The Team GB chef de mission for Rio 2016, Mark England, has backed Britain’s track cyclists to fire at next year’s Olympics despite a disappointing performance at the world championships and concerns they will not match their medal haul from the London Games.
Under the tutelage of Sir Dave Brailsford, Britain topped the medal chart in the velodrome during the 2012 Games, securing seven golds, one silver and a bronze. Shane Sutton, who previously worked alongside Brailsford, has since stepped up as the team’s technical director but GB failed to win a single gold at the Track World Championships earlier this year.
Sutton questioned the hunger of some riders after the poor display in Paris, and Britain will attempt to perform better when the championships come to London next spring. The chef de mission, England, who believes Team GB are in a good position across the board one year out from the Rio Olympics, is confident Sutton can turn things around.
“It’s a sport in transition,” said England of track cycling. “It’s almost natural, the likes of Sir Chris Hoy have retired. He’s almost irreplaceable and that’s why we want him to impart his knowledge and expertise to the next generation of athletes. Prior to London, no one had really heard of Laura Trott but she came away with two gold medals amid a fantastic team dynamic.
“One person I wouldn’t bet against turning it around is Shane Sutton. Shane and I speak regularly regarding the programme. He’s made the changes post-London that he felt he needed to, we’ve got an emerging group of young athletes and we’ll look forward to the track championships in London in the spring to see how those changes go. Obviously Sir Bradley Wiggins will be back on the track then too.
“Shane has been an integral part of the programme since the outset. He’s been Dave’s right-hand man from the start and a terrific athlete in his own right.
“I wouldn’t agree that the team hasn’t done so well, I would say that the team is in transition and therefore we are trying to build momentum and build success. I think the closer we get to Rio 2016 that success will shine out and come to the fore.”
On the potential inclusion of Wiggins and Mark Cavendish in the track team for Rio, England added: “It’s for Shane to pick the team and he’ll do it his own way. What I do know is that there will be no sentiment and he’ll pick the best people to win medals. Bradley is such a huge character. If he is in the team, he’ll be a great addition to it.”
UK Sport – the elite funding body which has made £275m available for able-bodied sports during the Rio Olympic cycle – has targeted a medal haul in 2016 that would eclipse the 65 Britain won in London and a good performance in the velodrome will be crucial if that aspiration is to be accomplished.
There is some concern that rival countries have closed the gap on Britain in certain disciplines following the remarkable marginal gains success enjoyed under Brailsford, with Australia’s women team pursuit beating Britain at the worlds and inflicting a first defeat for Katie Archibald, Elinor Barker, Trott and Joanna Rowsell in four years.
The chief executive of the British Olympic Association, Bill Sweeney, admitted it would be a significant challenge to eclipse the nine medals won at the velodrome at London 2012 but is confident Britain’s cyclists will peak at the right time.
“We’re coming off an unbelievable London 2012 with cycling. The medals that were won, it was a fantastic achievement. To beat that will be a big challenge,” said Sweeney. “There’s a few individuals who have been injured who are coming back into the frame now. If you speak to someone like Sir Chris Hoy he would say don’t get concerned at this stage because we usually peak just before the Games.”
