Shane Sutton has questioned the hunger of some of Great Britain’s track cyclists after a disappointing performance at the world track championships in Paris.
Sutton, GB’s technical director, said he still believed the team could win five track medals at the Rio Olympics next year – they won seven golds at London 2012 – despite winning only three silver medals in Paris but said some members of his squad need fresh motivation.
“I think there are certain riders who probably just need to look at their hunger a little bit,” said the Australian, who took over from Sir Dave Brailsford in April. “If anything’s going to make them hungry it’s the way they performed here. Just one or two riders in the group … There are one or two people in there who need to [ask]: has the journey come to an end for them or are they still hungry for it?
“If we can go to Rio and bring back five medals in the track programme, we’d be over the moon. We are going to come out of this with three medals, three Olympic medals. If Mark Cavendish wants to line up in the omnium, or Ben Swift, or Ed Clancy, then that is a fourth medal in which we are very competitive.”
Sutton also believes that with the addition of Kian Emadi at man three, Great Britain can bounce back in the men’s team sprint, where they finished eighth in Paris.
Sutton also made a point of defending Jason Kenny, the Olympic match sprint and team sprint gold medallist who exited both the sprint and the keirin – where he was world champion in 2013 – in the first round. “My belief in Jason Kenny won’t go away. I saw his qualifier [on Saturday] – he didn’t execute well in racing. He knows that. You don’t win the Olympic gold medals he has won without realising your mistakes.
“If it’s a confidence issue, he should take confidence from his man two ride and his qualification ride. And he didn’t, so they’re things we’ll need to address when we get back.”
Sutton did say that in his view Kenny is missing the competition within the squad that existed when he had to fight against Chris Hoy for the single match sprint and keirin slots available in London.
“In the old days, every day he was coming in and he was competing against [Hoy] and they were beating each other up on a daily basis. He doesn’t have that any more. You’ve got to go out there and seek that competition. He probably needed that stimulation – he’s that kind of character. I personally believe Jason needs to race a bit more.”
Sutton’s fellow coach Iain Dyer said he did not believe Kenny had been below-par mentally. “I wouldn’t call Jason listless at all – he’s just done 9.8 in qualifying. The nature of the track is that one false move and you’re history.
“Jason is a very competitive character. He has a habit of rising for big ones. Maybe this isn’t big enough for him.”
Sutton said he had received a message from Sir Bradley Wiggins, the 2008 individual and team pursuit gold medallist, who is keen to return to the squad when his time with Team Sky finishes at the end of April. “It said: ‘Well done to all the boys, bring it on.’ He wants it. If you’d have stood Brad Wiggins up here as man three or four they would probably have been world champions. They should have been world champions. If they’d listened to their coach and ridden the Germans to a schedule – he only wanted a certain amount of petrol used in that ride – they’d have been world champions.”
Just before both Beijing and London, Great Britain brought on young talent in Kenny and Philip Hindes, both of whom only emerged at the very last minute. Sutton would point to only one possible left-fielder at present, the 19-year-old Solihull sprinter Dani Khan who was a European speed skating champion before switching to cycling. Khan is a double world junior champion and has raced for Great Britain at a World Cup.
“It’s just a question of her progression in the next year and a half, whether or not she can force herself in,” Dyer said. “We blooded her in one of the World Cups over the winter and got some good learning out of that. We pulled her back to preparation; bringing her here wouldn’t have added to that.”
Road to Rio: how GB shape up in the key track disciplines
Men’s team pursuit
A massive turnaround since Cali last year has put them back on track, with reinforcements pending in the shape of Sir Bradley Wiggins and perhaps Mark Cavendish.
London gold Rio prediction gold or silver
Men’s omnium
Jon Dibben fought well but there is much to learn for him and his coaches. The arrival of Cavendish, Ben Swift or return of Ed Clancy could change much.
London bronze Prediction medal
Men’s match sprint
Jason Kenny was not on the money and has no internal rivalry to drive him on, plus other nations have gained momentum.
London gold Prediction no medal
Men’s keirin
The team are dependent on Kenny for this as well. If he doesn’t fire, end of story.
London gold Prediction no medal
Men’s team sprint
More predictable than either of the solo sprint events, plus GB do have a proven front two in Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny. Needs one more rider to up his game in next 12 months, which is doable.
London gold Prediction medal
Women’s team pursuit
Should be spurred on by defeat while coaching team will learn from their unwillingness to reshuffle the pack to make up for Jo Rowsell being off form.
London gold Prediction gold
Women’s omnium
Laura Trott looks to be adapting well to the new format and looks as hungry as ever. As long as she keeps working on the points and scratch and stays in one piece there is little to worry about.
London gold Prediction gold or silver
Women’s sprint
This all hangs on whether Becky James can return to fitness unless Jess Varnish ups her game. James is back on her bike and Varnish improved here but the rest of the world will move on in the next 12 months.
London silver Prediction no medal
Women’s keirin
As with the sprint, the key issue is whether Becky James can return to form although Paris was not a definitive indicator as Varnish was ill when keirin time came.
London gold Prediction no medal
Women’s team sprint
Varnish teamed up well with Victoria Pendleton in London and would form a good partnership with James, as she did in Colombia last year, if the Welsh woman can return from injury.
London DQ no medal Prediction medal
