I heard that they considered going with the 30 group, and Cav had the legs to, but decided to stick to their plan. That’s a massive group relative to the team sizes (and had some serious quality ), and a big mistake at 50km to go.
It’s as if all the riding to radio controlled orders has left their race-heads a little bit soft. And I think they knew they should have gone, and blaming anyone else is poor form.

and blaming anyone else is poor form.

+1.

A few post race quotes….

British performance director Dave Brailsford:

“If you want to win big, you’ve got to be prepared to lose big. On this occasion, it was a big loss, but if you’re not willing to put yourself at risk in that sense then there’s no point being in this kind of arena.”

David Millar ?@millarmind

We’ve never experienced anything like today, it was magical, and will be imprinted in our memories. Thank you everybody for the support.

Mark Cavendish ?@MarkCavendish

Also, very proud to be British today. The support along the whole 250km was beyond belief. Absolutely incredible. Thank you to everyone.

Bradley Wiggins ?@bradwiggins

Well we did everything we could as a team, gutted for Cav and sad to see Fabian out

Catherine wiggins ?@Cathwiggins1981

So sad cross everything that Fabian can start the TT please

Bribing / paying or doing deals for help on the day has happened to some extent since the start. And for me, Millar’s apologies don’t change the fact that he chose to dope up to take a WC jersey, that’s a big cheat, I respect the way he dealt with it afterward but it’s not like he handed himself in out of guilt – that would have been different. Vino, Millar, Ulrich, Basso etc etc – all part of a doping era where a clean winner may have been extremely rare. If Vino was clean yesterday – no reason to think not – his riding style got himto the right place and he won it fairly.
For me, ex-dopers are all in one group, the same. There’s no ‘good’ ex-dopers and ‘bad’ ex-dopers really, just some differences in how they cope with it and those that fess up and don’t whine about being inocent in teh face of strongevidence (ie both Millar and Vino) and get on with it are more respectable. If they hold their hands up, serve their ban and ride clean again, a win is a win.

I’d like to have seen a rider with a clean slate win yesterday (or any other day), but the rules that let Millar back in lets Vino back in, that’s how it is. If he shouldn’t be there, neither should Millar. Vino’s have-a-go attitude on the bike is something that comes from him, not the dope, I’ve always liked the way he goes off the front and that hasn’t changed.
(Edit to add, if he tests for anything in the Olympics then he deserves a good beating)

I thought the initial break played it brilliantly, they got the lead let the peleton edge back up saving energy for the last climb where they attacked to gain enough time to get to the finish. TeamGB probably should have had it closed down from the start of the climb without radio and limited time info made controlling that attack impossible. Other teams guessed/knew this was the plan and managed to get across the gap early.

We were on the Mall yesterday and the place was rammed full of excited and enthusiastic British Cycling fans, it was amazing and such a sight to behold.

Very proud and very happy to see normal folk get into and spot cycling.

Peloton not Peleton….

Anyway, David Millar is my hero, nice interview here – Cav only blames other teams as doesn’t want to be negative about his; teams with sprinters gotta chase – unless they think they have a guy in the break with a good chance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19032756

Glad Cav didn’t win. All this road bike stuff is making me want another road bike after flogging my Allez a few months back. Cav winning would have just make it harder to reist.

Much more about experience, racing instincts and guts which is what I thought Millar was in the team for.

A lot of folks seem to have a slightly inflated idea of Millar’s worth as a road racer. Is patriotism clouding judgement perhaps?

If Vino was clean yesterday – no reason to think not – his riding style got himto the right place and he won it fairly.

39 year old who previously needed drugs to win. Did he really ride away from the peloton clean?? Mid-week transfusion perhaps? Just does not look right to me.

Not much to lose either if he gets caught.

What time does the womens race start,i,ve only got 3 freeveiw olympic channels and its not on any of those yet,bbc have managed to have the exact same footage on two of those 3 channels tho!!!

I think they just said midday on bbc3.

Go whine about drugs somewhere else, plenty of sites for you on tinternet to sit around grumbling with like minded.

Women’s race starts at 12

King Fabo will do the TT, nothing broke, he will just MTFU.

Must be really bitter taste to get your arse handed to you on a plate a week after winning the TdF. Glad I’m not a pro athlete!

Kinda feel this is the classic British downfall… big build up, talking about gold for Cav, wearing our hearts on our sleeve. Seems (and I am no expert) a massive amount of tactics on these road races, but they put all their (golden) eggs in one obvious basket.

