World Track Championships - Melbourne 4/8 April - Warning contains unmasked spoilers

Beasty

The Lithuanian disqualified from the Sprint final for having a helmet that was too beasty ....;)

... anyway, onto the Omnium final event

Dan man

Here we go, the kilo is underway.......

Beasty

Congratulations Mr Irvine - 2 years of schlepping around the World training, racing, sheer bloody hard work, finally pays off...

... see you in London:D:D:D

Dan man

And Irvine is an Olympian!

Beasty

... I guess technically Ireland have qualified a place - anyone fancy taking it if Martyn gets injured?

Beasty

1:04.08 - I reckon that's his (EDIT second;)) best time in an Omnium event

Guaranteed top 7 place

Beasty

Martyn finishes 7th in the event and also 7th in the European Olympic Rankings, still ahead of both Denmark and Poland

If he can get a bit of luck in the elimination (possibly needs to take a few more risks) and scratch races he has a chance of medalling at the Olympics

mcgratheoin

So the final standings mean Ireland moves up to 945, Denmark go to 880 and Poland go to 760. Is that right?

Beasty

mcgratheoin wrote: »

So the final standings mean Ireland moves up to 945, Denmark go to 880 and Poland go to 760. Is that right?

I reckon Denmark have 910, having picked up 240 points for their 3rd place

Bunnyhopper

Gutsy performance from Pendleton. Ouch.




(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

shaungil

YYYYYYYYEEEEEESSSSS, Marty you legend

Pisco Sour

Just back from the Hisense Arena. Really enjoyable evening. A very spectator friendly sport, lots of drama, excitement, crashes, and a great atmosphere. What more could you want.

Brilliant stuff from Martin. I wasn't sure if he had qualified or not and was a bit worried when I saw the Dane get a medal. I had no access to internet so it's only since I logged in here did I find out he qualified for the Olympic Games. He was constantly in the mix in the Scratch race. Probably should have got a bit more out of it given his efforts. He threw me a wave after each of his events this evening. I was the only one in the crowd with an Irish flag so was pretty easy to spot.

The Irish girl Shannon was never in it in the womens scratc. I don't know anything about her and what was expected of her, but she didn't seem to do anything all race. Just hung at the back pretty much and then ran out of gas. Surprised she didn't make more of an effort to try launch an attack.

The women's elimination for the Omnium was a great event. Very interesting concept. Loved the way the Polish woman who had a horrendous crash at the very start ended up coming 3rd in that.

Have to say I don't find the points race as interesting as the Scratch race. Much harder to follow what is going on and who is winning.

The sprint is a top event. I love the cat and mouse aspect of it. Pissing about for 2 laps and then going balls out. A lot of DQ's though which is a pity. Sort of anti-climatic way for Victoria Pendleton to win. Some performance from her though to come back from that horrid crash in the semi finals. She rode her luck at times but fair play to her. Chris Hoy got through by the skin of his teeth. The combined margin of victory over the 3 races must have been about 2 inches!!

The one negative was that Victoria Pendleton got snubbed for an interview after her medal ceremony. For the other 2 finals this evening the gold medallist got interviewed after the ceremony, but for the women's sprint they decided to interview the Aussie who win the broze instead. Understandable given the home crowd, but poor form IMO.

Looking forward to going back on Sunday afternoon to see Caroline in the IP, and to get a glimpse of this crazy event where a bunch of cyclists chase after a Japanese bloke on a motorbike!

el tel

One thing I've wondered was in Japan keirin is a big thing, pro riders living and training like monks, big money etc.

Why does this rich culture not seem to translate to track success on the wotld stage? Are they not Interested?

Yay 2000th post. I need to get out more.

kumate_champ07

el tel wrote: »

One thing I've wondered was in Japan keirin is a big thing, pro riders living and training like monks, big money etc.

Why does this rich culture not seem to translate to track success on the wotld stage? Are they not Interested?

Yay 2000th post. I need to get out more.

they dont compete outside the Japanese keirin circuit because they would lose out on earnings. their race season wouldnt fit in well with trying to peak for the olympics and peaking for their own championships. Westerners can compete over there with either a 3month or 6month contract. takes 1 week of keirin school to get qualified. Matthew Crampton was there last year I believe but that might have been for an international keirin invitational

there hasnt been a world class Japanese sprinter since the 80's

morana

These are great achievements by all involved. Its even better with the money spent and lack of facilities.

Its fair to say that the amount of success we have had this year with the paras, caro, mi and shannon to a lesser extent must be the best return the isc have got for their investment. Hopefully they might recognise our dev programme as something worth investing in....

Beasty

Hopefully the Sports Council will start to appreciate not only the specific success of the various track teams, but also the wider benefits arising from the general uptake in cycling

Sundrive is a perfect example where the investments already made are showing returns with the likes of Eoin Mullen moving onto the world stage and a number of other very good young riders coming through. Investing in track facilities benefits the wider community and provides a safe environment for youth riders to learn racing skills which are of benefit on the road as well as the track. I think a bit more priority in the direction of track cycling in particular could pay massive dividends - just look at what team GB have built, almost exclusively on the back of the Manchester track. Cav, Wiggins, Thomas as well as Hoy, Pendleton et al have all treaded those particular boards on their way to bigger and better things

Lusk Doyle

Beasty wrote: »

Hopefully the Sports Council will start to appreciate not only the specific success of the various track teams, but also the wider benefits arising from the general uptake in cycling

Sundrive is a perfect example where the investments already made are showing returns with the likes of Eoin Mullen moving onto the world stage and a number of other very good young riders coming through. Investing in track facilities benefits the wider community and provides a safe environment for youth riders to learn racing skills which are of benefit on the road as well as the track. I think a bit more priority in the direction of track cycling in particular could pay massive dividends - just look at what team GB have built, almost exclusively on the back of the Manchester track. Cav, Wiggins, Thomas as well as Hoy, Pendleton et al have all treaded those particular boards on their way to bigger and better things

It also should benefit us socially as young people can have more areas in which to focus their energies. Not just about pro and Olympic level success. Success can be measured on so many other levels.

