Velonews defends the pursuit - and I god damn agree 100%

AN OPEN LETTER TO: Mr. Pat McQuaid, President of the Union Cycliste
Internationale (UCI); and Mr. Michael Turtur, President of the UCI
Track Commission

cc: Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC); Mr. Hein Verbruggen, Member, IOC and ex-president,
UCI

Dear Messrs. McQuaid and Turtur:

In defense of the individual pursuit remaining in the track cycling
program at the Olympic Games

I understand that (1) discussions are currently taking place between
the UCI Management Committee and the IOC to finalize the changes in
the track cycling program for the 2012 Olympic Games in London; (2)
the purpose of the discussions is to have an equal number of events
for men and women; and (3) the current proposals include the
elimination of the individual pursuit competition (for both men and
women).

While no one disputes that women should be given as much opportunity
as men in sports, as is already the case in road cycling, mountain
biking and BMX, many people within the sport of cycling (including the
competitors themselves, cycling insiders, and members of the media)
believe that eliminating the individual pursuit from the Olympics
would be a catastrophic mistake. It is the equivalent of deleting the
1500 meters (the metric mile) from track & field athletics — something
that the IOC would never consider.

I understand that the event being considered to replace the pursuit,
one of the most prestigious events in cycling history, is a new event
called the omnium — which has very little support from the athletes,
some of whom regard it as a “joke.” Featuring five different races,
including a 200-meter sprint and 1km time trial, the omnium has
generated very little enthusiasm in the three years it has featured at
the world track championships, whereas the pursuit has a 70-year
legacy and is the only cross-over event truly accessible to both road
and track racers.

I am surprised that Mr. Turtur would even consider supporting the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the Olympic Games. He was
an accomplished track racer, and I still remember reporting his
dominant victory in the individual pursuit at the 1982 Commonwealth
Games in Brisbane — as well as his gold medal in the team pursuit two
years later at the Los Angeles Olympics. Mr. Turtur is also aware of
the many riders whose racing careers have evolved from the pursuit
event.

Although it was not called the pursuit at the first modern Olympiad in
1896, there has always been a middle-distance cycling race in the
Games for individuals and/or teams. The individual pursuit has been
contested at world championships since 1939, and its popularity with
the riders, coaches and crowds made it a natural to become an Olympic
discipline for the first time at Tokyo in 1964.

The inaugural champion, 24-year-old Jiri Daler, was the first cyclist
in Czechoslovak history to win an Olympic gold medal. His victory
greatly popularized cycling in his country, and five years later the
world cycling championships were held in his hometown of Brno. Daler
went on to become the first professional cyclist from eastern Europe
when he signed with the French team Frimatic.

Many leading pro racers in that era began their careers competing in
the team and/or individual pursuit. They included Frenchmen Jacques
Anquetil (the first man to win the Tour de France five times) and
Roger Rivière (a world hour record holder), German Rudi Altig (who
became the world pro road champion), and Britons Tom Simpson (another
world road champion and multi-time classics winner) and Barry Hoban
(his country’s most prolific Tour de France’s stage winner prior to
Mark Cavendish)

Another legendary pursuit rider, Knut Knudsen, was the first Norwegian
cyclist to win an Olympic gold medal, in 1972. He went on to become a
leading professional and wore the race leader’s pink jersey at the
Giro d’Italia. Other Olympians who progressed to the upper echelons of
pro cycling were Alain Bondue of France, Gregor Braun of Germany, Tony
Doyle of Britain, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, Steve Hegg of the
United States, and Hans-Henrik Oersted of Denmark.

Olympic cycling was still restricted to amateur athletes in the
Barcelona Games, where Britain’s Chris Boardman startled the sporting
world with his emphatic victory in the pursuit over the favored east
Europeans. His aerodynamically designed carbon-fiber machine
revolutionized the art of bicycle building, and Boardman went on to
conquer the world hour record and set a speed record in the prologue
time trial of the Tour de France. His breakthrough success in the 1992
Olympic pursuit was the spark that generated Great Britain’s
subsequent climb to the pinnacle of world cycling.

Women’s track cycling first entered the Olympics in 1988, when only
the match sprint was contested; the individual pursuit was added in
1992. Some of the world’s best women racers have medaled in the
individual pursuit, including Germany’s Petra Rossner and Judith
Arndt; Rebecca Twigg of the U.S.; Marion Clignet of France; Leontien
Van Moorsel of the Netherlands; and Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand.

