Tribute to Dave Brailsford

[VanessaVV]

Big respect to Dave Brailsford, Performance Director of British Cycling. The GB cycle teams were spectacular to watch in the London 2012 Olympics!! This is a video tribute of him - Dave Brailsford: To Sir With Love: 2012 Olympics. I hope you like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9iAySzemow

 

[Forunculo]

Fully deserved, although I have my doubt about the whole team, he developed every rider he has.

 

[hrotha]

Orange alert, orange alert. Highly flammable thread. All hands on deck.

 

[VanessaVV]

Orange alert, orange alert. Highly flammable thread. All hands on deck.

Flammable why?

 

[superconfex]

Flammable why?

because our learned friend hrotha is a non-believer

 

[The Cobra]

Dave Brailsford = Living legend.

He's taken British cycling from literally nothing, a joke on the international stage to the number one nation in the world. That is mightily impressive and he deserves a lot of praise.

 

[Christian]

Brad Pitt to play Dave Brailsford in upcoming movie?

 

[will10]

OK so chances of this thread surviving in this section?

 

[Fearless Greg Lemond]

Does anyone have any background information on this GB LEGEND - even bigger tha Usain off course - for what he did before British Cycling?

And yes, the man deserves a big statue!

 

[ferryman]

Dave Brailsford = Living legend.

He's taken British cycling from literally nothing, a joke on the international stage to the number one nation in the world. That is mightily impressive and he deserves a lot of praise.

Really. Can you tell me one thing Brailsford has done to take British cycling to the number one nation on the road other than open Sky's cheque book? Cavendish/Wiggins/Froome are not of his making. Am I missing anyone?

 

[Mr Pumpy]

Really. Can you tell me one thing Brailsford has done to take British cycling to the number one nation on the road other than open Sky's cheque book? Cavendish/Wiggins/Froome are not of his making. Am I missing anyone?

I don't think British cycling is number one on the road.Cav is a bit of an anomaly and so are Wiggins and Froome. Wiggins tour win will most likely be his first and last.

Now the track is a different matter, and of course it is Lottery funding that brought this about.

 

[simo1733]

I don't think British cycling is number one on the road.Cav is a bit of an anomaly and so are Wiggins and Froome. Wiggins tour win will most likely be his first and last.

Now the track is a different matter, and of course it is Lottery funding that brought this about.

It goes hand in hand.You don't get big money from the Lottery unless you are producing medals and have a viable plan to produce more.

 

[BroDeal]

Really. Can you tell me one thing Brailsford has done to take British cycling to the number one nation on the road other than open Sky's cheque book? Cavendish/Wiggins/Froome are not of his making. Am I missing anyone?

Get back to us when you have won eleven Tours like the U.S. or twelve like Spain.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Still here???

 

[Mr Pumpy]

It goes hand in hand.You don't get big money from the Lottery unless you are producing medals and have a viable plan to produce more.

Not quite clear what you are saying goes in hand with what. Road with track? Well yes, there is a big overlap in so far as the same guy organises Team GB and Team Sky, but I daresay the finances are very distinct.

The clearest example of effect of funding, or the lack of it, is possibly USA track cyclist, Jimmy Watkins. The guy is a full time fireman. How can he ever be able to commit himself in the way that fully salaried riders can?

There are clear examples in other sports where pouring money into a team brings swift results...look at the sudden rise of Manchester City in the English football league. Top sportsmen are expensive, but so are top managers, top trainers, physios and doctors and all the other staff.

 

[Mr Pumpy]

Get back to us when you have won eleven Tours like the U.S..

I'm going to predict the future and say that the US won three.

 

[sartoris]

Who is Dave Brailsford?

 

[Mr Pumpy]

It goes hand in hand.You don't get big money from the Lottery unless you are producing medals and have a viable plan to produce more.

Incidentally, Lottery funding to cycling started in 1996. There were no track medals. There were two GB bronze medals, TT and road race.

 

[will10]

Incidentally, Lottery funding to cycling started in 1996. There were no track medals. There were two GB bronze medals, TT and road race.

Lottery funding for Olympic athletes didn't come in until post-Atlanta.

 

[Ripper]

OK so chances of this thread surviving in this section?

And yet it has survived so far!

You know, there are marginal gains that Sky has no doubt perfected that require more work in the, umm ... lab

 

[VanessaVV]

Incidentally, Lottery funding to cycling started in 1996.

Lottery for all sports started in 1996 and was divided by country - Sport England, Sport Scotland... . Elite sport (developing champion winning athletes) was only set up as a separate funded entity in 1999 - as described in the 2009 House of Commons paper - The National Lottery, The First 15 Years, pg.14.

"UK Sport (formerly the Sports Council of Great Britain) is the UK Government’s non-departmental agency responsible for directing elite sport. While the body has existed as UK Sport since it was established by Royal Charter in 1996, it only started to receive Lottery support in 1999 when the Labour Government decided to redirect an equal proportion of funding from each of the UK’s national sports bodies."

 

[Mr Pumpy]

Lottery funding for Olympic athletes didn't come in until post-Atlanta.

Yes. 1996 as I stated.

The point I was making was that the funding came in the context of very few medals (only two in cycling, neither of which were from the track), not as I think Simo was saying as a result of previous success.

 

[Mr Pumpy]

Lottery for all sports started in 1996 and was divided by country - Sport England, Sport Scotland... . Elite sport (developing champion winning athletes) was only set up as a separate funded entity in 1999 - as described in the 2009 House of Commons paper - The National Lottery, The First 15 Years, pg.14.

"UK Sport (formerly the Sports Council of Great Britain) is the UK Government’s non-departmental agency responsible for directing elite sport. While the body has existed as UK Sport since it was established by Royal Charter in 1996, it only started to receive Lottery support in 1999 when the Labour Government decided to redirect an equal proportion of funding from each of the UK’s national sports bodies."

This is true. The big money (£2.5m for British cycling) was fed in january 1998, but there had been some interim funding prior to that, as well as a requirement to an action plan to be presented with bids.

Referring back to the OP, and funding, prior to the first inkling of Lottery money, British cycling fed was in a terrible state, on the point of collapse. It was the work of Peter Keen that laid the foundations for the success that has been enjoyed these last few years.

 

[oldcrank]

Big respect to Dave Brailsford, Performance Director of British Cycling. The GB cycle teams were spectacular to watch in the London 2012 Olympics!! This is a video tribute of him - Dave Brailsford: To Sir With Love: 2012 Olympics. I hope you like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9iAySzemow

Lovely tribute VanessaVV, my friend.

If now is the time for Sir Dave to back away from the
track program and concentrate on Team SKY and the
road, I think British Cycling could do much worse than
installing Sir Christopher Andrew Hoy MBE as the head
of the track program.

Chris has certainly been a huge part of the program
for more than a decade, and obviously commands
the respect of athletes, coaches, sponsors and
officials. I am not sure of what qualifications are
required but Sir Chris does have a B. Sc. (Hons.)
in Applied Sports Science, according to Wikipedia,
but his biggest asset is his knowledge of the
program and all the players, and as already noted
the universal respect he receives from everyone
in the sporting world.

Maybe not a long term position for Chris, but with
the Rio Olympics only 2 1/2 years away a decision
should be made quickly by British Cycling to install
someone that is committed to continuing Britain's
Olympic successes on the velodrome.

Of course, it is unlikely that Britain can continue
the level of domination that we witnessed in 2008
and 2012, so anyone who takes on the task runs
the risk of being branded a failure.