Inquitus

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

It also should benefit us socially as young people can have more areas in which to focus their energies. Not just about pro and Olympic level success. Success can be measured on so many other levels.

The streets of all the major UK cities are testament to how these non tangible benefits from UK cycling have spread far and wide......oh wait....

Pisco Sour

Inquitus wrote: »

The streets of all the major UK cities are testament to how these non tangible benefits from UK cycling have spread far and wide......oh wait....

He/she does have a point. Cycling is an expensive sport for the richer people. A veledrome is not going to stop the problems among the youth that currently exist. No point pretending it will. We need a veledrome to help our elite win future Olympic medals. It is ok to want it for this purpose. We don't need to dress it up.

Beasty

Hundreds, probably thousands, of kids have benefited from the velodrome in Manchester. Most times I ride the track there's a kids session (either school, or the kids track club) on before or after the public session. It's a very cheap way to get into cycling, particularly as the bikes are provided. Of those kids, probably a dozen or so may have made it to a very high level in the sport. Many more will continue at a lower level, perhaps racing the track leagues or progressing to road racing. Even more will contine cycling as a leisure activity. I'm not saying it's a solution to all the ills of the world, but it's certainly a positive contribution to the wider community

Now in Ireland, if we had a year-round facility, with adequate coaching support, and equipment available on a subsidised basis, there's no reason why the same sort of benefts should not arise (even if on a smaller scale). Indeed, there are already plenty of kids benefiting from the Sundrive facility (and there has been a significant uptake in recent years). I have little doubt that many more could, and if the side effect is a few more coming through at the highest level, then all the better

shaungil

Is there any movement on the facility that had been discussed before christmas? Jam factory in dublin somewhere iirc?

Inquitus

Beasty wrote: »

Hundreds, probably thousands, of kids have benefited from the velodrome in Manchester. Most times I ride the track there's a kids session (either school, or the kids track club) on before or after the public session. It's a very cheap way to get into cycling, particularly as the bikes are provided. Of those kids, probably a dozen or so may have made it to a very high level in the sport. Many more will continue at a lower level, perhaps racing the track leagues or progressing to road racing. Even more will contine cycling as a leisure activity. I'm not saying it's a solution to all the ills of the world, but it's certainly a positive contribution to the wider community

Now in Ireland, if we had a year-round facility, with adequate coaching support, and equipment available on a subsidised basis, there's no reason why the same sort of benefts should not arise (even if on a smaller scale). Indeed, there are already plenty of kids benefiting from the Sundrive facility (and there has been a significant uptake in recent years). I have little doubt that many more could, and if the side effect is a few more coming through at the highest level, then all the better

Aye but how many of those kids were from Moss Side? None. Kids from a priviledged background being dropped to the track by their parents with a few quid in their pocket for the bike rental and a drink. Stupid to try and pretend a bike track is a recipe for social cohesion, that said I am all for us building one.

RobFowl

Inquitus wrote: »

Aye but how many of those kids were from Moss Side? None. Kids from a priviledged background being dropped to the track by their parents with a few quid in their pocket for the bike rental and a drink. Stupid to try and pretend a bike track is a recipe for social cohesion, that said I am all for us building one.

Locally you're ignoring the work Hugh Byrne is doing at Sundrive. Kids who started off turning up to throw stones at the racers were persuaded to try racing instead and some have national medals now....

Beasty

Inquitus wrote: »

Aye but how many of those kids were from Moss Side?

Probably quite a few actually. It's used by schools from across Manchester. I would add that Eastlands is considered a "deprived" area. Indeed I spent a year in a council flat there as a student in the early 80s - those council flats were the first ones condemned in Manchester as unsuitable, and were knocked down well before the infamous Hulme crescents

TBH, if an indoor facility was to be justified purely on the potential to deliver world class cyclists, I for one would not support it, and I would consider it completely inappropriate to direct taxpayers money towards it.

morana

shaungil wrote: »

Is there any movement on the facility that had been discussed before christmas? Jam factory in dublin somewhere iirc?

yes

Lusk Doyle

A child from crumlin can walk down to the track at sundrive, pay a nominal sum, use a bike, shoes, helmet, track and facilities which are all provided by the management.

The excuse of "privileged" kids being dropped over by parents simply is not a good enough to rubbish the fact that it is a benefit to society. All the police in the country won't stop crime but that's no reason to say they don't do some good. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Lusk Doyle

morana wrote: »

shaungil wrote: »

Is there any movement on the facility that had been discussed before christmas? Jam factory in dublin somewhere iirc?

yes

Good answer!

Lusk Doyle

Inquitus wrote: »

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

It also should benefit us socially as young people can have more areas in which to focus their energies. Not just about pro and Olympic level success. Success can be measured on so many other levels.

The streets of all the major UK cities are testament to how these non tangible benefits from UK cycling have spread far and wide......oh wait....

That's needlessly negative in fairness.

morana

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

Good answer!

thats me for you... I dont think this is the place to discuss it. I will post some info on the velodrome thread....

Inquitus

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

That's needlessly negative in fairness.

Might be negative, but it's the truth of the matter.