The current Olympic pursuit champion, Rebecca Romero of Great Britain,
has said this about the current proposals of the UCI Track Commission
to add two specialist sprint disciplines for women (the team sprint
and keirin) and eliminate the endurance riders’ pursuit: “I think we
should move towards equality between males and females in the medals
available, but I just think this isn't equality in terms of sprint and
endurance riders. You're taking away, essentially, with regards to the
individual pursuit, one of the purest forms of competition that there
is on the track.”

The value of the Olympic pursuit competition has been emphasized by
the experiences of the Beijing finalists Bradley Wiggins of Great
Britain and Hayden Roulston of New Zealand. Wiggins, the gold medalist
in both 2004 and 2008, this year went on to finish fourth overall at
the Tour de France. He is now regarded as one of the sport’s true
stars. As for Roulston, his performance in China has revived his
career as a pro cyclist, and he made his Tour de France debut in 2009.

Keeping the individual pursuit in the Olympics is vital to our sport.
Just imagine the men’s lineup in London: Wiggins says he will defend
his gold medal at home; silver medalist Roulston will be back for New
Zealand; the world’s fastest current pursuiter Geraint Thomas is Great
Britain’s second counter; USA’s world pursuit champion Taylor Phinney
will be 22 in 2012; Australia has two strong contenders in 2009 worlds
runner-up Jack Bobridge and former world junior champion Cameron
Meyer; and Belgium’s Dominique Cornu is improving fast. And that’s
just seven of the men who’d vie for pursuit gold in 2012.

In the five decades that I have been reporting on cycling, the
individual pursuit has remained one of the keystones of the sport. It
is very healthy at the junior (under-19) level, with the number of
entrants increasing impressively at recent world junior championships
from 27 riders in 2007, 36 in 2008, and 46 in 2009 — a 77 percent
increase in two years.

The first Olympic women’s cycling gold medalist and former world
pursuit champion Connie Carpenter recently told me: “I did pursuit
because all the great road riders did it — it was a place to showcase
your pure power and form.” She is just one of hundreds of top cyclists
who chose to contest the individual pursuit because of its pure
athletic challenge.

If the UCI and its Track Commission continues to recommend the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the 2012 Olympics, it is
making a monumental error. Please reconsider your decision on this
historic event that is vital to the health and popularity of cycling
throughout the world.

Very sincerely,

John Wilcockson
Editor-at-Large, VeloNews

WilCOCKson is a jackass. Who gives a **** about the pursuit in the
Olympics except for ****ed up gerbil wheel spinners.

Thanks,

Magilla



Anton Berlin wrote:

AN OPEN LETTER TO: Mr. Pat McQuaid, President of the Union Cycliste
Internationale (UCI); and Mr. Michael Turtur, President of the UCI
Track Commission

cc: Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC); Mr. Hein Verbruggen, Member, IOC and ex-president,
UCI

Dear Messrs. McQuaid and Turtur:

In defense of the individual pursuit remaining in the track cycling
program at the Olympic Games

I understand that (1) discussions are currently taking place between
the UCI Management Committee and the IOC to finalize the changes in
the track cycling program for the 2012 Olympic Games in London; (2)
the purpose of the discussions is to have an equal number of events
for men and women; and (3) the current proposals include the
elimination of the individual pursuit competition (for both men and
women).

While no one disputes that women should be given as much opportunity
as men in sports, as is already the case in road cycling, mountain
biking and BMX, many people within the sport of cycling (including the
competitors themselves, cycling insiders, and members of the media)
believe that eliminating the individual pursuit from the Olympics
would be a catastrophic mistake. It is the equivalent of deleting the
1500 meters (the metric mile) from track & field athletics — something
that the IOC would never consider.

I understand that the event being considered to replace the pursuit,
one of the most prestigious events in cycling history, is a new event
called the omnium — which has very little support from the athletes,
some of whom regard it as a “joke.” Featuring five different races,
including a 200-meter sprint and 1km time trial, the omnium has
generated very little enthusiasm in the three years it has featured at
the world track championships, whereas the pursuit has a 70-year
legacy and is the only cross-over event truly accessible to both road
and track racers.

