The Olympic road race,why so dissapointing?

[Kudoscycles]

I think that after the Tour de France success there was too much expectations from team GB,both from their fellow competitors and the public.
The other competitors in the Peleton seemed happy to let Stannard and Wiggins do all the work,it was obvious at times that Stannard was looking to other teams to share the head of the peleton,but none came forward.whether that was because they thought the brits were so good or an attitude 'if you are so good deal with it!'
Some members of the Peleton were riding so negatively that at times it appeared that they were happy to see the group fail even to their own detriment.In contrast the breakaway group were performing as a group of 20,at least until the last few kms.
The brits were I suspect still tired and passed their peak after the Tour and that limited their strength to respond to the breakaway,especially on the last 2 box hill climbs
They underestimated the strength of some of the riders in the breakaway.
However,in hindsight not sure they could have done much about it. It may have been better to have let Cavendish join the breakaway group and hope that others carried him up the hills,but easily said in hindsight.
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[eddieo]

have been busy today sorting out van for holiday early next week..feeling worn out, so I thought i would have a look at the cycling, I never bothered recording it, but was surprised when about 20 BBC channels with every sport you can imagine....but cycling.

 

[indalo]

Yes Dave, it's easy to come up now with some "if only" and "what if" scenarios but one wonders about the psychological disposition of the team following that TDF win and the media hype since, which raised expectations to the level where it seemed Team GB only had to turn up and the gold medal was a done deal.

Perfect cycling conditions on the day; home course....sounds like a guaranteed podium finish so what went wrong? We'll never know for sure but TDF excepted, our sporting superstars have tripped up on a couple or three big occasions lately. Our "best in the world" cricket side were soundly thrashed by SA just a few days ago; our footballers couldn't cut the mustard at the Euros and our No 1 tennis player failed once again to rise to the big occasion. Oh, I almost forgot! Although we have the top 2 golfers in the world rankings, all our guys failed to deal with the course at Lytham, yet a couple of colonials came in and showed how it's done.

I do wonder sometimes if our problem is simply a lack of desire to be the very best. Maybe we'll go on to win a sackload of medals at these games but some of our sportsmen seem to me to content themselves with being big fish in a small pool. Perhaps if they got paid by results, thinking in particular here of footballers and tennis pros, rather than becoming instant millionaires after winning a few non-events that the top guys don't bother attending or don't put out their strongest side, (Carling cup, for example) due to the idiotic sponsorship deals in place for football and tennis, there would be greater desire shown.

I think Danny Boyle deserves a gold medal but I suspect he might end up with Knighthood at some future date.

Indalo

 

[Kudoscycles]

have been busy today sorting out van for holiday early next week..feeling worn out, so I thought i would have a look at the cycling, I never bothered recording it, but was surprised when about 20 BBC channels with every sport you can imagine....but cycling.

.
Eddie,the whole race was on Sky-BBC 101,press the red button to get the Olympics channels.

 

[geostorm]

Dave agreed with everything you had to say, my own thought added for what its worth was we should have prepared for what goes, and have made sacrifice of Cav. by sending a rider maybe David Miller or Chris.Froome into the breakaway to join but lets not take anything away from them they were under a lot of pressure, and tired after there victory from winning the Tour 2 weeks ago ,never underestimate the opposition, dont lets forget these are all world class riders on a buzz to win for there country not just there team .

 

[Kudoscycles]

Yes Dave, it's easy to come up now with some "if only" and "what if" scenarios but one wonders about the psychological disposition of the team following that TDF win and the media hype since, which raised expectations to the level where it seemed Team GB only had to turn up and the gold medal was a done deal.

Perfect cycling conditions on the day; home course....sounds like a guaranteed podium finish so what went wrong? We'll never know for sure but TDF excepted, our sporting superstars have tripped up on a couple or three big occasions lately. Our "best in the world" cricket side were soundly thrashed by SA just a few days ago; our footballers couldn't cut the mustard at the Euros and our No 1 tennis player failed once again to rise to the big occasion. Oh, I almost forgot! Although we have the top 2 golfers in the world rankings, all our guys failed to deal with the course at Lytham, yet a couple of colonials came in and showed how it's done.

