THE RIDERS enter the arena, like knights of the tournament, clad neck to thigh in slippery Lycra, their heads encased in helmets like pods from another galaxy, cute neoprene Pixie boots designed to slide the air around their hard working feet.
Then, they mount their carbon fibre mono-blade and they are off, heads down, concentration at its peak, pedalling like men possessed, and rarely in those four minutes of race time do they ever get a chance to put their bums on the special aerodynamic (and particularly tortuous looking) saddle before they cross the finish line.
This is top class cycle racing at its most high tech, and by the looks of the Great Britain men’s Olympic Cycling team, their impressive state-of-the art equipment, and their highly professional training programme, I am willing to go out on a (non cycling) limb and confidently predict this highly motivated squad will pedal home from Athens with a clutch of medals that will include one gold, one silver, and three bronze, along with racking up their ranking to an impressive 6th in the world’s cycling charts.
Before meeting up with the squad at the end of an intensive winter training session at the Aphrodite Hills, I had always looked at the sport of cycling the one way does the Church – many may attend but very very few understand. But, after a time in the squad’s company I could not help but get enthusiastic about the sheer sophistication of the sport, and the level of fitness that these guys have to achieve in order to pedal to Gold.
Every single one of the team looked like they could indeed crack walnuts with their calf muscles: all were honed and super fit, and, of course completely hairless on the legs. I always thought this shaving of the legs was an effort to get themselves that teeny bit more aerodynamic, but no, the hair removal is done mainly for hygiene, as riders are constantly exposed to speeding through mud and muck whilst in training, and those fine taut limbs are much easier to keep clean if totally bereft of hair.
Talking to team members Bradley Wiggins, Rob Hayles, Tony Gibb, Paul Manning and Chris Newton as they relaxed in the Club House at the Aphrodite Hills before flying off to Majorca for another training camp, I was struck not only by these chaps’ endurance levels, but also their incredible passion for the sport – and this despite the obvious fact that this is phenomenally dangerous activity, causing not only the death of riders but some pretty serious injuries.
Tony Gibb, aged 26, is such a cool world class rider that he casually dismissed a recent broken knee cap as “a bit of a setback”. Thankfully, he is now back on top form, and armed with that all essential steely strong competitive attitude to the sport.
“Everyone wants to win, I want to win, either as a team member or as an individual and all my goals are set on this aim.” Paul Manning, 31, is another member of the team who has experienced the painful results of ‘body surfing’ onto the track while travelling at between 50 and 60km/h, resulting in two major operations to his arm.
As for Chris Newton, 32, a team pursuit member and road racer, he was once riding up a hill when he put so much pressure on his upper chest that he pulled out a rib from his spine. He has bounced back with his full compliment of ribs, ready for the Athens Olympics.
Then there is Rob Hayes, 32, who picked up a bronze at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and is determined to change that colour to gold; and Bradley Wiggins, at 22 the baby of the team, but one of the strong favourites to bring home the gold for Britain this year.
It’s clear, you cannot be a wimp: all these men are graduates of the pain academy. But on top of an ability to control pain, they also have to have peak physical condition, aggression, luck, and a committed team spirit, an elusive combination attainable but rarely sustainable.
That’s why these guys train under the watchful eye of their Olympic performance manager Richard Simmons and trainer Simon Jones, whose job it is to make sure the team members don’t peak too early, that they are in perfect physical and mental condition for that critical window of opportunity come their arrival in Athens.
The bikes are also important, but it’s the calibre of the rider that really counts in the end. One man who knows all there is to know about competitive racing is Scotsman Sandy Gilchrist, the team’s “super mechanic”, who has to adjust, mend, create and constantly tweak the bikes.
“I used to be a professional cyclist, so I know a bit about what the guys go through, what strains and stresses the different bikes take on a daily basis, both during training and in competitions,” Gilchrist said, adding that the current range of carbon fibre TRACK bikes used in competitions were actually designed by a Greek working in Nottingham.
So next time you’re out there on the Aphrodite Hills golf course, and suddenly out of nowhere, a streak of red, white and blue flashes past on what looks like a deceptively fragile looking bicycle, worry not, your only fear is if these guys ever get their hands on your Golf buggies – from all accounts, that is one truly lethal combination, and if speed buggy riding was an Olympic sport, these young Brits would definitely clear the decks.
