2013 Cycling Thread

[Smallville22]

James relishing Manchester World Cup

Double world champion Becky James is determined to enjoy her homecoming at the Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester as she grants her rivals their wish by riding the individual sprint.
James will race in the UK for the first time since winning the keirin and individual sprint world titles in Minsk back in February with those two events plus the team sprint on her schedule.
The 21-year-old does so off the back of winning team sprint bronze at the European Championships in Apeldoorn, where she also finished seventh in the keirin and didn't contest the individual sprint.
She opted to miss the British National Track Championships in September, rather racing in Japan's keirin season, while her absence from the individual sprint in Apeldoorn raised eyebrows.
James missed out on medals on her previous Manchester Track Cycling World Cup appearances in 2009 and 2011 and is relishing competing on all fronts, even buoyed by her rivals' comments.
"The European Championships went better than I thought it was going to. It was a good bit of racing," James told British Cycling.
"I always think racing is the best training, it was great to go and race there rather than go straight into the World Cup.
"I didn't ride the sprint at the Europeans and some of the girls asked why. I said 'I'm just getting back into it after Japan' and they said 'but you're world sprint champion, you should be riding'.
"It's nice to hear they want me to be riding. We ride Manchester three or four days a week. I wouldn't say it's an advantage but it's great to be riding on a home track again,
"I've had four years full-time training in Manchester now and I think I've developed as a rider in those four years. I'm looking forward to racing and hopefully it will go well."

 

[Smallville22]

UCI to audit its own anti-doping operations

The International Cycling Union will audit its own anti-doping system as it tries to draw a line under recent scandals in the sport.
"Measures agreed at today's UCI management committee include a full audit of the systems and controls currently employed by the UCI's anti-doping operations to ensure they are working efficiently," the organisation said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The audit will also be used as a basis to create a clear road map for setting up an independent UCI anti-doping operation in 2014."
The management committee held an extraordinary session for the first time since Brian Cookson took over as president after beating incumbent Pat McQuaid in last month's election.
Cookson promised in his campaign that he would be transparent and would look into the UCI's past.
Previous presidents McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen have faced allegations of corruption in relation to the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.
Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last year after a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report showed the American had cheated his way to glory.
The UCI said the management committee also agreed on "the broad principles under which it intends to move forward with the implementation of an independent commission which will look into allegations of past wrongdoing at the UCI and the extent and roots of doping in cycling".
Cookson's salary of 340,000 Swiss francs (£236,000) was also revealed by the UCI, 111,000 (£77,000) down on McQuaid's annual income.

 

[Smallville22]

Froome wins Velo d'Or award

Tour de France champion Chris Froome has won the prestigious Velo d'Or award as the best rider of 2013.
Froome prevailed in a poll of cycling journalists set up by French publication Velo Magazine, with Colombia's Nairo Quintana, the Tour runner-up as well as leading climber and best young rider, was voted prospect of the year.
In addition to the Tour de France, Froome also won the Criterium du Dauphine and the Tour de Romandie.

 

[Smallville22]