I do wonder sometimes if our problem is simply a lack of desire to be the very best. Maybe we'll go on to win a sackload of medals at these games but some of our sportsmen seem to me to content themselves with being big fish in a small pool. Perhaps if they got paid by results, thinking in particular here of footballers and tennis pros, rather than becoming instant millionaires after winning a few non-events that the top guys don't bother attending or don't put out their strongest side, (Carling cup, for example) due to the idiotic sponsorship deals in place for football and tennis, there would be greater desire shown.

I think Danny Boyle deserves a gold medal but I suspect he might end up with Knighthood at some future date.

Indalo

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Indalo,sometimes we seem to be so desperate to have top sportsmen that we put them under such pressure that it is hard to live up to the pinnacle that we put them on,the likes of Henman and Murray classic examples. I feel sorry for Jessica Ennis and Rebecca Addlington,they must be frightened to win anything other than gold.
I enjoyed watching the opening ceremony, a bit uncertain as to what the rest of the world made of it all,especially our industrial heritage and the NHS,it was very brave of Danny Boyle I bet he fought some battles with the old school members of the Olympic commitee but we couldn't hope to upstage the thousands of perfect human robots that Beijing did so dramatically.Maybe our ceremony will change the direction of these ceremonies and make Rio look towards its roots.
There were some things that spoilt it a bit for me-
Does anyone know why every announcement has to be in french before english,what have the french got to do with our games-why not in spanish/russian/mandarin. Can you imagine that if the games were given to Paris then every announcement would have in english followed by french? nil points!
Why do we keep wheeling out old McCartney,he can't sing anymore and am I the only one who thinks that Hey Jude is past its sell by date-thank goodness he stopped singing and let the audience take over,Adele or Robbie Williams/Take That would have done a much better job and been more in the spirit of looking forwards rather than backwards.
Why did the queen look so miserable,she never smiled once?
Dave
Kudoscycles

 

[flecc]

I confidentally forecast days ago that the Sky team would lose the road race when I remarked that I thought they were bonkers to think Mark Cavendish could win it. Great sprinter though he is, he simply cannot climb and with nine ascents of Box Hill there was no chance. In one Tour de France climb stage the team had to drop him off since he was holding them up and he finished in position 142 that day. The notion of trying to get him a compensatory Olympic medal was kind, but illustrates that sympathy and emotion has no place in modern sport, it's ruthless.

 

[flecc]

.
Does anyone know why every announcement has to be in french before english,what have the french got to do with our games-why not in spanish/russian/mandarin.

French is the international language of diplomacy and the intermediate language of translation at such places as the United Nations. It's also second only to English as being a second language. As such it makes sense to use that as well for the widest international understanding, but putting it first may have been an act of kindness after Paris lost the Olympic bid to London.

 

[geostorm]

Dave it was past her bed time,and guess all the excitement of being with James Bond and jumping out of helicopter, was too much even for her Majesty .......Do you think that's what amused Charles ?

 

[bode]

I think it may be the official language of the IOC too; certainly Jacques Rogge is a Francophone!

 

[indalo]

.
Why do we keep wheeling out old McCartney,he can't sing anymore and am I the only one who thinks that Hey Jude is past its sell by date-thank goodness he stopped singing and let the audience take over,Adele or Robbie Williams/Take That would have done a much better job and been more in the spirit of looking forwards rather than backwards.
Why did the queen look so miserable,she never smiled once?
Dave
Kudoscycles

I had a great afternoon and evening in Hyde Park recently watching Springsteen and various support acts, all top, top musicians. Right at the very last knockings, Springsteen invited McCartney on to the stage and they duetted a couple or three old Beatles' numbers. That was the only thing that spoiled the show for me so I agree wholly with your comments Dave.

