New races, restrictions on the number of competitors and technological curbs mean the Beijing's 14 medals are out of reach
When Dave Brailsford was asked on Tuesday to compare the upcoming London Olympics with his cyclists' triumph in Beijing in 2008, the head of Great Britain's cycling team said the two events actually bear little relation to each other. "At the Olympics you are judged on a four-year cycle, but logically that has no rationale. You start from zero: a new competition, a new generation of competitors." And he could have added: a whole new set of races and new regulations.
Track cycling has a different look from Beijing: gone are a raft of endurance events, in come more women's races; rider numbers are limited and there are fresh restrictions on technology. It will, coaches and insiders believe, make it unlikely that Britain's cyclists will repeat their 14-medal haul from 2008. "Mathematically we can get 14, but given the reduced numbers it's impossible [in London]," said Brailsford.
Rob Hayles, a double Olympic cycling medallist with GB and now a BBC radio commentator, believes his former team-mates will be hit hardest by the restriction on rider numbers, which limits each nation to one participant in individual events. There were four disciplines in Beijing in which GB scored two medals: men's sprint and keirin and the men's and women's individual pursuits.
"It is a massive blow for us. It will halve our potential medal tally in those events," says Hayles. "The issue is not gold medals: if you are competing for gold, having one or two riders doesn't change anything," says Brailsford. "It does change the number of medals you can win."
Great Britain is not the only nation that will suffer in this way: France, Germany and Australia are all capable of fielding multiple medallists in various events. In the men's match sprint, for example, there were four French riders in the top 10 at last year's world championships, three Britons and two Australians.
The upshot is that the world track championships in Melbourne at the start of April, where nations can enter up to three riders in some events subject to qualification rules, will see stronger fields than the Olympic Games. "It will be harder to get a medal at the worlds than the Olympics," says Hayles. "It won't be easier to win gold at the Olympics but it will be easier to medal."
The rider number limits have other ramifications, primarily in the endurance events, where the entrant to the six-event omnium has to come from among the team pursuit squad. On Tuesday the British coaches and riders spoke with one voice: it is not possible to focus wholeheartedly on both disciplines. GB's men and women will aim for the team pursuit, and any omnium medals will be a bonus.
The slashing of the endurance events to just two has hit Great Britain, which won gold in both men and women's individual pursuits ? which have gone ? as well as bronze in the men's and silver in the women's. That, however, is compensated for by the welcome arrival of new women's events to put the two sexes on parity: team pursuit, keirin and team sprint, in which GB should start among the favourites.
The restraints on the use of technology were not targeted at Great Britain, says Chris Boardman, head of research and development at the cycling team, but were probably inspired by the squad's conspicuous success in Beijing.
"We showed what you could do if you focus on every aspect including technology and aerodynamics; it can affect performance." Areas that are now restricted include what types of clothing can be worn ? the plasticised "magic skinsuits" that were worn by Great Britain in Beijing have been banned ? measurements of the cycles ridden on the track and aerodynamic covers on helmets.
The former gold medallist feels the UCI's decision to bring in restraints in this area was based on newspaper stories that overplayed the role of technology in Great Britain's success. "We devoted some resource to understanding the event, and because in the papers it made a good story, the decision was made off the back of it. They didn't take time to consult and see if the papers were merely focusing on one area."
The change which will affect Great Britain the most will be the loss of the magic skinsuits, which have been barred on the grounds that plasticised suits can be used to compress the body into a more aerodynamic shape. Their banning at a relatively late stage ? Boardman says they were approved by the UCI after Beijing ? has cost the team "a lot of money" although a replacement has been found.
In this Olympic cycle, the official line from Great Britain on the activities of Boardman and his team of "secret squirrels" has been that the focus has been on the human angle of performance. There is another priority: ensuring that the kit the team uses is within the rules may sound obvious, but the problem as Boardman and others tell it is that enforcement of the rules has not been consistent.
If it sounds bizarre that Great Britain have to devote this much time and energy to clarifying what length socks they can wear, and what angle their saddles can be sloped at, there is a logic to it, a need to avoid turning up in August and being told that kit is illegal. Think of it as the equivalent of a rugby coach talking to the referee before an international to find out how he will rule on the contact area or the scrum.
"We've had all the frames and forks we are using for London vetted by the UCI," says Boardman. "We sat down with them and said 'here is the clothing, are you OK with this?' They said OK, I minuted it, and sent it to them. We wanted to do it because the biggest challenge is not the rules, but enforcement. They are targeting the impact of technology. I'm OK with that. Tell us what the rules are, and we'll butt up against them."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/feb/14/london-2012-rule-changes-cyclists
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