Track Cycling at the 2024 Olympics

[awavey]

A lot of soul searching among UK media about GB's performances, which strikes me as very "I care about cycling every four years".

The years of dominance have been gone since, like, 2016. Especially among the men, the field is much more competitive than it was 2004-2016 and the generational talents (Ganna, Valente, Lavreysen) are elsewhere. The track set-up is still excellent, it's just harder to win golds than it was a decade ago.

It's a weird one because the media are making it seem like there was no success, yet they achieved medals in 2/3rds of the cycling events. Met the target they were set. Some of these riders like Finucane are so young, at their first Olympics too, they could easily be the dominant riders of the sport come LA28.

I'm sure had Katie Archibald been there we'd have seen more medals converted to golds. And it might have freed up that 4th spot on the road team and got Pfeiffer a medal.

Some events felt disappointing but I think if you listened to those athletes post event, they often spoke of just being there, not competing to win, and it's the media created thing of every event is a gold medal chance and it's not that easy.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

In the absence of a General News thread in the Track section, and on the basis that he was not insignificant in the Paris Olympics, I'll put this here:

Matt Richardson: Australian Olympian joins Great Britain cycling team

Track cyclist Matt Richardson, who won three medals for Australia at the Paris Olympics, switches nationality and will now represent Great Britain.

www.bbc.co.uk

He was born in Kent, but moved when he was 9. He doesn't add his two silvers and a bronze to the GBR tally, but gives Lavreysen a different colour kit to beat in finals.

It'll probably be more successful that Shane Perkins going off to Russia anyway.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I saw another article on Richardson's move:
- Says he's been wanting to make the switch for years but made the final decision last December
- In a relationship with Finucane, " nice to know that we don’t have to do long distance any more"
- Due to regulations around the change he won't be riding for GB at this year's Worlds or next Feb's Euros yet

link (paywall)

snippet:

“It had been in the back of my mind for many years. Holding dual citizenship, it’s always been a possibility,” he says. “If it was going to happen, it had to be after these Games. Now is the right time for me, the right time in terms of my sport, that’s why I went for it.”

The decision came as a shock to the world of cycling. In the velodrome in Paris, Richardson was one of the outstanding performers, narrowly beaten in both the individual sprint and the keirin by the peerless Harrie Lavreysen, of the Netherlands, and adding a bronze in the team sprint.

He is still only 25, two years younger than Lavreysen, and wants to beat the Dutch rider to the top step of the podium at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028; he thinks he stands a better chance of doing that with Team GB.

The move was also made more straightforward by his relationship with Emma Finucane, the new star of British track cycling. Finucane, 21, became the first British woman to win three medals at a single Olympics since Mary Rand in 1964, claiming gold in the team sprint and bronze in both the individual sprint and keirin. “It’s just nice to know that we don’t have to do long distance any more,” Richardson says. “I can actually drive to go and see her, rather than fly half the way across the world.”

Richardson was born in Maidstone, Kent, emigrating to Australia at the age of nine when his father earned a promotion in his job with Ikea that meant relocating to live in Perth. “It was only me, my mum, dad and sister that moved, so I’ve got way more family over here in the UK than I do in Australia,” he says. “I’m leaving Mum and Dad in Australia, but I’d already moved to Adelaide, which is a long way from Perth, so it’s not going to be that different. I was born and bred here… there’s always been that emotional connection.

“I grew up watching Chris Hoy race on the TV. He was my idol at the time; that really sticks with a young lad. Whenever I’ve raced in the UK, whether it’s the Commonwealth Games or the Track Champions League, it felt as though I was racing in front of a home crowd, with a lot of family there supporting me. It made me think: what would this feel like if I was racing for Great Britain? That’s something I want to find out — I want to chase that feeling, and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity now.”

The process of shifting nationalities has taken its time and it came as a relief to Richardson when the news was finally announced. He made the decision in December and had the unusual experience during the Olympics of knowing, without being able to tell his Australia team-mates, that he was racing with them for the final time.

“I’d packed up everything in Australia before the Olympics, which was quite a stressful thing to do while also preparing for the Games,” he says. “But I knew I needed to get it done, so that when I left for the Games there was no turning back. I could begin the next chapter as early as possible and I wouldn’t have to fly back to Australia to sort things out. Switching nationality was a difficult decision and not one I took lightly — it was a personal choice, made after careful consideration of my career and future.”

To be carrying such a weighty secret during the Olympics might have proved a distraction to some, but Richardson maintained his focus. “It actually helped to motivate me,” he says. “I knew this was the last time I was going to race for Australia and I needed to make the most of it.

“It was the end of an era and I wanted to do the absolute best I could for Australia, who have put a lot of time and resources into me. I remember walking up the stairs to the track for the keirin final and thinking, ‘This is the last time I’m going to race for Australia.’ It was a strange feeling, but it was fun at the same time.”