Wednesday, August 20

olympic velodrome racing


No, not a horror movie; velodrome is fixed gear bike racing. Solo, duel (as in duelling called "keirin") and in teams. Chris Hoy of Scotland has won 3 golds this Olympics, more than any Briton has hauled in at one Games for over 100 years. The facilities available in Scotland are abysmal (and outdoor) but still produce champs. As one commentator says, "imagine if there was only 1 pool in the country to train in...and that was outdoors." Fixed gear bikes have become more popular with the public in USA too though i havent heard a peep about Chris Hoy on the American tv. The group sprint has a motorcycle as pacer and no brakes=big crashes. The attached video is to raise awareness (read: money) of the sport in Scotland.

Major work ethic and great example. "What would happen if I lost the gold by one thousandth of a second, because there was a training session I skipped or didn't give my all to?" Three Golds and I'm Shattered.