Spain moving to shed ****-cheat haven label

For years considered a haven for **** cheats in sport, Spain is facing up to its chequered past and trying to clean its image with a beefed-up anti-doping law.
Legislators in the Iberian nation, home of such decorated champions as tennis player Rafa Nadal, Formula One driver Fernando Alonso and the world's best soccer team, have set up a new body to replace the national anti-doping agency (AEA) and armed it with enhanced powers under rules that took effect in July.
The Agency for the Protection of Health in Sport (AEPSAD) is an independent organisation responsible for managing and carrying out doping tests rather than leaving them in the hands of national sports federations.
It will administer punishments such as levying fines and be able to suspend licences and has already attracted warm praise from international officials.
"I think Spain's reputation is vastly improved with the changes they have made," David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"But now that the rules are in place, it depends on how they carry them out," he added. "They have to test the right people at the right time."
AEPSAD has already been flexing its muscles.
Right after the doping law came into effect, the agency conducted tests at the Spanish athletics championships that yielded three "adverse" findings, leading to the suspension of licences until investigations have been completed.
"It's a reason for sadness, because it means an athlete did not want to respect the rules, but it's also a sign of work well done, well planned, designed to give results," then-AEPSAD chief Ana Munoz told lawmakers last month.
Now director general of the government's sports council (CSD), Munoz is credited with restoring credibility to the nation's efforts to tackle doping.
Among other moves, AEPSAD has intensified its testing programme in soccer.
Up until last season, only one La Liga match was subject to testing per matchday, with one player from each team providing a ***** sample.
Now, six games are tested and for the first time ***** and/or ***** samples are taken from two players from each team.
The analysis of ***** samples is a much more effective means of detecting the *****-booster erythropoietin (EPO), among other ****** substances.
Legal expert Manuel Quintanar has been named to replace Munoz at AEPSAD and is expected to continue the tougher line.
Along with a background in criminology, his law school thesis dealt with the subject of repentance and the justice system, an area linked to successful anti-doping probes in which athletes' confessions play a key role.
"I will always have my hand out to athletes who made a mistake. I ask them to be big enough to recognise their mistakes openly and bravely," Quintanar said at his presentation in Madrid this month.
"They have to understand that their role is fundamental to put the past behind us once and for all and to guarantee a credible future for Spanish sport," he added.
It was hoped Spain's enhanced drive to tackle doping would both improve the nation's tarnished image while helping secure the support of International Olympic Committee (IOC) members for Madrid's bid to host the 2020 Games.
The capital eventually came a distant third behind Istanbul and winners Tokyo in the September IOC vote in Buenos Aires but Howman and other officials are not certain the perception Spain has been soft on doping scuttled its candidacy.
"It's too difficult to say," Howman said. "There were many factors involved."
Up until passage of the new law, the use of ****** substances in Spain was not a crime, although selling them did carry criminal penalties.
The result was a climate of virtual impunity, which cast a pall of mistrust over the nation and Spain became a sanctuary for dopers.
Lance Armstrong and members of his team relocated to Girona, northern Spain in 2000 to evade detection by French authorities, as revealed in the U.S. anti-doping agency (USADA) probe into the disgraced American cyclist.
Possibly the low point in Spain's doping history is Operation Puerto, a high-profile investigation that first came to public attention in 2006 and is still going through the appeals process.
More than 50 professional cyclists were implicated and the doctor at the centre of the probe, Eufemiano Fuentes, told the court he also had clients in soccer, tennis, athletics and boxing.
At the end of the much-delayed trial in April, Fuentes was convicted of endangering public health, for which he received a one-year suspended sentence and a ban from practising medicine.
Neither he nor his clients were charged with breaking doping laws because, at the outset of the case, doping was not *******.
Worst of all to anti-doping activists, the judge ordered the destruction of around 200 ***** bags containing samples from cyclists and athletes, basing her decision on what she believed might be violations of privacy laws.
The CSD and WADA, among others, have filed appeals so the evidence can be turned over for further investigation and the ***** bags remain in frozen storage in Barcelona.
"We're waiting on the court of appeals but to be talking about this in 2013 is frustrating," said WADA's Howman. "So much time has ****** and nothing has happened to make sure this evidence is used to tidy up sport."

 

[Smallville22]

Williamson to be at her best with James at Manchester World Cup

Victoria Williamson wants her and double world champion Becky James' partnership to reach new heights as they get back together in the team sprint at the Track World Cup in Manchester.
Williamson joined ****** with James at the World Championships back in February claiming bronze while the pair collected the same colour at the European Under-23 Championships in July.
The 20-year-old made way for London 2012 Olympian Jess Varnish for the recent senior European Championships in Apeldoorn, where Britain once again claimed team sprint bronze.
Williamson finished seventh in the individual sprint and reached the second round in the keirin in the Netherlands but will be back with James at the World Cup season opener in Manchester.
She will lead out James in the team sprint and has her sights firmly set on lowering their time of 33.762seconds recorded at the World Championships in Belarus earlier this year.
"I'm really happy with my form coming into this World cup," Williamson told British Cycling. "Earlier on this year in Minsk I did a big personal best and then my flying 200m throughout the year has just got better and better.
"My speed is definitely up there so hopefully I can do another personal best in my opening lap. We're hoping to go better in Manchester. My lap has improved massively, which for a start is a massive help if we can get off to a quicker lap.
"The second lap is going to be again better so we're just improving all the time. It'll be really nice to have home support. I'll be pretty nervous I think but hopefully it will help me in a good way. Obviously being on a home track, which we ride on every day, is really nice as well."

