Olympics 2012 discussion
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MCdread
Couldn't she get drowned?
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I wonder if Vino shouted "****, they're coming!".
Uran looks one way and Vino opens the sprint from the opposite side like an old fox. It was a great win, especially given the recent tendency of trying to make races less and less instinctive and attacking. Vino like he's done all his career shows the youngsters that if you're smart and daring you can win even if you don't have the best wattage and VO2max.The biggest failure was Germany's imo. At least with GB everyone knew that's what they were gonna do and they rode in front all day, but Germany just gambled on GB doing all the work and then they'd squeeze in for a sliver (or gold if Cav wasn't at his best).
Cancellara seemed too distressed at the end. Hopefully he didn't break his collar bone. He played it tactically perfect here and was on a good course for 2 golds. Martin has been in bad form and DNF today (to save energies or cause he's wasted?), so maybe GB can put this disappointment behind their backs with gold and silver in the TT for Wiggins and Froome.
Yeah, and I bet one of the reasons was because radios weren't allowed. Get rid of radios in all races and maybe we'll come a good way to start watching proper exciting bike racing, where individual riders have to take decisions during the race instead of being controlled by a team manager in a car computer game style.
I wonder, for example, if Great Britain's riders were aware of all the dangerous guys that were jumping left and right on the attack the last time they did the climb. Their one dimensional plan, with absolutely no back up plan, didn't have enough flexibility to control and respond to the race situation at that instant.
del62
Deity
I wonder if Vino shouted "****, they're coming!".
The biggest failure was Germany's imo. At least with GB everyone knew that's what they were gonna do and they rode in front all day, but Germany just gambled on GB doing all the work and then they'd squeeze in for a sliver (or gold if Cav wasn't at his best).
Cancellara seemed too distressed at the end. Hopefully he didn't break his collar bone. He played it tactically perfect here and was on a good course for 2 golds. Martin has been in bad form and DNF today (to save energies or cause he's wasted?), so maybe GB can put this disappointment behind their backs with gold and silver in the TT for Wiggins and Froome.
Yeah, and I bet one of the reasons was because radios weren't allowed. Get rid of radios in all races and maybe we'll come a good way to start watching proper exciting bike racing, where individual riders have to take decisions during the race instead of being controlled by a team manager in a car computer game style.
I wonder, for example, if Great Britain's riders were aware of all the dangerous guys that were jumping left and right on the attack the last time they did the climb. Their one dimensional plan, with absolutely no back up plan, didn't have enough flexibility to control and respond to the race situation at that instant.
I think the problem is that if they had gone with the guys on the final climb, they would have lost Cav, perhaps it would have been better to send one or two up the road with them, but after doing the chasing all day, they would not have been in any position to do much in the break.
I am not sure that race radios would have made any difference though, just 4 people who had been working all day and the occasional effort from someone else was not enough to brink back 3 determined spanish and 3 determined swiss riders, plus work from others like TJ, especiallly when they were fairly thresh.
What really suprised me was they could not respond to the late move, but I guess the crash and keeping the gap from the pelaton took a lot out of them.
As for Cancellara, I think the fact that he did not even finish in the main peleton does not look good for his time trial hopes.
MCdread
Couldn't she get drowned?
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That's true. What I meant was that they wasted all their riders working for a single race scenario, and should have had a plan B. When Cancellara et al. (even if they didn't notice Cancellara was on the move they noticed there was a big group of people kicking the big gear) attacked they should have a guy doing the same. To give them more chances in case a break wins and to control/disrupt the break if possible.
In this particular case the fact they only had 4 guys (+ Team Sky's Eisel...) was certainly the most important factor. Plus none of Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands et al. wanted a bunch sprint; only Germany (but not enough commitment) and Australia (but only half heartedly) did besides GB.
Radios do make imo a huge difference in racing in general though, when deciding when to chase, attack, respond, pace, etc. Cycling is an endurance sport where the physiological numbers you measure in the lab or in the gym matter a lot, but the best of cycling is the tactical ingenuity and daring racing that develop on the spot as the race progresses and changes. A cyclist should have a broader set of skills beyond physical attributes and the capacity to follow the orders of the team director, sitting in a car and doing the calculations on a computer. Races become boring processions.
That's why Vinokourov, from what I can gather talking to friends and reading blogs online, still has so many fans despite his tainted past: he's uncompromisingly an attacking and exciting racer no matter the terrain.
Jan H
Prince
The other difference with "regular" races, besides the radios, is the much smaller teams. There have been a number of people recently who have argued for smaller teams (6 or 7 instead of 9) in all races.
MCdread
Couldn't she get drowned?
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That's true. I'd also settle for that, but it might be unrealistic from a financial point of view. To maintain the same number of cyclists employed you'd need more teams and more sponsors, and it's already hard to attract enough sponsors.
Kraznaya
Princeps
Zero medals won by the Brits on day 1 
Let's see if we can keep the streak going.Zero medals won by the Brits on day 1
classical_hero
In whom I trust
I bet the men were glad they didn't have to race today on the road. It was awful for the women.
NickyJ
Retired Narrator
That last French guy in the relay was flying! Sadly for me, it was at the expense of the U.S. 
Canada's on the medal board, with a bronze in women's synchro diving. 
classical_hero
In whom I trust
WTH. The Opals lost to France and now are unlikely to playoff for the gold.
wilycoyote
King
Apparently a woman can swim faster than the fastest man... That doesn't seem strange at all... Nope, everyone knows that woman are as strong as men... Yep...
Formaldehyde
Both Fair And Balanced
What is the deal with the little wading pool in the diving events?
Yep... must be eating something besides WHEATIES.
Congee?
I think it's something to do with the different water temperatures. It must be one heck of a shock to the system to take such a fast dive into the main pool, and they take a quick dip in the smaller (warmer) one to calm their muscles and nerves a bit. After all, they have 5 dives to do in a relatively short amount of time.
I could be wrong about this, but I vaguely recall someone explaining it a couple of Olympics ago.
DroopyTofu
Double Bass Double Bass
I'm guessing its heated to keep theirmuscles warmed up and limber.
Formaldehyde
Both Fair And Balanced
That would be my guess as well. It gets really crowded during the synchronized diving. 
Huge goings on in men's gymnastics. First the US choked big time. Then Britain edged out Ukraine for 3rd on the very last rotation. Then Kohei Uchimura, "the greatest gymnast of our time" from Japan, choked big time as the very last competitor on the pummel horse, so they dropped from 2nd all the way out of the medals, putting China in 1st, the UK in 2nd, and the Ukraine in 3rd. Japan is appealing.
EDIT: And now the judges changed their minds and gave it back to Japan. The fans are not pleased at all.
Here is his "handstand", a required element:
Huge goings on in men's gymnastics. First the US choked big time. Then Britain edged out Ukraine for 3rd on the very last rotation. Then Kohei Uchimura, "the greatest gymnast of our time" from Japan, choked big time as the very last competitor on the pummel horse, so they dropped from 2nd all the way out of the medals, putting China in 1st, the UK in 2nd, and the Ukraine in 3rd. Japan is appealing.
EDIT: And now the judges changed their minds and gave it back to Japan. The fans are not pleased at all.
Here is his "handstand", a required element:
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