I am surprised that Mr. Turtur would even consider supporting the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the Olympic Games. He was
an accomplished track racer, and I still remember reporting his
dominant victory in the individual pursuit at the 1982 Commonwealth
Games in Brisbane — as well as his gold medal in the team pursuit two
years later at the Los Angeles Olympics. Mr. Turtur is also aware of
the many riders whose racing careers have evolved from the pursuit
event.

Although it was not called the pursuit at the first modern Olympiad in
1896, there has always been a middle-distance cycling race in the
Games for individuals and/or teams. The individual pursuit has been
contested at world championships since 1939, and its popularity with
the riders, coaches and crowds made it a natural to become an Olympic
discipline for the first time at Tokyo in 1964.

The inaugural champion, 24-year-old Jiri Daler, was the first cyclist
in Czechoslovak history to win an Olympic gold medal. His victory
greatly popularized cycling in his country, and five years later the
world cycling championships were held in his hometown of Brno. Daler
went on to become the first professional cyclist from eastern Europe
when he signed with the French team Frimatic.

Many leading pro racers in that era began their careers competing in
the team and/or individual pursuit. They included Frenchmen Jacques
Anquetil (the first man to win the Tour de France five times) and
Roger Rivière (a world hour record holder), German Rudi Altig (who
became the world pro road champion), and Britons Tom Simpson (another
world road champion and multi-time classics winner) and Barry Hoban
(his country’s most prolific Tour de France’s stage winner prior to
Mark Cavendish)

Another legendary pursuit rider, Knut Knudsen, was the first Norwegian
cyclist to win an Olympic gold medal, in 1972. He went on to become a
leading professional and wore the race leader’s pink jersey at the
Giro d’Italia. Other Olympians who progressed to the upper echelons of
pro cycling were Alain Bondue of France, Gregor Braun of Germany, Tony
Doyle of Britain, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, Steve Hegg of the
United States, and Hans-Henrik Oersted of Denmark.

Olympic cycling was still restricted to amateur athletes in the
Barcelona Games, where Britain’s Chris Boardman startled the sporting
world with his emphatic victory in the pursuit over the favored east
Europeans. His aerodynamically designed carbon-fiber machine
revolutionized the art of bicycle building, and Boardman went on to
conquer the world hour record and set a speed record in the prologue
time trial of the Tour de France. His breakthrough success in the 1992
Olympic pursuit was the spark that generated Great Britain’s
subsequent climb to the pinnacle of world cycling.

Women’s track cycling first entered the Olympics in 1988, when only
the match sprint was contested; the individual pursuit was added in
1992. Some of the world’s best women racers have medaled in the
individual pursuit, including Germany’s Petra Rossner and Judith
Arndt; Rebecca Twigg of the U.S.; Marion Clignet of France; Leontien
Van Moorsel of the Netherlands; and Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand.

The current Olympic pursuit champion, Rebecca Romero of Great Britain,
has said this about the current proposals of the UCI Track Commission
to add two specialist sprint disciplines for women (the team sprint
and keirin) and eliminate the endurance riders’ pursuit: “I think we
should move towards equality between males and females in the medals
available, but I just think this isn't equality in terms of sprint and
endurance riders. You're taking away, essentially, with regards to the
individual pursuit, one of the purest forms of competition that there
is on the track.”

The value of the Olympic pursuit competition has been emphasized by
the experiences of the Beijing finalists Bradley Wiggins of Great
Britain and Hayden Roulston of New Zealand. Wiggins, the gold medalist
in both 2004 and 2008, this year went on to finish fourth overall at
the Tour de France. He is now regarded as one of the sport’s true
stars. As for Roulston, his performance in China has revived his
career as a pro cyclist, and he made his Tour de France debut in 2009.

Keeping the individual pursuit in the Olympics is vital to our sport.
Just imagine the men’s lineup in London: Wiggins says he will defend
his gold medal at home; silver medalist Roulston will be back for New
Zealand; the world’s fastest current pursuiter Geraint Thomas is Great
Britain’s second counter; USA’s world pursuit champion Taylor Phinney
will be 22 in 2012; Australia has two strong contenders in 2009 worlds
runner-up Jack Bobridge and former world junior champion Cameron
Meyer; and Belgium’s Dominique Cornu is improving fast. And that’s
just seven of the men who’d vie for pursuit gold in 2012.

In the five decades that I have been reporting on cycling, the
individual pursuit has remained one of the keystones of the sport. It
is very healthy at the junior (under-19) level, with the number of
entrants increasing impressively at recent world junior championships
from 27 riders in 2007, 36 in 2008, and 46 in 2009 — a 77 percent
increase in two years.