 

[Smallville22]

Hesjedal admits to doping over a decade ago

Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, winner of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, became the latest rider to admit to a troubled past when he said on Wednesday he had doped "more than 10 years ago".
"I have loved and lived this sport but more than a decade ago I chose the wrong path," said the Garmin-Sharp rider in a statement.
"Even though those mistakes happened more than 10 years ago, and they were short-lived, it does not change the fact I made them and I have lived with that and been sorry for it ever since."
The statement came in response to allegations by Dane Michael Rasmussen who said earlier on Wednesday he taught Hesjedal how to take the ****** *****-booster erythropoietin (EPO) in 2003.
Rasmussen was kicked out of his Rabobank team while was leading the Tour de France in 2007 for having lied about his whereabouts to doping authorities.
His claims were made in a book, from which extracts were published by Danish newspaper Politiken on Wednesday.
Rasmussen was at Rabobank in 2003 while Hesjedal, then a mountain bike rider, was in the Dutch outfit's development team.
"I believe that being truthful will help the sport continue to move forward, and over a year ago when I was contacted by anti-doping authorities, I was open and honest about my past," said Hesjedal.
The Canadian was one of several riders - past and present - and managers to be called on to testify by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in the case against Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping.
"Athletes like him, and others, who have voluntarily come in, taken accountability for their actions and have been fully truthful, are essential to securing a brighter future for the sport of cycling," USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a statement.
"As in all cases, where there is actionable evidence of doping within the statute of limitations, we have imposed discipline and announced sanctions.
"We continue our ongoing investigation into the sport of cycling, and have also been urging the UCI to take the decisive and transparent action it announced over a year ago to truly set the sport on a new foundation for the good of clean athletes."
Hesjedal was one of Armstrong's team mates at U.S. Postal and Discovery Channel in 2004 and 2005.
Having joined Garmin, a team built on a strong anti-doping stance, Hesjedal is confident his sport is on the right path.
"I have seen the best and the worst of the sport and I believe that it is now in the best place it's ever been," he said.
Garmin-Sharp said they were backing their rider.
"As we have previously stated, our expectation is that anyone in our organisation contacted by any anti-doping authority must be open and honest with that authority," a team statement read.
"Ryder is no exception and a year ago when he was contacted he cooperated fully and truthfully testified to USADA and CCES (Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport).
"For this reason and because of our desire for 100 percent truth and reconciliation in the sport of cycling, we support him."
Several riders at Garmin-Sharp, including former Armstrong team mates David Zabriskie, Hesjedal, Tom Danielson, Christian Vande Velde and manager Jonathan Vaughters, have testified before USADA against the disgraced American rider.
In January, Armstrong admitted to years of using performance-enhancing substances during his career.

 

[Smallville22]

Kenny wants team sprint improvements at Manchester

Three-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny has vowed to release some anger at the Track World Cup in Manchester after a disappointing European Championship campaign in Apeldoorn.
Kenny, who won team and individual sprint gold at the London 2012 Olympics last summer, defending his title from Beijing 2008 in the former, picked up two medals in the Netherlands.
He claimed bronze in the individual sprint and silver in the keirin but was off the podium in the team sprint as the British trio of himself, Olympic gold-medal winning teammate Philip Hindes and Kian Emadi lost in the race for bronze.
They were beaten by Russia with Matt Crampton joining the three for the opening Track World Cup of the season in Manchester and vying with Emadi to take the man three place in the team sprint.
Hindes continues as man one and Kenny, who will also ride the keirin and individual sprint in Manchester, man two and he wants to put in a performance to banish the memories of the Europeans.
"I was a bit gutted to be honest. I thought we'd go better than we did," Kenny told British Cycling.
"Everyone has worked really hard on it this summer; we needed to basically after the worlds, it showed that we were a bit off the pace.
"I don't think we showed what we're really capable of at the Europeans. I think we're able to do a lot better than that. We've kind of sat down and had a meeting and hopefully we'll go better at the Manchester World Cup now.
"At the end of the day we're all training as hard as we can. We can't really worry about the physical aspect too much. We just have to make sure that we nail every ride technically.
"There was definitely some time in there for us that we can find; free time if you like just by getting it technically right. So that's what we'll be trying to do this weekend. Something a little bit different and hopefully that will pay off."

