Well no rubbish today about my trip to the track or my run in with a black cab driver, today is simply about the bike riding.
Put simply, GB were unstoppable!
Vicky Pendleton won the Keirin with a dominance I have never seen her show before, and with such power, speed and superior tactics it was a joy to watch.
She moved women’s racing on to a new level today – utterly fantastic, and with her confirmation that retirement is just days away, yet while in this form it seems a waste but understandable given the years of commitment.
In the men’s Team Pursuit this night was all about the ‘old firm’.
As the Aussies and Brits lined up for the start the velodrome hushed with tension, then the six bleeps from the starting system, the longest 10 seconds I have ever spent stationery on a bike.
And then it was on, the Brits taking almost half a second out in the opening lap, they held it there for a few laps until the golden clad quartet bough the gap back to mere thousandths, I sensed all along that this was to be their undoing.
Despite mind games they tried to play in qualification and the rounds deep down I think everyone sensed they were going to come up short, and eventually come up short they did, with a blistering new world record, 3.51. Who really cares!
Brad Wiggins was in the crowd with wife Cath and the kids and he was good enough to come down to the track centre and give me an interview, he wanted to congratulate the team pursuit boys, he had received a standing ovation earlier in the night but all he kept saying was its not about me it’s about the lads, I’ve said it before and I will say it again, a true true gent!
What happened next will haunt me forever.
In a flurry of branded purple T-shirt and tabard activity I was told that he needed to leave the track centre with immediate effect!
Apparently his accreditation didn’t have the necessary number on it. Really.
“Yeah but it’s Brad and he really wants to just wants to say well done to the lads,”
“I don’t care – we are not having the medal ceremony until he leaves this area.“
And yes they were serious! Apparently he was presenting a security risk, I don’t now the name of the bloke that was with him, but going by the size of him and the ‘I’m a nice guy but I can kill you with a spoon’ look, I’m guessing he had all the high level security he needed.
A last mention to the team pursuit girls who qualified so well.
Roll on tomorrow I say. At this rate given how lucky I’m being, Elvis with be giving me an interview!