From others analysis above, it seems it wasn’t the right people for the job in the end. As good as the four are, they are possibly too specialized and focused on one plan, need to be much more rounded and canny IMHO. They need a plan B, C, D, and riders that can carry that out.

Must be really bitter taste to get your arse handed to you on a plate a week after winning the TdF

????

Not sure you understand what happened yesterday
I doubt he [Wiggo] is disappointed with his own input just the outcome.
bit like saying Hoy would be gutted to loose as 12 hour race with me.

We tried to explain drafting earlier in this thread perhaps you should read it.
You cannot have other plans when the world road champion is in your team and he is the best sprinter in the world and we have no specialist one day riders[ Millar ata push I assume is the best]…go on tell the forum what the other plans are/should be?
No offence as this is a general comment but many folk seem to have just watched their first ever road riding this year and what you are saying is …ah sod it it will only sound rude and cause a bickerfest

Kinda feel this is the classic British downfall… big build up, talking about gold for Cav, wearing our hearts on our sleeve.

confidence is no bad thing in sport. arguably the best team in the world, with the best sprinter in the world – I think they had every right to expect Gold. anyway, isn’t the classic British thing to be modest, self-depricating and overly-polite about things.

Must be really bitter taste to get your arse handed to you on a plate a week after winning the TdF

Not sure you understand what happened yesterday
I doubt he [Wiggo] is disappointed with his own input just the outcome.
bit like saying Hoy would be gutted to loose as 12 hour race with me.

I meant as a team, not the individual riders per se.

You cannot have other plans when the world road champion is in your team and he is the best sprinter in the world and we have no specialist one day riders[ Millar ata push I assume is the best]…go on tell the forum what the other plans are/should be?

We should have specialist one day riders.

confidence is no bad thing in sport. arguably the best team in the world, with the best sprinter in the world – I think they had every right to expect Gold.

How are they the best when they came in so far behind? In that race, they were far from the best. No excuses.

anyway, isn’t the classic British thing to be modest, self-depricating and overly-polite about things.

Usually, yes, but for sports, we seem to like setting ourselves up for a big fall 🙂

I missed the race but caught the news on the beeb last night. Hands up, I have a slight down on the olympics not because of the actual event but because of the usual hours of media hype that has surrounded it for 7 years.
So I smiled a big smile when the BBC’s sports editor David Bond was talking to Cav after the race asking the most ridiculous and inane questions (as usual for a tv person) to which Cav retorted ‘stop asking stupid questions, do you know anything about cycling?’
The offending question? were you tired after the TdF.
numpty

were you tired after the TdF.

Judging by the snappy answer, I think he was just a little tired or the very least got out of bed on the wrong side. Poor little poppet.

It just bugged that the first words on the presenters lips when the report started were ‘failed to win gold’ as if he was always going to win it. There is so much false expectation with the media, I like the beeb, but they have gotten carried away with the hype over the last few weeks, its like there is only team gb in the contest and they should automatically win everything.
At least next time the reporter might research a bit more and realise that the race winner had also just completed the TdF and is about 10 years older than Cav, and tiredness might not have been a factor, but tactics.

I smiled a big smile when the BBC’s sports editor David Bond was talking to Cav after the race asking the most ridiculous and inane questions (as usual for a tv person) to which Cav retorted ‘stop asking stupid questions, do you know anything about cycling?’
The offending question? were you tired after the TdF.
numpty

The question was “Was TdF tiredness a factor perhaps?”

Seems like a perfectly reasonable question to me, something that the general public may be wondering. He could have given a good and enlightening answer – either yes, it may have been a factor, or no, we have a great training / recovery program and were all as fresh as daisies at the start. Not everyone “knows about cycling”. Obviously he was tired and snapped at that point – which is understandable, but is is not something to be held up as a shining example of how to endear oneself or the sport to the general public.

We should have specialist one day riders.

yes and everywhere else should have Grand tour podium riders and the worlds fastest sprinter and we should all be able to run the 100 m like Bolt.
Unfortunately this also requires prodigious amount of natural talent/ability that is either there or it is not.
Ps which British riders currently riding has won the most Classics[ one day race] …clue is it is Cav and [iirc] no other british rider, of the modern era, has won one.

British road cycling has had an incredible 12 months. Let’s hope after the Olympic TT all the riders and support team can take some time out and enjoy their successes and not let one race spoil it for them.

Nikk – do you know anything about road cycling?