 

[Smallville22]

Reade: Racing in America will help hunt for Olympic gold

Shanaze Reade is adamant her decision to cross the pond will only help her as she hunts for BMX gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Three-time world champion and two-time Olympian Reade will be strutting her stuff on BMX's professional tour in the United States next year – the ABA BMX Series.
The 25-year-old has been given the blessing of British Cycling with the decision meaning that she steps away from their Olympic podium programme.
The move means Reade will miss the BMX World Championships taking place in Rotterdam in July.
But after twice reaching an Olympic final only to walk away empty handed on both occasions, Reade believes the change of scenery will pay dividends when she touches down in Brazil.
"Whilst I'm sad to temporarily move away from the GB cycling team, I'm also excited by the opportunity to race on the pro scene in America," she said.
"My ultimate goal is to win an Olympic gold medal, and I think my move to the ABA BMX Series will help achieve this. "I will be racing more frequently against world-class competition and I will be able to refine my technical skills in competitive race conditions.
"I'm looking forward to gaining more race experience out in America and using this in my campaign for Rio.
"British Cycling have given the decision their full backing as I continue to develop as an athlete and it is great to know I am able to return at any point in the future."

 

[Smallville22]

‘Our day will come’ says world champion James

Double world champion Becky James says Britain’s time will come in the women’s team sprint after defeat to world and Olympic champions Germany at the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester.
The British pair of James and Victoria Williamson, laughing and joking pre and post race like a couple of school mates, added silver to their European bronze medal from two weeks ago but it was a distant second.
Nevertheless James and Williamson, deputising for Jess Varnish who will compete in the individual sprint, were upbeat despite the lesson on pure speed cycling from Kristina Vogel and Miriam Welte.
“They’re the world champions and they’re flying and we don’t expect to do a time like that at the moment,” said James.
“It is a time we’ll aim for one day but they’ve ridden together for a long time now and they’re the Olympic champions, so you expect them to do a fast time like that,” she said of the Germans’ winning mark of 32.788 seconds.
“We’re in a really good place at the moment and to get a second ride at a world track championships at such a high level is really good for us.”
Jason Kenny helped the British men’s team sprint outfit to bronze by defeating New Zealand while Germany took home the gold.
However, the triple Olympic champion, alongside Philip Hines and Matt Crampton, who replaced Kian Emadi from the qualifying rounds, is used to success and would have preferred a different colour medal.
“I'm happy with a medal though I'm obviously not happy with a bronze. It would've been nice to have gold,” he told Sportsbeat.
“But we can't control what other people do and the Germans and the Russians have done really good times.
“I'm quite happy with where we're at. We've made a good step forward in terms of overall time which is what matters. That's the fastest time we've done in a very long time."
In the men’s six-event omnium Britain’s Jon Dibben slipped down to seventh place overall following the points and elimination races.
Frenchman Thomas Boudat won both the second and third events to lie fifth while leader Belgian Jasper De Buyst holds a four-point advantage over Tim Veldt of the Netherlands.

 

[Smallville22]

Britain break team pursuit world record again to win gold

Joanna Rowsell says the British women’s team pursuit speed machine will only get faster after they annihilated their own world record for a second time in one day to win gold at the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester.
Olympic golden girls Rowsell, Laura Trott and Dani King - and Elinor Barker - bettered their world record set in qualifying earlier in the day by a further four seconds, having knocked two off their best time from two weeks ago at the European Championships in the Netherlands.
And Rowsell said to watch out for further improvement after the home favourites almost lapped Canada in a thrilling display of 4:19.604 seconds around the Manchester velodrome.
"We always said we would go quicker for 4k then we went for 3k at the Olympics, it's definitely going to get quicker but I would say we are ahead of schedule," Roswell told reporters.
“Over the last few qualifications we've been nudging it that little bit harder each time. Having a team that you can see at the end obviously helps you go faster as well."
The British four were already inside their own world record pace a quarter of the way into the 4000-metre race and they had opened up a massive lead of almost three seconds by halfway.
Canada lost a rider with over 1000 metres to go and then all eyes, including those of coaches Shane Sutton and Sir Dave Brailsford, were on whether the girls could pass their helpless opponents.
The men’s quartet had earlier kicked off proceedings in perfect fashion when the Olympic and European gold medallists beat world champions Australia to put the home crowd in buoyant mood.
Led by London 2012 winners Ed Clancy and Steven Burke, with Owain Doull and Andrew Tennant completing the four, Britain edged their illustrious opponents by just over half a second with a winning time of 3:58.654.
“This is a real start for Rio now,” said Clancy. “London was a special place last year and it was awesome to perform in the capital city, but this is our home track.
“When it’s full of people like this, there’s no better place to ride.”
It was no easy triumph though, after Australia got their noses in front from the first time split and stayed ahead for the first half.
In the blink of an eye however the Britons responded, opening up a sizeable lead and extending their advantage to over a second in the closing stages.
Australia lost a rider as the relentless British four piled on the pressure to roars of delight around the velodrome to hand the home nation the first gold medal of the meet.
“Every time we race in Manchester it gives us that little boost, well a big boost today,” said Burke.
“It’s my favourite World Cup to race.”
Olympic champion King rounded off her exhausting evening with a seventh-placed finish in the 4000-metre scratch race.

