A thrilling and monstrous duel, a lung-bursting world record ...and a golden path to London
THE velodrome shook. So did the fists of the triumphant British quartet, their lungs and legs spent at the end of a monstrous duel that registered a tremor at the bottom of the world.
It was the men’s team pursuit, the first final of these Track Cycling World Championships: Australia, winners of the title every year since 2009, versus Britain in the guise of Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas.
It promised to be the defining contest of the week even before it began. But, for once, the reality beat the hype: a packed crowd screaming for their boys to stuff the Poms, a see-sawing race, a world record, and, finally, the same partisans in the stands acknowledging the victors’ sporting prowess with warm applause. Perhaps those 3min 53.295sec — beating Britain’s own event- changing mark of 3:53.314 set at the Beijing Olympics four years ago — represented the all-time zenith of track cycling. Certainly, victory closed the door on three years of hurt inflicted by the legpower of Australia’s pursuiters and opened up a golden path to London. This is how it was won. Britain surged into a slight lead. Australia wrestled it back by inches before the halfway point. Britain hit back. Then Australia nudged ahead by the thickness of a cigarette paper. Britain reclaimed the advantage after 2,500 of the 4,000 metres, the sixth and final change of lead.
But, heavens, was it close in those final, desperate moments. The Brits slowed in abject exhaustion as the Aussies, with star man Jack Bobridge leading his pack, made one last effort. The margin of victory: one sixth of a second.
‘I don’t think we’ve ever had to fight like that for a win,’ said a sweat- drenched Clancy. ‘ You could hear the crowd go nuts. Then they’d be silent for a couple of laps, so we knew we were up and down.
‘Those last couple of laps Pete and I were absolute passengers. We were just hanging in there. I finished the whole last lap on the back. I was expecting the worst. I was thinking, “We’re going to lose it on me”.’
The victorious quartet hugged and smiled. They knew they had scored a psychological blow ahead of this summer’s Olympics, having lost to the Australians at the World Cup in London in February and, in truth, in every clash of our best versus their best since Beijing.
You could say it is 1-1 in this 2012 Ashes series with the big one to come. History lends a note of optimism: world team pursuit champions in 2000, 2004 and 2008 have all gone on to win the most precious Olympic metal in those years. However, serious judges claim that a barely credible 3min 50sec will be required to win gold in London.
Thomas was as thrilled as anyone as the triumph sank in. A fortnight ago he was told he would be the sixth man — that is to say, dropped from the pursuit squad of five. At the time he was exhausted from his road racing programme, following the ParisNice race.
‘I was pretty gutted but it was a big incentive to get down to the track and work like mad,’ he said.
Work like mad is what they all did, including Andrew Tennant, who was replaced after the qualifying round by Burke but was justly still eligible to wear a champion’s jersey on the podium as the National Anthem rang out.
And that was not the end of the British success story, with the rider finally named as sixth man, Ben Swift, winning the nonOlympic scratch race. It was the last final of the day and delivered the same blue, red and white joy as the first.
In between, there was less room for celebration. The low point was the disqualification from the men’s team sprint after Philip Hindes, a German-born newcomer to British colours, pulled away too early at the end of his opening lap.
It had been a deliberate tactic for him to peel off at the earliest opportunity. He is a lightning fast starter but fades. It was the right ploy, poorly executed.
Sir Chris Hoy, also in the team along with Jason Kenny, said: ‘ I think Phil is upset. We’ve already spoken to him and told him not to worry about it. He should be really proud of the way he’s ridden — a personal best by a huge margin.’ The disappointment was shared by Victoria Pendleton. She and Jess Varnish finished fourth in the women’s team sprint, losing the world record they had set at the World Cup seven weeks ago. Germany took gold in 32.549sec. But the team pursuit was the talk of the velodrome.
As Dan Hunt, British Cycling’s endurance coach, said: ‘To take Australia apart, as favourites, in Australia, three months before the Olympic Games, with bikes that are not Olympic- ready, that’s a punch in the guts.
‘We could become complacent or see it as a world of opportunity that’s opened up.’
The answer will be delivered on Friday, August 3 in Stratford, east London.