The Track World Champs came and went, and whilst criticising the UCI is the fashion their decision to slot the Worlds into the Cobbled Classics season has to be questioned.
The original thought process was that it was to accommodate the six day riders coming off the end of their season — and road men before their season got underway.
In reality, by the time the Six Days finish, most of the protagonists just want a holiday and as for roadmen riding — March and April are the two busiest months of the year for them.
The UCI should move the Worlds back to their original late summer slot — but of course, that won’t happen.
They were complicit in the decision to axe not just the kilometre but also the pursuit, points and Madison from the Olympic programme.
The loss of the kilometre was bad enough — a beautiful, pure event.
But to allow the pursuit to be discarded defies belief; one can’t imagine athletics sitting back and allowing the 1,500 or 5,000 metres getting the chop.
However, what VeloVeritas thinks won’t cut much ice in Aigle — all we can do is make our little contribution to what happened at the Worlds.
And whilst it’s also the fashion to slag Cyclingnews.com, it was the only site that did it’s bit on Worlds coverage — sites that I’m ‘close to’ weren’t much interested.
My editors [not Martin here on VR though!] were much more keen on the ‘kassein and bergs’ than hardwood and bankings.
Men’s sprint
Here’s what multiple US track champion Giddeon Massie had to say about the sprint tournament:
You rode 10:576 in qualifying — were you happy with that?
“Happy, but not satisfied.
“It shows improvement on the year for me, which is good but the 200m TT is something I’ve struggled with a bit, so I always try and take the positives and continue to press forward.”
Do you use a bigger gear for qualifying than in the match sprints?
“Yes I do.
“Our sport has very clearly gone in the direction of big gears. This is not something that a rider can do overnight; it takes time and commitment to the task.”
The rider who was 40th was under 11 seconds – a very high standard.
“Absolutely.
“But I think the World Cups are often even more competitive than the World Championships with sprint qualifying cut-off times of 10.3 & 10.4.
“It’s a different game than it was even five years ago.”
Why is the Apeldoorn track so ‘sticky?’
“The Omnisport is a unique track in a spectacular facility; s,omething you would expect from a country that hosts multiple mega spectator Six-Days with many talented Dutch riders.
“But the track itself has very shallow transitions, with wide turns, then couple that with a higher air pressure, I think it suits a stronger and more powerful rider and the times reflected that.”
What has Bauge got the others don’t?
“It’s clear he has a huge amount of confidence, and that plays an important role in any athlete.
“You feel it, and other riders sense it. It’s as much a mental game as a physical one.
“He’s now won the last three sprint world titles.
“I can’t speak for how he trains or how hungry he will remain; that’s the challenge when you’re at the top.”
Bourgain – 10:043 to qualify fastest, but no medal – how come?
“Racing and going fast are very different skills.
“At the 2009 World Championships, Malaysia’s Azizul Awang qualified 12th and finished second.
“I’m sure Michael has been racing during his time away, but it’s difficult to maintain the sharpness that is necessary to compete at this level having been away that long.
“You have to continually hone these skills.”
What are you taking away from these Worlds with you?
“The Worlds are always a reminder of what it takes to be a podium level athlete, whether you win or not; it’s a reality check and a reminder.
“It is an opportunity to put our training into action.
“I’m looking at the positives as I always do, and continue to believe strongly that we have not reached our limits as a team.
“We now turn our focus toward the Pan Am Championships at the end of April — we’ll take it one day at a time, one race at a time, never losing sight of the goal.”
Keirin
Chris Hoy, he’s still the man; and only a fool would say that he can’t win in London.
But what’s interesting for me is that whilst we’re constantly told by Dave Brailsford how infrequently track riders can ‘peak’ (bearing in mind I’ve actually been present when Contador has won two Grand Tours within months of each other) winner Shane Perkins was happily racing every night down at the Grenoble six back in October – as were all the French sprinters including sprint king, Baugé.
In fact, Baugé: was also riding the sprint tournament at the Rotterdam six in January — and having a lot of fun in the process.
Team Sprint
Rather than read my rantings, here’s what US ‘man one,’ Dean Tracey had to say:
46.190 for 12th – happy?
“No, even with the obviously slow track in mind I’m not happy.
“No one wants to see times go up like that from race to race, even if it is a slower track.
“I think we were capable of a bit more; it just didn’t all come together.
“The two false starts certainly didn’t help much and by the third run I think my nerves were a bit shot, so that’s obviously something I need to work on.”
45.017 at the Manchester World Cup, back one second — they say Apeldoorn is a ‘sticky’ track?
“Apeldoorn is definitely not a fast track.
“You can see it in the 200 times and the pursuit times.
“I mean, Bobridge in the pursuit, 10 seconds back from a time he did in February; that’s pretty significant.
“The Team Sprint times were interesting too; we did 45.0 for 11th in Manchester and 46.1 for 12th here, so everyone’s times were back a bit.”
Did you ride to a schedule?
“No I wouldn’t say that.
“Our coach Jamie Staff is a very smart analyst, but he’s also careful not to over-think things before the race.
“If he has benchmarks for us on race day he’s not really cluttering our heads with them before go.
“We just went out to do the best ride we could do.”