 

[Smallville22]

Watch out boys, girls are coming to get you says King

Dani King says the world record-breaking British women's team pursuit want to be as fast as the men and on the evidence of the opening Track World Cup of the season her wish might just come true.
King helped clock 4:19.604 minutes around the Manchester velodrome as the home team broke their world record from qualifying in the new four-rider, 4000-metre format and that would not have been too out of place in the men's qualifying.
China's men finished last with a time of 4:19.557 at the Track World Cup and with the British quartet promising further improvement the men will have to look over their shoulder.
"We are getting closer to men’s teams in the world," said an elated King, who went straight from the gold medal pursuit run to compete in the women's 4000-metre scratch race.
"We were discussing this with the British lads before. We were sat in the riders lounge chatting and we said 'how fast do you reckon we can go?' and they were like 'you'll never get anywhere near us'.
"You know we're not going to get near the British men soon but hopefully we can learn off them, it's great to have them around. We benefit off them and hopefully we will keep getting faster and faster."
Britain's men pedalled round in 3:58.654 to land the first gold medal of the meet, so King knows the women have a long way to go.
Nevertheless the team of King, Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell and Elinor Barker provided Friday's highlight for the raucous home crowd and the team are already looking towards the future.
"We never come in expecting two world records. We just come out and think in the qualifier we need to ride to our schedule," said King.
"In the final it's about pushing the boundaries and seeing how fast we can go. It's just a bonus that we've come away with two world records."

 

[Smallville22]

British girls play catch me if you can in Manchester

Joanna Rowsell followed up her world record-breaking form at the season-opening Track World Cup by qualifying quickest for the individual pursuit as Britain's women set the standard in Manchester.
Rowsell, part of the team pursuit victory romp on Friday where the British four twice broke the world record, powered around the 3000m in 3:34.31minutes to set up a gold-medal clash against Australia's Rebecca Wiasak. Double world champion Becky James eased into the semi-finals of the individual sprint as compatriot Jess Varnish had to make do with fifth place. James, sprint and keirin winner in Minsk in February, will meet Varnish's conqueror Kristina Vogel of Germany in the last four while Olympic champion Anna Meares of Australia, racing for factory team Jayco, faces off against Hong Kong's Wai Sze Lee. Olympic omnium champion Laura Trott got underway in the multi-discipline event with a solid start to lie seventh overall after the flying lap and points race. France's Laurie Berthon leads from Canadian Gillian Carleton. Trott's fellow London 2012 gold medalist, Jason Kenny, kept up his fine year in the keirin as the world champion progressed smoothly into the second round. In the men's individual pursuit Andrew Tennant was beaten by Tom Bohli in a frantic contest where the Swiss scorched off at world-record pace. Despite the home rider's best efforts, Bohli held on for a place in the bronze-medal battle against Spain's Sebastian Mora Vedri while Italian Marco Coledan will meet Alexander Serov of Russia in the final. Jon Dibben stayed seventh in the men's omnium with one race remaining as Belgian Jasper De Buyst kept his nose ahead of Dutchman Tim Veldt and world champion Aaron Gate of New Zealand, who was felled in a multi-rider pile up in the scratch race.

 

[Smallville22]