Anyway, many thought it wasn’t a sprinters’ course e.g.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/making-olympic-history-the-stuart-ogrady-way

I think the BBC could learn how to nurture relationships rather than appearing to jump on the cycling bandwagon.
If the riders see a familiar and trustworthy face, I imagine they’d be more likely to give kwality interviews.

mudshark
Good link.Looks like O’Grady called it right.
I blame the organisers ,they should have set up a route that was ideal for the home team. 🙂

Cav never interviews well after a loss – part of his charm.

do you know anything about road cycling?

Not an awful lot. This is a MTB forum after all (just). Still seems like some obvious things that went wrong, that the people that DO know about road cycling should have spotted and corrected before the race, instead of allowing it to be built up into a big fail. If there is anything obvious I have missed, please let me know!

It would take too long to explain competing strategies…but you have a point in criticising Brailsford and the riders we have at the minute for their lack of WIN.

The last few years have been terrible…..so much to learn eh 🙄

Sarky replies help no one.

GB cycling is doing great overall. They did very poorly in this race after the build up to it. That is all.

Sarky replies help no one.

I think you’ll find it helps Junky, it’s part of his therapy. 😆

Heh!

Ok, I’m out…

😀 @ DS – my therapist said best to not rise to obvious trolls as it affects my blood pressure 😉

You admit you dont know a great deal, the thread has discussed strategies, recently we explained how you ride to your strengths…..you seem to think that if they had just done something differently they couldwould have won…which I assume applies to every one who did not win.
If everyone combines to make sure there is no sprint finish 5 riders [ of whom one is the sprinter so not really working] can do nothing about it as the race showed.
Beyond your suggestion of having other riders who could win – could you name names?- I dont really see what they could have done differently re overall strategy.
Top 2 for the TdF, Stage winner in Millar, and UK road champion- as i said the only rider [might be wrong here but I dont think so] we have who has won classics is Cav and that is how he won them [ but with a bigger team]

Your argument seems to be we had the right to win and the fact we did not means we got it wrong…there will be lots of Olympic events where this will be the case.

All it showed was that 5 riders without radios cannot dominate a race.

I am not discussing this firther as you are either trolling or you need to acquire some more knowledge and that is neither a troll or meant to be insulting

EDIT: I am not sure you get sarcasm whether mine or DS.
I have tried to answer as well but some of what you say is just borne of your lack of understanding [ no offence meant].

nick1962 – Member

mudshark
Good link.Looks like O’Grady called it right.
I blame the organisers ,they should have set up a route that was ideal for the home team.
They tried. Originally, it didn’t have Box hill in it. I can’t remember whether it was the UCI or IOC, but it was judged not hard enough and they had to include some climbs.

Spin – Member
Much more about experience, racing instincts and guts which is what I thought Millar was in the team for.
A lot of folks seem to have a slightly inflated idea of Millar’s worth as a road racer. Is patriotism clouding judgement perhaps?

Oh dear, if only the British team knew you were available .

I don’t think there is even much to debate here, I guess the only thing is how did they allow such a large group to get away (okay I haven’t read the pervious 14 pages!). They don’t have race radios but they can see who is going up the road in front of them. I know it wasn’t quite that big to start, ie Cancellara managed to get across. But surely they knew Cancellara, Chavenel, Gilbert were in the group and knew it was an insane group to allow. So they worked their butts off but shouldn’t have let it go. hey it was a formidable effort it’s more disappointing that everyone is slating them and their “failure”. It’s the media bigging it all up and lots of people having no idea about cylcing and tactics, there was no failure on what the boys attempted yesterday, and they did have alternative plans but they couldn’t use them. AWesome effort just glad Lizzie did it for the girls!

From others analysis above, it seems it wasn’t the right people for the job in the end. As good as the four are, they are possibly too specialized and focused on one plan

Those 5 are probably the best team assembled in the Olympics Road Race from any country ever.
World RR Champion
The Winner and the runner-up in the TdF
British National RR Champion
Millar, probably the most experienced British road cyclist of all.

Mostly part of the same team who helped Cav to his World Champs win although that was easier to control and the media hadn’t hyped it to death quite so much.

The problem here was that
a) everyone else knew their one and only plan
b) the media had practically hung the gold medal round Cav’s neck a week ago
So right from the off, a number of teams were racing to make sure Cav didn’t win. Sure, you can look back and say “oh they should have done this” but cycling doesn’t work to a script. If it did there’d be no point in having the race.

They tried their best but on the day the plan didn’t work. Do the same again tomorrow and it might come off perfectly. It worked in the Test Event last August for example. Massive respect to all of them, they put it all out there on the road.

I’m just surprised that so many people seem keen to go through all the palaver of signing up to a forum purely to display their considerable ignorance of road racing.