The first Olympic women’s cycling gold medalist and former world
pursuit champion Connie Carpenter recently told me: “I did pursuit
because all the great road riders did it — it was a place to showcase
your pure power and form.” She is just one of hundreds of top cyclists
who chose to contest the individual pursuit because of its pure
athletic challenge.

If the UCI and its Track Commission continues to recommend the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the 2012 Olympics, it is
making a monumental error. Please reconsider your decision on this
historic event that is vital to the health and popularity of cycling
throughout the world.

Very sincerely,

John Wilcockson
Editor-at-Large, VeloNews

Anton Berlin wrote:
AN OPEN LETTER TO: Mr. Pat McQuaid, President of the Union Cycliste
Internationale (UCI); and Mr. Michael Turtur, President of the UCI
Track Commission

cc: Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC); Mr. Hein Verbruggen, Member, IOC and ex-president,
UCI

Dear Messrs. McQuaid and Turtur:

In defense of the individual pursuit remaining in the track cycling
program at the Olympic Games

I understand that (1) discussions are currently taking place between
the UCI Management Committee and the IOC to finalize the changes in
the track cycling program for the 2012 Olympic Games in London; (2)
the purpose of the discussions is to have an equal number of events
for men and women; and (3) the current proposals include the
elimination of the individual pursuit competition (for both men and
women).

While no one disputes that women should be given as much opportunity
as men in sports, as is already the case in road cycling, mountain
biking and BMX, many people within the sport of cycling (including the
competitors themselves, cycling insiders, and members of the media)
believe that eliminating the individual pursuit from the Olympics
would be a catastrophic mistake. It is the equivalent of deleting the
1500 meters (the metric mile) from track & field athletics — something
that the IOC would never consider.

I understand that the event being considered to replace the pursuit,
one of the most prestigious events in cycling history, is a new event
called the omnium — which has very little support from the athletes,
some of whom regard it as a “joke.” Featuring five different races,
including a 200-meter sprint and 1km time trial, the omnium has
generated very little enthusiasm in the three years it has featured at
the world track championships, whereas the pursuit has a 70-year
legacy and is the only cross-over event truly accessible to both road
and track racers.

I am surprised that Mr. Turtur would even consider supporting the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the Olympic Games. He was
an accomplished track racer, and I still remember reporting his
dominant victory in the individual pursuit at the 1982 Commonwealth
Games in Brisbane — as well as his gold medal in the team pursuit two
years later at the Los Angeles Olympics. Mr. Turtur is also aware of
the many riders whose racing careers have evolved from the pursuit
event.

Although it was not called the pursuit at the first modern Olympiad in
1896, there has always been a middle-distance cycling race in the
Games for individuals and/or teams. The individual pursuit has been
contested at world championships since 1939, and its popularity with
the riders, coaches and crowds made it a natural to become an Olympic
discipline for the first time at Tokyo in 1964.

The inaugural champion, 24-year-old Jiri Daler, was the first cyclist
in Czechoslovak history to win an Olympic gold medal. His victory
greatly popularized cycling in his country, and five years later the
world cycling championships were held in his hometown of Brno. Daler
went on to become the first professional cyclist from eastern Europe
when he signed with the French team Frimatic.

Many leading pro racers in that era began their careers competing in
the team and/or individual pursuit. They included Frenchmen Jacques
Anquetil (the first man to win the Tour de France five times) and
Roger Rivière (a world hour record holder), German Rudi Altig (who
became the world pro road champion), and Britons Tom Simpson (another
world road champion and multi-time classics winner) and Barry Hoban
(his country’s most prolific Tour de France’s stage winner prior to
Mark Cavendish)

Another legendary pursuit rider, Knut Knudsen, was the first Norwegian
cyclist to win an Olympic gold medal, in 1972. He went on to become a
leading professional and wore the race leader’s pink jersey at the
Giro d’Italia. Other Olympians who progressed to the upper echelons of
pro cycling were Alain Bondue of France, Gregor Braun of Germany, Tony
Doyle of Britain, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, Steve Hegg of the
United States, and Hans-Henrik Oersted of Denmark.

