 17:43 Finals
The event starts with a 200m time trial to determine the rankings for the 16 riders in the first round. From then on the competition is a knockout, going to quarterfinals, semifinals and the final, which are all the best of three heats.
Jason Kenny is likely to have his work cut out in this high speed event.
Predicted Result
1 Gregory Bauge (FRA)
2 Jason Kenny (GBR)
3 Robert Fosterman (GER)
==============================================================================
Men's Omnium (4 & 5 August)
4 August - 10:30 Flying Lap 250m Time Trial
4 August - 16:54 30km Points Race
4 August - 18:25 Elimination Race
5 August - 10:00 4km Individual Pursuit
5 August - 17:01 15km Scratch Race
5 August - 18:16 1km Time Trial
In each event the winner gets one point, the second placed rider gets two points, the third three points, and so on. At the end of all six events the rider with the lowest total score is the winner.
Big chance for local Ed Clancy in the Omnium to pick up an individual medal, hopefully he should be on a high after the Team Pursuit and looking for a second Gold medal on home turf.
Predicted Result
1 Ed Clancy (GBR)
2 Elia Viviani (ITA)
3 Glenn O'Shea (AUS)
Others to watch: Zachary Bell (CAN) and Lasse Norman Hansen (DEN)
==============================================================================
Men's Keirin (7 August)
7 August - 10:00 First Round
7 August - 11:19 First Round Repechages
7 August - 16:34 Second Round
7 August - 17:50 Finals
The event starts with heats (with repechages), with the best 12 riders progressing to the second round. The top six riders go through from the second round to the final, with the bottom six competing again for 7th–12th place rankings.
Chris Hoy will be out to win the only individual event he's in and if the team sprint has gone to plan could become Britain Greatest Olympian (as the winner of the most medals).
Predicted Result
1 Chris Hoy (GBR)
2 Maximilian Levy (GER)
3 Mickaël Bourgain (FRA)
==============================================================================
WOMEN'S EVENTS
Dani King and Laura Trott
==============================================================================
Women's Team Sprint (2 August)
2 August - 16:00 Qualifying
2 August - 16:30 First Round
2 August - 17:59 Finals
The Team Sprint starts with a qualifying round, with the best eight teams going forward to the first round (4th v 5th, 3rd v 6th, 2nd v 7th, 1st v 8th). The four winning teams in the first round contest the medals, with the two teams with the fastest times competing for gold, and the other two teams going head to head for bronze. The remaining four teams are ranked fifth to eighth in accordance with their first round times.
A battle between the Brits and the Aussies - they have even been drawn together for qualifying. Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish will be out to kick start the GB medal rush.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 Australia
3 Germany
==============================================================================
Women's Keirin (3 August)
3 August - 16:00 First Round
3 August - 16:43 First Round Repechages
3 August - 17:46 Second Round
3 August - 18:38 Finals
The event starts with heats (with repechages), with the best 12 riders progressing to the second round. The top six riders go through from the second round to the final, with the bottom six competing again for 7th–12th place rankings.
Victoria Pendleton's second chance to win a medal, though the nature of the event is likely to favour her big rival Anna Meares.
Predicted Result
1 Anna Meares (AUS)
2 Victoria Pendleton (GBR)
3 Shuang Guo (CHN)
==============================================================================
Women's Team Pursuit (3 & 4 August)
3 August - 16:56 Qualifying
4 August - 16:11 First Round
4 August - 17:42 Finals
The Team Pursuit starts with a qualifying round. Teams are seeded in the first round according to their qualifying times. The winners of the two heats between the top four teams advance to the finals; the remaining six teams are ranked according to their times from the first round, with the best two teams competing for bronze.
A recent addition to the track calendar, Britain's Women are just as good as our men and a good bet for Gold and are highly likely to break the world record on the way.
Predicted Result
1 Great Britain
2 Australia
3 New Zealand
==============================================================================
Women's Sprint (5, 6, & 7 August)
5 August - 10:58 Qualifying
5 August - 16:00 1/16 Finals
5 August - 16:48 1/16 Final Repechages
5 August - 17:38 1/8 Finals
5 August - 18:06 1/8 Final Repechages
5 August - 18:51 Race for 9th-12th Places
6 August - 16:43 Quarterfinals
6 August - 18:41 Race for 5th-8th Places
7 August - 16:00 Semi-final
7 August - 17:26 Finals
The event starts with a 200m time trial to determine the rankings for the 16 riders in the first round. From then on the competition is a knockout, going to quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final, which are all the best of three heats.
Victoria Pendleton will be hoping to add to her medal total in her final race before retiring.
Predicted Result
1 Victoria Pendleton (GBR)
2 Anna Meares (AUS)
3 Simona Krupeckaite (LTU)
==============================================================================
Women's Omnium (6 August)
6 August - 16:08 Flying Lap 250m Time Trial
6 August - 17:06 20km Points Race
6 August - 18:18 Elimination Race
7 August - 10:19 3km Individual Pursuit
7 August - 16:07 10km Scratch Race
7 August - 16:53 500m Time Trial
In each event the winner gets one point, the second placed rider gets two points, the third three points, and so on. At the end of all six events the rider with the lowest total score is the winner.
Laura Trott, 2011 World Champion is Britain's hope for Gold.
Predicted Result
1 Laura Trott (GBR)
2 Sarah Hammer (USA)
3 Annette Edmondson (AUS)
==============================================================================
There is no doubt Great Britain are the best track cycling nation in recent years, our predictions give them 8 Gold and 2 Silver. Whilst they are fully capable of winning them all, it is unlikely they will be so dominant - race tactics, accidents etc will all play their part during the events - after all who could have predicted Shelley Olds would puncture whilst in the winning move in the road race, or Fabian Cancellara would crash out of his road race and no one would have considered Luis Leon Sanchez Gil snapping chain on the start ramp in the time trial.
4 Gold and 2 Silver is well within their reach.
==============================================================================