Golden Brits will have work cut out to repeat success at worlds, says Rowsell

Olympic gold medallist and crowd favourite Joanna Rowsell has warned her teammates that Britain's track leaders face a stiff task to defend their titles at next year's world championships.
Rowsell was again in imperious form in the individual pursuit after Friday's world record-breaking run in the team discipline, beating Australian Rebecca Wiasak by almost two seconds for first place in the evening's first final. Moments later and the home crowd's bubble was burst however when double world champion Becky James was upset in the individual sprint by Germany's Kristina Vogel. "We've got a lot more to come in this track season, we're going to have our work cut out at the World Championships next year," said Rowsell. "We've really set the standard here so everyone knows what to aim for. We're going to have our work cut out but bring it on." Rowsell built up a sizeable lead from the off and finished in 3:34.904minutes to kick the evening off in perfect fashion. If it looked easy, it certainly wasn't. After winning her first national time-trial title in June, Rowsell broke her collarbone in August and said the road to recovery had been a very long one. "This weekend was better than I ever could have imagined. I won the national title and then after that it was disaster after disaster, setback after setback. "I'm so pleased I managed to get some fitness to come here and win two gold medals, I'm absolutely over the moon." Scot Kate Archibald, fresh from winning silver in last night's scratch race and making a successful track debut at the European championships with the all-conquering British pursuit team, got the crowd going for Rowsell when she won bronze. Riding for a Scottish registered team rather than Team GB, Archibald clawed back a deficit of almost two seconds to beat Poland's Eugenia Bujak to the final podium spot. "Everyone loves an underdog," Archibald, her hair died pink, joked to reporters when asked who she would prefer to race for out of Britain and Scotland. There was less smiling by speed queen James after her lacklustre defeat at the hands of Vogel, revenge for the German who was beaten to World Championship gold by the Briton in February in Minsk. Vogel powered around James as the bell sounded to signal one lap to go and with the wind in her sails there was no stopping her charge to the line, a grimace from the home favourite on the back straight signalling defeat in the first race. The German was again too good for James in the second race to quieten the home crowd, in jubilant mood after Rowsell's storming performance. Hong Kong speedster Wai Sze Lee, bronze medallist at the World Championships in Minsk in February, underlined her potential when she beat Olympic champion Anna Meares two-nil to set up the final with Vogel.

 

[Smallville22]

Passenger Kenny says he needs to get with the times after keirin flop

World keirin champion Jason Kenny said the speed generated in cycling's fastest discipline caught him cold at the season-opening Track World Cup as the three-times Olympic gold medallist left the Manchester velodrome empty-handed.
Kenny stayed back in the hope he would rocket past his five opponents but the charge never came and France's Francois Pervis took home the gold. German Maximilian Levy, riding for factory team Erdgas, bagged the silver while Venezuela's Hersony Canelon sprang a surprise to finish third, much to Kenny's dismay.
"The pace was really high. The keirin has changed a little bit recently, it seems to be getting a really high pace," said Kenny.
"After a lap and a half people are going and not looking back. I was near the back and it was always going to be difficult. I had to time it perfectly and I didn't." Kenny had roared with approval and punched the air in delight after booking his place in the final. Following what was supposed to be another win for the talented Briton, he wanted to put his fist in his own mouth after making a hash of the gold medal shootout. "I never got into it. I was just a passenger following wheels," he added. "I had a few tiny opportunities and I just didn't take them."
Future track hope Owain Doull put on a madcap dash to the line in the final stages of the 30-kilometre points race to try and get on the podium but the Welsh youngster narrowly missed out, Italian Elia Viviani clinching third. Ireland's Martyn Irvine pipped Olympic omnium champion Lasse Norman Hansen of Denmark to the gold medal with Tour of Britain first stage winner Viviani completing the top three. Belgian Jasper De Buyst edged Dutchman Tim Veldt to the omnium honours after the six-race battle while British hope Jon Dibben improved from seventh to fifth in the last event. Despite the men's failure to add any medals to Britain's tally the hosts stayed in front on the table with three golds, one silver and two bronzes. Olympic omnium champion Laura Trott could add to that on Sunday after she moved up to sixth overall at the halfway stage with a second place in the elimination race to give the crowd something to cheer as the evening session came to a close.

 

[Smallville22]

