If I were in the Olympics....

[perplexed]

I'd do my damndest to hang onto her wheel...

 

[Jdratcliffe]

I'd do my damndest to hang onto her wheel...

would be a very nice view and incentive to keep it :-)
http://i31.tinypic.com/2lm3rea.jpg

 

[rich p]

would be a very nice view and incentive to keep it :-)
http://i31.tinypic.com/2lm3rea.jpg

You do know that was photoshopped, don't you?
My body, her head, Raindogs's hair, Noodley's bosoms and Flying Monkey's bike.

 

[User16625]

Didnt make much difference in the womens mountain bike event. At the end of the race the british girl said she was happy with her performance. SHE WAS 8TH FFS!! That is absolutely crap and I hate it when competitors talk like that even tho they done badly. Such a huge disappointment given the performance of our track cyclists. Hopefully the mens event will bring us some success.

 

[ColinJ]

Didnt make much difference in the womens mountain bike event. At the end of the race the british girl said she was happy with her performance. SHE WAS 8TH FFS!! That is absolutely crap and I hate it when competitors talk like that even tho they done badly. Such a huge disappointment given the performance of our track cyclists. Hopefully the mens event will bring us some success.

8th in the Olympics when you are ranked #1 in the world and favourite for gold would be crap. 8th when you are only 21 years old, have not yet built up full pro level endurance and have your entire career ahead of you is a great achievement! Especially when you are the first British woman to even qualify since 2000...

 

[oldroadman]

8th in the Olympics when you are ranked #1 in the world and favourite for gold would be crap. 8th when you are only 21 years old, have not yet built up full pro level endurance and have your entire career ahead of you is a great achievement! Especially when you are the first British woman to even qualify since 2000...

+1 to that, she is still maturing as a rider, and gave a big effort at the start, haung on well, then paid the bill later in pure suffering. I doubt if Ridelike the Stig has any concept of the level of suffering at the top end of the sport, so let's not worry about silly comments.

 

[asterix]

Just curious. If I did the road race distance and route on my hybrid I would be able to average 25km/h. If I had all the gear (cycle, clothing etc) of the olympic competitors , would it be fair to say using the same energy my speed would be around 30 km/h? Or is that still fanciful?

Just wanting to get a handle of what they can do?

I really think you could! When I got my audax bike, a few lbs lighter than my tourer and more aerodynamic, I did 3000km at an avg speed of 27km/h, training for the Raid Pyrenean. I could feel the difference. (It was shame that 2 days before I left for France someone opened a car door in my face and put me in hospital so I didn't do the RP until 2 years later but that's another matter.)

 

[oldroadman]

25 kph on a hybrid on a flat road with no wind is probably a power of around 130 W. (clearly the road race route involves hills so would require a higher power to average the same speed)
25 kph on a typical racing bike wearing a skinsuit is probably only around 100 W . You save maybe 15 W in reduced rolling resistance and maybe 20 W in reduced drag. I don't know how much better still the top professionals achieve.
Put the other way, your power output of 130 W would deliver only a modest increase to 28 kph on a racing bike.
Bradley Wiggins, I understand, routinely outputs over 400 W for a whole ride and can sustain nearer 500 W for significant periods (the world hour record on the track is also about 500W). Sprints involve nearer a kilowatt.
Better bikes help us go faster but not that much. The sad fact is that most people who cycle faster than we do do so not because they have a better bike, as we like to delude ourselves, but because they are fitter than us.

(calculations performed using Chris Juden's excellent Excel spreadsheet available on the CTC website)

And considerably more talented than well above average, with a bigger physical engine and inbuilt ability to suffer for as long as it takes! A world of genetic exception at the top end of any physical sport.

 

[lulubel]

8th in the Olympics when you are ranked #1 in the world and favourite for gold would be crap. 8th when you are only 21 years old, have not yet built up full pro level endurance and have your entire career ahead of you is a great achievement! Especially when you are the first British woman to even qualify since 2000...

I absolutely agree. It was a fantastic performance.

RideLikeTheStig obviously thinks he could have done better, so hopefully we'll be able to cheer him on at the 2016 Olympics.

 

[User16625]

I absolutely agree. It was a fantastic performance.

RideLikeTheStig obviously thinks he could have done better, so hopefully we'll be able to cheer him on at the 2016 Olympics.

I most probably be dead by then.