As for HM, I don't think I've ever heard her sing and most of the occasion was probably way past her bedtime plus she had to sit next to that old fart, the DoE all evening so I'm not surprised she didn't find much to smile about.

Indalo

 

[smudger1956]

I think that after the Tour de France success there was too much expectations from team GB,both from their fellow competitors and the public.
The other competitors in the Peleton seemed happy to let Stannard and Wiggins do all the work,it was obvious at times that Stannard was looking to other teams to share the head of the peleton,but none came forward.whether that was because they thought the brits were so good or an attitude 'if you are so good deal with it!'
Some members of the Peleton were riding so negatively that at times it appeared that they were happy to see the group fail even to their own detriment.In contrast the breakaway group were performing as a group of 20,at least until the last few kms.
The brits were I suspect still tired and passed their peak after the Tour and that limited their strength to respond to the breakaway,especially on the last 2 box hill climbs
They underestimated the strength of some of the riders in the breakaway.
However,in hindsight not sure they could have done much about it. It may have been better to have let Cavendish join the breakaway group and hope that others carried him up the hills,but easily said in hindsight.
Dave
Kudoscycles

In a few words...'Don't believe your own hype'

 

[flecc]

I think it may be the official language of the IOC too; certainly Jacques Rogge is a Francophone!

Indeed, and it was a young Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin who began the revival of the Olympic Games some 1500 years after the original.

 

[Cyclezee]

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Eddie,the whole race was on Sky-BBC 101,press the red button to get the Olympics channels.

All 24 BBC Olympic channels are on Freesat, no need to press the red button..........or subscribe to SKY

 

[flecc]

All 24 BBC Olympic channels are on Freesat, no need to press the red button..........or subscribe to SKY

Yes, I've got Freesat and Freeview, and an off button thank goodness!

 

[GaRRy]

nope its simpler than that the modern olympics was started by a frenchman so french is always used.

 

[funkylyn]

.

Why do we keep wheeling out old McCartney,he can't sing anymore and am I the only one who thinks that Hey Jude is past its sell by date-thank goodness he stopped singing and let the audience take over,Adele or Robbie Williams/Take That would have done a much better job and been more in the spirit of looking forwards rather than backwards.
Why did the queen look so miserable,she never smiled once?
Dave
Kudoscycles

I have to agree Dave, McCartney absolutely murdered that song , the sound system was out as well and the whole hey jude thing was a total embarrassment, the only real downer of the whole opening ceremony which was SO impressive, though most of the world wouldnt probably 'get it' !

And yes, Adele or Take That/Robbie would have been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better !

However, oh come on, please dont criticise the queen...I think what she did taking part in that 007 spoof was amazing and shows what a good sport she can be, the corgis were fantastic lol , the only thing that would have improved it all would have been if she actually HAD parachuted in....but maybe that would have been a step too far LOL

And the cycling 'doves' spectacle was wonderful....

Lynda

 

[NRG]

Very disappointed with the road race today, I think the tactics where so wrong...a very long 250Km stage which the 'team' tried to cover with just 4 riders was never going to pan out like the TDF. Wrong tactics, fatigue maybe, a bit too much confidence in their own ability and the inability to close down the early brake-away group cost then dearly. What also surprised me was the German team lack of ambition to assist and attack..shot themselves in the foot as they where in the same position unable to attack the leading group.

Hope this doe not set a president for the rest of the games! The swimming and archery where none too impressive either today...

 

[eddieo]

French is the international language of diplomacy and the intermediate language of translation at such places as the United Nations. It's also second only to English as being a second language. As such it makes sense to use that as well for the widest international understanding, but putting it first may have been an act of kindness after Paris lost the Olympic bid to London.

Should it not be Spanish

 

[flecc]

Should it not be Spanish

Because Spanish is so widely a first language it might seem that way Eddie, but according to various authorities it is French and English for the widest understanding. It's because French is the most common second language throughout the world as well as being widely spoken as a first language.

However, as I said above and Garry agreed, the modern Olympics are French in origin so French it is, whether Pedro, Manuel and Homer Simpson like it or not.