Spectacular Trott on for omnium gold as Kenny's sprint hopes dashed

Olympic omnium champion Laura Trott underlined her all-round quality in the six-race event with a sparkling performance at the season-opening Track World Cup to put herself in pole position for gold at the Manchester velodrome.
Trott started the day with a superb individual pursuit ride of 3:34.293 minutes, faster than compatriot and Saturday's individual pursuit winner and national time-trial champion Joanna Rowsell, to top the standings having been sixth overnight. The world record-breaking speedster, who had teamed up with Rowsell in Friday's team pursuit to twice break their own world best, then pulverised the field in the 40-lap scratch race. The 21-year-old stormed off in the penultimate event to whoops of delight from the home crowd and caught her competitors just over ten laps into the race, before swooping around the outside on the final stretch to take the overall lead with the 500-metre time-trial to come later. Trott heads the standings on 18 points, with Canadian Gillian Carleton on 21 and Jolien D'Hoore of Belgium in third also on 21. She saluted the crowd and even high-fived a few lucky front-row spectators as she celebrated her superb scratch race tactics. Olympic sprint champion Jason Kenny had less to cheer about when he exited at the qualifying stage, though compatriot Matt Crampton made the semi-finals and will take on Trinidad's Njisane Nicholas Phillip in the last four. Kenny finished 24th out of 41 riders to miss the top 16 and round off a disappointing weekend, after the world keirin champion could only muster fourth in cycling's fastest event. World keirin champion Becky James has a chance to make up for the disappointment of sprint bronze when she goes in the first of two second-round heats against Australian powerhouse Anna Meares and Hong Kong's Wai Sze Lee, the top three qualifying for the final. Owain Doull in the men's scratch race final and Elinor Barker in the women's points race will also have a chance to bring down the curtain on another successful weekend for British track cycling.

 

[Smallville22]

Crampton: Manchester World Cup bigger than World Championships

British cyclist Matthew Crampton believes the World Cup in Manchester is a bigger event than the World Championships for him after finishing fourth in the men's sprint.
Triple Olympic Champion Jason Kenny failed to make it through qualifying in the event which left Crampton carrying the hopes of the British crowd.
And Crampton spoke of the significance of the Manchester event to him despite losing 2-0 to Australian Shane Perkins in the bronze medal race.
"The world cup in Manchester or any event in Manchester is bigger than the worlds and the bigger championships because it's always packed," said Crampton. "I'm from Manchester. I am Manchester. I love this track.
In the first bronze medal race Crampton took it on with over a lap remaining but failed to stop Perkins coming around the outside to take the win.
Crampton tried different tactics in the second race, opting to take a height approach, but it was to no avail.
Although he is hopeful he can go one better next year and make it onto the international podium.
"Hopefully things will start clicking into place," he said. "We're in a good training block so I think there is a bit more to come."
Meanwhile in the men's scratch race, Welshman Jon Mould claimed bronze as Britain's Owain Doull finished outside the medals.

 

[Smallville22]

Brailsford: World Cup disappointment will be good for Kenny

Sir David Brailsford believes Jason Kenny's World Cup disappointment will serve as a valuable ****-up call that nothing can be taken for granted.
The Olympic and former world sprint champion failed to come through qualifying in Manchester but Brailsford insists he will bounce back stronger for the embarrassing experience in front of his home crowd, friends and ******.
"You have to earn your place on merit and you don't get a free ride because you are an Olympic champion," he said, after Kenny only ranked 24th out of 41 in qualifying.
"Sport is a cruel thing, it's hard, it's got no emotion and it will catch you out if you don't do the hard work, as we have seen.
"Reputations don't matter. It is a reminder of all the absolute graft that has to go into getting what you need and that you have to earn your place. He has to get his head down and graft."
But Brailsford insisted he likes where Britain's new look track cycling team - under the guidance of Shane Sutton - are at the start of a long season that will culminate at next year's World Championships in Cali, Colombia.
They won four golds in Manchester, only Germany claimed more, and top the current World Cup rankings when their overall standings in each event are calculated.
"I see more of a bigger picture in terms of where this weekend figures for Rio and the general build up," he added.
"I would say this Olympic cycle has started quite differently from maybe previously. We've got a young group, very dynamic and eager riders who are on a voyage of discovery.
"The average age has dropped quite significantly and think the performances I have seen here are really good, really creditable but equally there is enough there to keep people on their toes.
"Success breeds success and failure can be a catalyst to success but mediocre gives you mediocre - you want one or the other really.
"Jason not qualifying here I think's a good thing personally. It will be a bitter pill for him to swallow but it will **** him up and they are the important things at this stage of the Olympic cycle.
"So, as an overview, generally I'm happy and it's given a benchmark where the work needs to be done."

