Wednesday, September 20, 2000
Cycling News Online

Cycle duo to get their reward

Britain's Rob Hayles and Jon Clay will receive bronze medals after all to mark their semi-final contribution to the 4,000 metres team pursuit when the squad’s progress to the final was stopped by Ukraine.

Hayles and Clay were dropped for the bronze-medal ride-off against France in which the quartet of Bryan Steel, Paul Manning, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Newton set a new British record of 4min 01.919sec.

At first it was said that only the bronze medal ride-off quartet would receive medals, under the rules of the International Cycling Union.

But an appeal was made by the British Olympic Association on the basis that Olympic regulations do not require competitors in team events to ride in two rounds of a competition. Olympic rules state that anyone competing in one round on behalf of a nation which later wins a medal will be a medal recipient.

In today's 40km points race, Clay won two early sprints and at one time headed the leaderboard but finished two laps (500m) down on the winner Juan Llaneras, who lapped the field to win by one lap. Llaneras won the world title in 1998 and finished third in 1997.

Peter Bryan
The Times