Olympic cycling was still restricted to amateur athletes in the
Barcelona Games, where Britain’s Chris Boardman startled the sporting
world with his emphatic victory in the pursuit over the favored east
Europeans. His aerodynamically designed carbon-fiber machine
revolutionized the art of bicycle building, and Boardman went on to
conquer the world hour record and set a speed record in the prologue
time trial of the Tour de France. His breakthrough success in the 1992
Olympic pursuit was the spark that generated Great Britain’s
subsequent climb to the pinnacle of world cycling.

Women’s track cycling first entered the Olympics in 1988, when only
the match sprint was contested; the individual pursuit was added in
1992. Some of the world’s best women racers have medaled in the
individual pursuit, including Germany’s Petra Rossner and Judith
Arndt; Rebecca Twigg of the U.S.; Marion Clignet of France; Leontien
Van Moorsel of the Netherlands; and Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand.

The current Olympic pursuit champion, Rebecca Romero of Great Britain,
has said this about the current proposals of the UCI Track Commission
to add two specialist sprint disciplines for women (the team sprint
and keirin) and eliminate the endurance riders’ pursuit: “I think we
should move towards equality between males and females in the medals
available, but I just think this isn't equality in terms of sprint and
endurance riders. You're taking away, essentially, with regards to the
individual pursuit, one of the purest forms of competition that there
is on the track.”

The value of the Olympic pursuit competition has been emphasized by
the experiences of the Beijing finalists Bradley Wiggins of Great
Britain and Hayden Roulston of New Zealand. Wiggins, the gold medalist
in both 2004 and 2008, this year went on to finish fourth overall at
the Tour de France. He is now regarded as one of the sport’s true
stars. As for Roulston, his performance in China has revived his
career as a pro cyclist, and he made his Tour de France debut in 2009.

Keeping the individual pursuit in the Olympics is vital to our sport.
Just imagine the men’s lineup in London: Wiggins says he will defend
his gold medal at home; silver medalist Roulston will be back for New
Zealand; the world’s fastest current pursuiter Geraint Thomas is Great
Britain’s second counter; USA’s world pursuit champion Taylor Phinney
will be 22 in 2012; Australia has two strong contenders in 2009 worlds
runner-up Jack Bobridge and former world junior champion Cameron
Meyer; and Belgium’s Dominique Cornu is improving fast. And that’s
just seven of the men who’d vie for pursuit gold in 2012.

In the five decades that I have been reporting on cycling, the
individual pursuit has remained one of the keystones of the sport. It
is very healthy at the junior (under-19) level, with the number of
entrants increasing impressively at recent world junior championships
from 27 riders in 2007, 36 in 2008, and 46 in 2009 — a 77 percent
increase in two years.

The first Olympic women’s cycling gold medalist and former world
pursuit champion Connie Carpenter recently told me: “I did pursuit
because all the great road riders did it — it was a place to showcase
your pure power and form.” She is just one of hundreds of top cyclists
who chose to contest the individual pursuit because of its pure
athletic challenge.

If the UCI and its Track Commission continues to recommend the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the 2012 Olympics, it is
making a monumental error. Please reconsider your decision on this
historic event that is vital to the health and popularity of cycling
throughout the world.

Very sincerely,

John Wilcockson
Editor-at-Large, VeloNews

The funny thing about Ekimov is that he never competed in the Olympics
in the individual pursuit: in 1984 the Soviets boycotted. In 1988 he
rode the team pursuit, an event that will remain in the Olys.
(Guintautas Umaras rode and won the individual pursuit for the USSR.)

On Nov 16, 10:40*pm, z wrote:
Anton Berlin wrote:
AN OPEN LETTER TO: Mr. Pat McQuaid, President of the Union Cycliste
Internationale (UCI); and Mr. Michael Turtur, President of the UCI
Track Commission

cc: Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC); Mr. Hein Verbruggen, Member, IOC and ex-president,
UCI

Dear Messrs. McQuaid and Turtur:

In defense of the individual pursuit remaining in the track cycling
program at the Olympic Games

I understand that (1) discussions are currently taking place between
the UCI Management Committee and the IOC to finalize the changes in
the track cycling program for the 2012 Olympic Games in London; (2)
the purpose of the discussions is to have an equal number of events
for men and women; and (3) the current proposals include the
elimination of the individual pursuit competition (for both men and
women).