 

[Smallville22]

Trott channels inner ***** for omnium World Cup win

Laura Trott channelled her inner ***** and 'floored it' to come from behind and claim omnium gold at the season opening Track World Cup in Manchester.
Trott started the day in sixth but a second-place finish in the individual pursuit followed by a fine victory in the scratch race meant she was in pole position going into the final stage.
She managed to gain an early lap in the scratch that gave her the momentum for victory – something she has never managed before.
"I've taken a lap in the points but never in the scratch," said Trott. "When you're a *** and you race nationals you race like that you just think sod it and just go sort of thing.
"Normally in the omnium you're just sitting back racing the people who are in the top six but I was never going to win the omnium by doing that so my coach was just like 'go for it, floor it'."
Trott was pushed close by Canadian Gillian Carleton but managed to seal victory against her opponent in the 500m time trial.
However, it was the scratch that gave Trott the momentum to pull through.
"I'm normally terrible at the scratch aren't I? But I didn't really have a choice to be honest," she added.
"I went into the race six points down and I was really on the back foot; my coach said to me I've got to at least try and win."
"I just thought this is my chance I'm not going to get another chance like that so I just thought I'd take it and if I didn't get the lap I didn't get it, at least I tried but I mean I did get it and it paid off."
Meanwhile Elinor Barker was unable to follow up her world record-breaking stint in the women's team pursuit on Friday evening as she finished well down the field in the 20km points race.
Laura Brown of Canada came home first ahead of American Elizabeth Newell while Hong Kong’s Wan Yiu Wong completed the podium.

 

[Smallville22]

Former dopers should come clean, says UCI boss

Riders and managers who have been involved in past doping practices have been urged to come forward by International Cycling Union (UCI) president Brian Cookson so that the sport can draw a line under its troubled reputation.
Reacting to former rider Michael Rasmussen's series of allegations in a book published on Monday, Cookson told Reuters in an email: "All such allegations and confessions will be looked at by the new Independent Commission and we would urge anyone concerned to bring forward their information to the Commission."
Dane Rasmussen was kicked out of his Rabobank team, while he was leading the Tour de France in 2007, for lying about his whereabouts to doping authorities.
Following allegations made by Rasmussen in the book, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, winner of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, admitted to doping "more than 10 years ago" last Wednesday.
Other former riders and team doctors were also accused of engaging in doping practices until 2007 by Rasmussen in the book 'Gul Feber' (Yellow Fever).
Last week, the UCI said it would audit its own anti-doping operations in the **** of the Lance Armstrong scandal.
Its management committee agreed on "the broad principles under which it intends to move forward with the implementation of an independent commission which will look into allegations of past wrongdoing at the UCI and the extent and roots of doping in cycling."

 

[Smallville22]

Sutton: We're taking our time on the road to Rio

Shane Sutton believes that British Cycling needs to let their young track stars slow down and develop after an impressive performance at the World Cup in Manchester.
The women’s pursuit team, comprised of Laura Trott, Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Elinor Barker, broke the world record twice on the way to a gold medal, with double track world champion Becky James, 21, taking silver in the keirin.
Trott, 21, won the omnium with 24-year-old Rowsell beating off the competition to claim the individual pursuit title at the National Cycling centre.
But head coach Shane Sutton though thinks it is time to let the talented bunch of riders pause after a dizzying rise to the top of the cycling world, especially following the retirement of old and experienced hands like Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton.
“This Olympic cycle we've attacked it totally differently because we went pretty full-on in the first worlds after London 2012, because we've got young talent,” he said.
“That talent rose to the top very quickly in Minsk [in February], to a point now where we've got to take them back a little bit, develop them and make them understand what it's going to take to win even bigger in the fuutre and the Olympics is the biggest of the lot.”
Another new prospect is 20-year-old Scottish rider Katie Archibald, who claimed a surprise bronze in the individual pursuit, which performance director Sir Dave Brailsford put down to the improvements in the British Cycling system.
“The average age of the team has decreased quite dramatically over the years, which is probably a function of the work being done lower down, bringing the talent through quicker,” he said.
“One thing that has happened is that the time it takes to get to the podium has come down considerably. We used to work on an eight-year period to get them onto the podium, now that's come down to a single Olympic cycle.
"There isn't a single blueprint for success, you've got to change every time you find yourself in a new situation. It's that adaptability that's important. If we started doing what we did after Athens or Beijing, it wouldn't work.
"As long as you make sure you've got that quest for continuous improvement, the rest of it will look after itself.
Despite having not focussed on the Commonwealth Games in 2010, with top riders instead competing at that year's European Championships, Brailsford thinks the timing of next year's event is ideal.
“For Glasgow it makes absolute sense for the age and experience of this group to go there and take it very seriously,” he added.
“We can use this as great experience for the youngsters to experience what it's like to try to hit a peak in the middle summer, rather than March.
"We'll be taking all of those elements into the Commonwealth Games.”