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TRACK EVENTS
-- INDIVIDUAL PURSUIT
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Introduction
BRITISH HONOURS
2003 World Champion: Bradley
Wiggins
2000 Olympic Bronze: Yvonne McGregor
2003 British Champion: Paul Manning
Great Britain has a long tradition of doing well in this event.
Names like Norman Sheil, Beryl Burton, Yvonne Mcgregor, Tony Doyle,
Graham Obree, Chris Boardman, Hugh Porter, Colin Sturgess and
others can be found in the long list of World Champions and in
2004 we have the World Champion again in Bradley Wiggins. Again,
like the Kilometre, this event at the very highest level is a
superb event to witness.
Two highly talented athletes will start on opposite sides of
the track and race each other over a specified distance for their
category. For men, its over 4,000 metres (4 kilometres) with riders
racing at speeds of almost 60kph (37.5 miles an hour). Great Britain's
Chris Boardman, an Olympic champion and Hour record holder in
two classes, holds the record for the Mens pursuit although this
was using a position on the bike that is now banned (called Superman).
Above: British Womens champion, Emma Davies
The British Mens champion in 2004 was Paul Manning who rode
a superb race in Germany to finish 4th in the Worlds whilst the
Womens champion was Emma Davies who was 4th in the Worlds in 2002.
Note that if a rider is caught in the qualifying round, they are
allowed to continue racing to record a time, providing they don�t
�sit� right behind the rider who has caught them. In the final,
the race in most instances will be stopped if a rider is caught.
Also, a different bike is often used for a pursuit, generally
with a smaller frame. The rider is then able to make use of aero
�tri-bars�, a bigger gear, longer cranks, and disc wheels, enabling
them not to have to sometimes hurriedly adapt their normal track
bike for the event.
One of the common things that riders I have spoken to say about
the pursuit is that "these really hurt". You have to ride to a
schedule with your coach in the centre keeping you informed of
how you're doing and how the other rider is doing if its a semi
final or final. A pursuit rider needs a lot of strength which
is why riders like our own GB guys do so much road work. You need
the strength to keep that speed going for 4 minutes. It doesn't
seem like a long way but you try it, its hard!
And the winner is! The fastest rider over the set distance
(4km men, 3km women) ...
World Pursuit Champion from Great Britain, Bradley Wiggins.
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