While no one disputes that women should be given as much opportunity
as men in sports, as is already the case in road cycling, mountain
biking and BMX, many people within the sport of cycling (including the
competitors themselves, cycling insiders, and members of the media)
believe that eliminating the individual pursuit from the Olympics
would be a catastrophic mistake. It is the equivalent of deleting the
1500 meters (the metric mile) from track & field athletics — something
that the IOC would never consider.

I understand that the event being considered to replace the pursuit,
one of the most prestigious events in cycling history, is a new event
called the omnium — which has very little support from the athletes,
some of whom regard it as a “joke.” Featuring five different races,
including a 200-meter sprint and 1km time trial, the omnium has
generated very little enthusiasm in the three years it has featured at
the world track championships, whereas the pursuit has a 70-year
legacy and is the only cross-over event truly accessible to both road
and track racers.

I am surprised that Mr. Turtur would even consider supporting the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the Olympic Games. He was
an accomplished track racer, and I still remember reporting his
dominant victory in the individual pursuit at the 1982 Commonwealth
Games in Brisbane — as well as his gold medal in the team pursuit two
years later at the Los Angeles Olympics. Mr. Turtur is also aware of
the many riders whose racing careers have evolved from the pursuit
event.

Although it was not called the pursuit at the first modern Olympiad in
1896, there has always been a middle-distance cycling race in the
Games for individuals and/or teams. The individual pursuit has been
contested at world championships since 1939, and its popularity with
the riders, coaches and crowds made it a natural to become an Olympic
discipline for the first time at Tokyo in 1964.

The inaugural champion, 24-year-old Jiri Daler, was the first cyclist
in Czechoslovak history to win an Olympic gold medal. His victory
greatly popularized cycling in his country, and five years later the
world cycling championships were held in his hometown of Brno. Daler
went on to become the first professional cyclist from eastern Europe
when he signed with the French team Frimatic.

Many leading pro racers in that era began their careers competing in
the team and/or individual pursuit. They included Frenchmen Jacques
Anquetil (the first man to win the Tour de France five times) and
Roger Rivière (a world hour record holder), German Rudi Altig (who
became the world pro road champion), and Britons Tom Simpson (another
world road champion and multi-time classics winner) and Barry Hoban
(his country’s most prolific Tour de France’s stage winner prior to
Mark Cavendish)

Another legendary pursuit rider, Knut Knudsen, was the first Norwegian
cyclist to win an Olympic gold medal, in 1972. He went on to become a
leading professional and wore the race leader’s pink jersey at the
Giro d’Italia. Other Olympians who progressed to the upper echelons of
pro cycling were Alain Bondue of France, Gregor Braun of Germany, Tony
Doyle of Britain, Viatcheslav Ekimov of Russia, Steve Hegg of the
United States, and Hans-Henrik Oersted of Denmark.

Olympic cycling was still restricted to amateur athletes in the
Barcelona Games, where Britain’s Chris Boardman startled the sporting
world with his emphatic victory in the pursuit over the favored east
Europeans. His aerodynamically designed carbon-fiber machine
revolutionized the art of bicycle building, and Boardman went on to
conquer the world hour record and set a speed record in the prologue
time trial of the Tour de France. His breakthrough success in the 1992
Olympic pursuit was the spark that generated Great Britain’s
subsequent climb to the pinnacle of world cycling.

Women’s track cycling first entered the Olympics in 1988, when only
the match sprint was contested; the individual pursuit was added in
1992. Some of the world’s best women racers have medaled in the
individual pursuit, including Germany’s Petra Rossner and Judith
Arndt; Rebecca Twigg of the U.S.; Marion Clignet of France; Leontien
Van Moorsel of the Netherlands; and Sarah Ulmer of New Zealand.

The current Olympic pursuit champion, Rebecca Romero of Great Britain,
has said this about the current proposals of the UCI Track Commission
to add two specialist sprint disciplines for women (the team sprint
and keirin) and eliminate the endurance riders’ pursuit: “I think we
should move towards equality between males and females in the medals
available, but I just think this isn't equality in terms of sprint and
endurance riders. You're taking away, essentially, with regards to the
individual pursuit, one of the purest forms of competition that there
is on the track.”

The value of the Olympic pursuit competition has been emphasized by
the experiences of the Beijing finalists Bradley Wiggins of Great
Britain and Hayden Roulston of New Zealand. Wiggins, the gold medalist
in both 2004 and 2008, this year went on to finish fourth overall at
the Tour de France. He is now regarded as one of the sport’s true
stars. As for Roulston, his performance in China has revived his
career as a pro cyclist, and he made his Tour de France debut in 2009.

