What do Jan Ullrich, Greg Van Avermaet and Richard Carapaz have in common?
Yes, they’ve all worn the yellow jersey and won Grand Tour stages, but more importantly – at least for the purposes of this piece – they’re all Olympic Road Race champions. It’s a strange sort of accolade, because while in most sports an Olympic gold medal would be the peak of achievement, in cycling it’s met by fans with little more than a shrug.
All too often an Olympic Road Race course is a dull procession designed to show off tourist sites rather than promote exciting racing, and the standard of an Olympic peloton is usually so low that the outcome can (allegedly and wholly indemonstrably) be decided by a simple chat, handshake and promise of a bottle of vino on the way to The Mall.
Just look at the women’s road race in Tokyo 2021, when nobody – not least Annemiek van Vleuten – seemed to appreciate that there was still one plucky escapee up the road. Take nothing away from Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer, a worthy champion who had the guts to attack early and the strength to hold on, but the whole event reeked of the amateurism for which the Games were once fabled.
この記事は Cyclist UK の September 2024 - Issue 155 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Cyclist UK の September 2024 - Issue 155 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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