It would be an understatement to suggest that being the only British track cyclist to return from the 2008 Olympics without a medal rankled with Mark Cavendish. Such was his bitterness at the time that he said he would never race on the track again but, seven years on, a determination to right that injustice is his predominant emotion.
Whether he will get the opportunity, however, is another matter. Having decided the redesigned omnium format, which considerably increases the importance of the last of the six disciplines, the points race, gives him the best chance of winning gold in Rio, Cavendish has to secure the single slot available to Great Britain, and losing out to Ed Clancy and Jonathan Dibben in the first omnium discipline, the 60-lap scratch race, was a reminder that this is very far from a given.
Not that Cavendish was unimpressive on his return to track competition. He could hardly have made a better start, being among the group of five riders that stole a lap on the field before the halfway point. Clancy, and then Dibben, also picked up a lap, however, with Dibben going on to finish third, Clancy fourth, and Cavendish 11th.
Riders now accrue points in each of the omnium disciplines – rather than simply trying to score as few as possible, based on finishing positions – and take their total into the final race, in which they can gain or lose points based on laps gained or lost, and on their showing in the 16 one-lap sprints in the final 40km (160-lap) race.
With each sprint worth five points to the winner (each discipline winner receives 40 points, second 38, third 36 and so on), Cavendish, assuming he is still in touch, could take enough extra points to go clear.
“That was tough for Cav because, while every other country is racing as a team, for us it’s a selection race and it was every man for himself,” said the GB endurance coach, Heiko Salzwedel.
“But that’s perfect, in a way. There were 11 current or previous world and Olympic champion sprinters out there, and the standard was incredible. Cav is one of the fastest riders on the road but the track is very different; technique and timing are very important and he hasn’t really had the time to work on those yet. But he can make it up.”
In the second discipline, however – the 4km individual pursuit – Cavendish recorded the second quickest time, faster than both Dibben and Clancy, pushing him up to sixth in the overall standings.
The third, the elimination race (last rider every other lap goes out), is a brutal tactical minefield, and had to be neutralised twice after crashes. A feisty, finger-pointing exchange of views between Cavendish and the Spanish rider Unai Elorriaga followed, but Cavendish got down to the last four before straying across the blue line marking the edge of the track and being eliminated on a technicality. The race was won by Clancy.
When it comes to the women’s omnium, of course, Laura Trott is a British certainty, and the reigning Olympic and European champion appeared as composed as ever in the first three disciplines.
Looking tanned and relaxed, she won the 40-lap scratch race with her usual tactical acumen, not panicking when her Great Britain team-mate Ciara Horne stole a 50m lead with three laps of the 40 remaining, and accelerating smoothly past her around the final bend to lead the field across the line.
She then finished second fastest in the individual pursuit, her time beaten only by direct opponent Jolien D’Hoore, of Belgium, to be joint leader of the event after two disciplines. The elimination race, though, was a Trott masterclass: she stayed out of danger by leading much of the way, then surprised D’Hoore on the final lap, swooping inside her sole remaining opponent and leaving her with far too much to do.
