Sprinters Face Off for World Championship Spot
Story posted March 6
By Larry Hickmott
As pressure events go outside of a major competition, there are few that match a trial to try and clinch a spot at the World Track Championships at your home track -- Manchester. On Tuesday of this week, that was the situation when many of the Sprinters in the Great Britain Cycling team came head-to-head to try and lay their claim to be man 2 and man 3 in the Team Sprint.
The Team Sprint is an event the GB team have won a lot of medals in for the last decade and a few World Titles as well (2002/2005) and so it is an event that they all want to be a part of especially in Olympic year.
So this was like no normal training session with everything you would expect at a World Track Cup in the track centre except the crowd and the other nations. Riders were weighing themselves, track temperatures were being continuously recorded and as one of the sports scientists said – whatever can be measured – will be measured to try and get every piece of data the team need to try and get the right team for Manchester at the end of this month
In the track centre were Jamie Staff, the favourite for Man 1 position, Jason Kenny and Ross Edgar – riding off for man 2 and Jason Queally and Chris Hoy racing for man 3 with Hoy in the box seat so far. The format for the afternoon saw the riders race in three races, one per hour.
Riders in the second trial, prepare to race!
Kicking off proceeds were Jamie Staff (1), Jason Kenny (2) and Jason Queally and just like a major championship, everything was planned out – the warm-ups, the race kit for the bikes, the EIS sports analysts on hand to record and time the event. Nothing was being over looked and the team even had a mechanic, Alex Jaffrey, in the track centre to change gears and clean tyres before the rides.
The first trial, in front of Performance Director Dave Brailsford and Performance Manager Shane Sutton, kicked off at 2.30 in the afternoon and with the team racing to record a world class time worthy of a medal at a World Cup or International Grand Prix, the coaches gathered and analysed the times, the video and then presented that data to the riders. It is quite an eye opener to listen to the data and analysis as its being discussed and to see how technical this event can be.
An hour later, the exercise was repeated but this time Ross Edgar came in for Jason Kenny. Again, a very similar time from the team showing there is nothing between the riders and the same analysis process followed afterwards as the data was dissected many different ways to come up with the team for the third ride.
This was it -- crunch time! For that third ride, Jamie Staff was going to remain man 1 but Chris Hoy was brought in to do Man 3 and who though would get the third ride for man 2 was the topic of hot discussion.
In the end, it was Ross Edgar who was given the chance to show what he could do after a first ride which he admits himself wasn’t the best. And so, at 4.30 in the afternoon, the final test ride took place and despite having done two already in the first two hours, the team went quicker, led by Jamie Staff who was showing no signs of fatigue and recording his quickest time of the afternoon and what a time it was!
After the first trial, the riders, coaches and analysts get together to discuss the effort.
Riders were congratulated for their efforts and while the Team Sprinter riders warmed down, the other GB riders such as triple World Champion Victoria Pendleton continued their afternoon’s work on the boards. With the test rides over for the Team Sprint trials, the coaches and support staff packed up all the data and went away to analyse it. This was just one of many ‘trials’ that have taken place recently and shows the detail they go to in making selections for major events.
The GB team have been constantly evaluating the riders in the Team Sprint since the Winter campaign started in Sydney way back in November of 2007. There was a high profile one at the last Revolution open at Manchester and the World Track Cups themselves were also trials to try and find the right three riders to take on the best from France, Holland, Germany and the rest of the World at the end of March in Manchester.
Post trial, as expected, the team were not giving much away as to who the three riders would be and the team is not due to be released before the 11th of March. What the names of the three riders who finally step onto the track for the Team Sprint at the World Championships will be anyone’s guess as form continues to be evaluated in the coming weeks.
With the times for the riders all being ever so close, we’re talking thousandths here, it can’t be ruled out that riders will come in at the last moment to replace some one depending on what happens in the next three weeks. That is the nature of team selection but these trials do now give the team a set of three to work with technically and let the process evolve from there.
Riders are lined up very carefully on the start line.
Final ride off and Jamie Staff (right), Ross Edgar (centre) and Chris Hoy prepare to launch.
Rider Reactions
During the afternoon British Cycling spoke to the riders starting off with Jason Queally (above), the Olympic Kilometre champion from 2000 in Sydney. He started by talking about the pressure the other younger riders are under by saying “Ross is in a difficult position because he has Mr Kenny here going for man two and both of them did a very similar time.” On his own time, Jason said “as lap three goes, it wasn’t particular quick and I’ll just have to see how Chris goes.”
“It has been good though to compare myself to Chris even though I suspect he will go quite a bit quicker. The big thing for me though was to be given the opportunity to test myself against him”.
“I am getting there now. I did try and prepare specifically for this and it has been difficult with the broken wrist as I was four weeks off the track and five weeks without doing any standing starts and that was only two months ago and that is large amount of time to have off during that period.”
Asked how his time compared to his normal times for man 3, Jason says “that’s difficult to do because conditions are very very different each time you ride. Different (atmosphere) pressures, different temperatures, and only one team on the track, so you can’t compare like with like. The times we did though were the two fastest times we have done so far this year. We have no crowd here, and I think with them and the increased temperature, they would have been pretty reasonable rides. I think we are heading in the right direction.”
“Today is a stepping stone and as long as we are all heading in the right direction, that is the main thing. It is good for me they have trials like this because it gives everyone an opportunity to express themselves when they need to. I don’t think I will get selected for the Worlds off the back of this but I have my fingers crossed for the Olympic trials.”
Jason Kenny leads the team round for the second lap with Jason Queally in his slipstream.