Keeping the individual pursuit in the Olympics is vital to our sport.
Just imagine the men’s lineup in London: Wiggins says he will defend
his gold medal at home; silver medalist Roulston will be back for New
Zealand; the world’s fastest current pursuiter Geraint Thomas is Great
Britain’s second counter; USA’s world pursuit champion Taylor Phinney
will be 22 in 2012; Australia has two strong contenders in 2009 worlds
runner-up Jack Bobridge and former world junior champion Cameron
Meyer; and Belgium’s Dominique Cornu is improving fast. And that’s
just seven of the men who’d vie for pursuit gold in 2012.

In the five decades that I have been reporting on cycling, the
individual pursuit has remained one of the keystones of the sport. It
is very healthy at the junior (under-19) level, with the number of
entrants increasing impressively at recent world junior championships
from 27 riders in 2007, 36 in 2008, and 46 in 2009 — a 77 percent
increase in two years.

The first Olympic women’s cycling gold medalist and former world
pursuit champion Connie Carpenter recently told me: “I did pursuit
because all the great road riders did it — it was a place to showcase
your pure power and form.” She is just one of hundreds of top cyclists
who chose to contest the individual pursuit because of its pure
athletic challenge.

If the UCI and its Track Commission continues to recommend the
elimination of the individual pursuit from the 2012 Olympics, it is
making a monumental error. Please reconsider your decision on this
historic event that is vital to the health and popularity of cycling
throughout the world.

Very sincerely,

John Wilcockson
Editor-at-Large, VeloNews

The funny thing about Ekimov is that he never competed in the Olympics
in the individual pursuit: in 1984 the Soviets boycotted. In 1988 he
rode the team pursuit, an event that will remain in the Olys.
(Guintautas Umaras rode and won the individual pursuit for the USSR.)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Most people don't remember Umaras since he was out of the picture for
the most part after 1988.

Kasputis won the bronze (another 1988 USSR team member) in the
professional 5km pursuit in 1992 the same year Mike (VO2 MAX) McCarthy
got the gold.

Well then what event do you propose for cyclists that can't sprint,
can't corner, can't climb, don't like lifiting weights, have no
endurance and are afraid of crashing?


LOL

On Nov 17, 9:04*am, Anton Berlin wrote:
Well then what event do you propose for cyclists that can't sprint,
can't corner, can't climb, don't like lifiting weights, have no
endurance and are afraid of crashing?

LOL

Texas Hold 'Em.

Anton Berlin wrote:
Well then what event do you propose for cyclists that can't sprint,
can't corner, can't climb, don't like lifiting weights, have no
endurance and are afraid of crashing?


LOL


Saturday morning group rides

On Nov 17, 9:04*am, Anton Berlin wrote:
Well then what event do you propose for cyclists that can't sprint,
can't corner, can't climb, don't like lifiting weights, have no
endurance and are afraid of crashing?

LOL

You shouldn't talk about Twigg that way, she had good endurance and
could climb, too.

Brad Anders

Anton Berlin wrote:

Well then what event do you propose for cyclists that can't sprint,
can't corner, can't climb, don't like lifiting weights, have no
endurance and are afraid of crashing?

LOL

Track racing doesn't belong in the Olympics. It's a gay-ass sport and
has no sustainability outside of the Olympics. How many athletes make a
livable wage doing track cycling in the United States...maybe 20?
There's only like 5 ****ing velodromes in the entire United
States...imagine if there were only 5 baseball fields in the United
States and then tried to sell baseball as an national pastime? It
doesn't pass the laugh test.

How many velodromes are there in Africa or China or Russia....like 2 or
3 in each country? Ask yourself how many swimming pools or running
tracks there are in those same countries (hundreds if not
thousands...one at every high school and country). Velodromes have no
such prominence and are this nothing more then gerbil wheels.

Track cycling is for ****ed up people who aspire to be gerbils. I hope
the town council in Allentown votes one day to bulldoze Trexlertown and
turn it into a goddamn parking lot or a strip mall....something that can
better serve the public than a gerbil wheel full of doped-up gerbils
(and hamsters).

I think curling is a more legitimate sport than track cycling.

How do you like them apples?

Magilla

MagillaGorilla wrote:
How do you like them apples?

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Love_Thyself.htm