Tuesday, September 19, 2000
Cycling News Online

Squad members upset at missing out

For a track cycling squad which had just achieved Great Britain’s best Olympic result for 80 years, it seemed inappropriate today that their celebrations should have been dampened by a complaint that there were not enough medals to go round.

Amid the delight of a fourth podium place, a bronze in the men’s team pursuit, two riders were left facing the harsh reality of having played their part but with no medal to show for it.

The team management’s decision to drop Rob Hayles and Jonny Clay for the third-place final was especially disheartening for Hayles. He had narrowly missed a medal in the individual pursuit and now, a second one snatched away, it was all too distressing. "I feel very let down," Hayles said. "After it happened, I just packed my bags and left."

Under the rules, a rider has to appear in at least two of the four rounds to earn a medal. Bryan Steel, Paul Manning, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Newton set an Olympic record in qualification and took Britain through the quarter-finals. For the semi-final, though, Steel and Newton were rested, with Hayles and Clay coming in. All six riders knew that no decision on who would ride in the final round would be taken until after the semi-final.

Britain lost thier semi-final to Ukraine but, with their opponents setting a world record of 4min 00.830sec, still managed a British record of 4:02.387. "Jonny and Rob were fresh-legged and bringing them in left two guys from the original line-up fresh for the final ride-off," Peter Keen, the Great Britain performance director, said. "They knew it was likely they would ride only once.

"We looked at who was firing and who was not and fielded the team that we though was the right combination. We are desperately disappointed for them but the team pursuit is bigger than four individuals. Rob still has another a ride to come with Bradley in the madison and there is still everything to play for.

"It is unfortunate the rules were written in a way that allows them to create team conflict. Rob sacrificed all to get a medal for his country and I am incredibly proud of him. Our approach as a team has been to get a result for our country."

Given that the international cycling union and Olympic rules conflict, Keen said that he would be asking the British Olympic Association to consider lodging an appeal.

Simon Clegg, Britain's chef de mission, said: "The BOA are seeking clarification and will pursue every avenue as there are conflicting statements in both [ICU and Olympic] charters."

Hayles added: "I am not holding out much hope but if I get a medal through post in the next couple of months I will be well chuffed."

In beating France to win the bronze medal, Britain improved the national record for the fourth successive round, recording 4:01.979. "The fastest before here was 4:06.5 and we have hammered it," Keen enthused. "And that was on a track as good as this."

Ukraine not only lost the final but the world record, Germany taking the gold with the first ride under four minutes. "It’s the four-minute mile, the sub-10sec 100 metres, the big hit," Keen said, giving context to Germany’s time of 3:59.710. "It is a staggering performance. The crowd has been muted when it has not been an Australian victory or medal but they recognised this for what it was worth."

After Jason Queally’s gold in the one-kilometre time trial, the silver from Chris Hoy, Queally and Craig MacLean in the team sprint and Yvonne McGregor’s bronze in the three kilometres individual pursuit, a fourth medal yesterday gave Britain their heaviest saddlebag since the five won in 1920. It was also Britain’s first men’s team pursuit medal since 1976.

Keen said that Britain’s medal count here - and there are still plenty of medals to play for yet - had been built on a combination of lottery funding, planning, and dedicated riders. Unlike after Chris Boardman’s victory at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, it should lead to still greater success.

"Boardman in Barcelona was a single man performing and there was not the infrastructure ready to capitalise on enthusiasm," Keen said. "We are ready this time and we want to put cycling on the map long-term. There are 18 gold medals in the Olympics to play for. There are 20 million bikes in the UK and every kid has a bike. As soon as I get back we are going to be working as the British Cycling Federation on a scheme for kids. We have got coach education starting again and a World Class Plan for start and development to identify talent, which will launch next summer."

British cycling has received £3 million of Lottery funding but Keen wants an increase as well as regional velodromes. "There is the Sydney review planned by UK Sport which is aimed at looking at which horses to back," Keen said. "We hope we have made our point."

David Powell
The Times