Jason Kenny: This fast young man, triple World junior champion in 2006, has been preparing for Man 1 and having lost that battle to Jamie Staff, he had a go at man 2. On how it felt for this trial, he explained “we did these last year but this one has been a bit more focused with a lot riding on that one ride. It wasn’t difficult to lift myself for this as I have PB’s in the 200 this year and a good standing lap and if you stick those two things together, there is no reason why I can’t do man 2. The hardest thing for me was hanging on to it and not dying off towards the end.”
“Man 2 is more technical while Man 1 is nail it and get out of the way. You have to think about your effort in man 2 and the man behind you. Judging the gap in front of you and making sure you get on to the rider in front of you. I am a little bit disappointed with my time and expected a bit more after having done a 13.2 before, maybe in slightly better conditions.”
Jamie Staff: At the Revolution open recently, Jamie laid claim to man 1 position and speaking about the day of the trials where there was less pressure on him, said “this has been some what of a pressure session for all of us. I always prefer it when there is a crowd about but today there is none of that atmosphere except for the British Cycling staff in the stands. You have to try and keep your head on and do your job professionally during these efforts and I was happy how it went. We got progressively quicker and that is a good sign.”
“I am happy that the team is coming together now and we can start training together. We still have a lot of work to do to challenge the French and the Dutch before the Worlds. We have our work cut out but hopefully we can come up with the goods on home turf and I am sure the crowd will help and I want to encourage everyone to shout as loud as they can when we get on the track at the Worlds”.
On his last ride, when his time was very world class, he explained “every time you go up there, you’re trying your hardest but in that one I really focused on staying on the black line. When you’re in the gate, there are loads of things to think about, timing out of the gate, doing things with your feet and although there is a lot to think of, but with that one, I concentrated on staying on the black line.”
Jamie Staff makes notes of all the times.
“I played about in all three rides with different tactics and whether that made any difference, I’m not sure yet. I thought for the third effort I’d be more tired and so I really tried to G myself up in the gate and for what ever reason, it was a good ride.”
Jamie then told us that with the Worlds getting ever closer, that for the rest of this week, he’ll be training hard and then slowly start to back off. “The weeks are flying by right now so I know it’s literally right round the corner. I can’t wait for them as I am probably in the best shape I have ever been in my track cycling career. I have had a super structured training programme and been super committed this season and I think that is now starting to pay off.”
“Everything is coming together at the right time thanks to the coaches and all the other support staff who I wouldn’t be able to do this without them. This has been one big team effort. People probably don’t realise what a team effort this is and I have around 10 or 15 people around me all helping and I’m doing it for them.”
“If we could win the worlds, it would be a big thank you.”
Jamie says that he’d love to be doing other events at the Worlds like the Sprint and Keirin and that given his current form, he could definitely make one of the top spots. “Unfortunately, I committed to doing the start for the Team Sprint and didn’t do any of the Sprint events at the World Cups.”
“At the end of the day, those are a lot more of a lottery and I am getting on and this may be my last Olympics so I just wanted to give myself the best shot at getting a medal and that was in the Team Sprint. Sacrifices had to be made but when you’re form is really good, you just want to do everything you can especially as the Team Sprint is the first event and you’re free to do anything else.”
“I know however I’d have a hard time beating Chris (Hoy) or Ross (Edgar) in the sprint events anyhow so I’m happy.”
Jamie Staff leads off with Jason Kenny gritting his teeth to get on the wheel and Jason Queally on the outside.
Chris Hoy “I think we have had a frustrating ride in the World Cups because we have really strung a good ride together and I think as we get closer, things are coming together rapidly but time is running out. I have confidence that all three of us will pull out our best rides on the night and that is what counts. We also have an eye on Beijing. The World Championships are important but really it is a stepping stone and I am happy things are heading in the right direction.”
On the next three weeks and the importance of that period pre-Worlds, he says “its crucial because there is no guess work and we can now focus on the technical details and really sharpen up. It has been a season of experimentation but now we know the formula, hopefully we’ll produce the goods on the night.”
Asked if he was surprised at the fast time Jason Queally was producing at the trials, Chris replied “not really. He has done the fastest time ever for man 3 – a 13.1 at Athens – so he is formidable contender so it is tough that one of us can’t get a ride. He is always there, always prepares well and comes up with the goods when it counts. It has been a tough competition between the two of us.”
Ross Edgar on the rollers and Jason Queally discuss their ride in trial 2.
Ross Edgar: The race for the man 2 position had been the main focus of the day and that had to be a pressure cooker situation for riders, even experienced ones like Ross Edgar. “Yes, it has been a nervous day. When you wake up you start thinking about it.”
“It is one of those days when you’re not 100 per cent sure of how it will turn out. I have been putting in some good performances at Revolution and in training and am starting to come good but I’m not quite there yet. So it’s the not knowing that makes you nervous.”
“I was happy with my second ride. I was slightly off the pace in the first one when Jamie got away from me a little and I had to work hard to get back to him. The second one was under control and I felt my delivery speed was a lot better. It’s all about trying to gain as much speed as possible without expending too much energy and paying for it later. I think Jason (Kenny) did a good job in his lap behind Jamie. He did it well.”
“Now we need to get out there and do a good time to get morale going in the team.”
OTHER PHOTOS
Second trial and Jamie Staff is again in the gate with Ross Edgar in man 2 (centre) and Jason Queally in man 3 (left).
Mike Hughes and Chris White from the EIS analyse the data.
Jamie Staff goes through the stats with Chris White from the EIS as Duncan Locke (EIS) looks on.
Jamie and Ross go through the data with Scott Gardner.
