She seems to have almost disappeared from top level
What? She won bronze in womens sprint last year ...
The fact that she witnessed Vogel's accident live clearly took a toll on her (according to newspaper reports), but i have no doubt that she will be fine for 2020.
In the end those world championships between olympics are rather unimportant, especially because GB never bothers to show up. I think the past couple olympics only very few world champions won the gold medal in their respective events and i don't think it will be different this time. I think the Netherlands will win gold in men's team sprint and GB will probably win both team pursuits, but apart from that i don't see anyone who can already be considered a big favorite for the olympics.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
10.712 for Friedrich in women's sprint qualification!
Would have been the 2nd fastest time at the world championships last year (let's see what it's worth this year, considering that the track seems extremely fast). If the german coaches know anything about track cycling, they will find a way to coach Friedrich/Grabosch to gold in the team sprint in 2020.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Lea Sophie Friedrich won all 4 sprint events, she's the third girl in history to complete this sweep in the same year (Voinova and Shmeleva were the first two).
About Friedrich sweeping the sprint events: Emma Hinze would have done the same in 2015 if her teammate Pauline Grabosch wouldnt have won the 500 m time trial in a junior world record time, 0.07 seconds ahead of Hinze. I am sure that Gros would have also swept the sprints last year with a better partner in team sprint.
For me the really impressive thing wasn't the fact that she swept the sprints, but the fashion she did it in. She won both races in the sprint final by more than half a second and in the keirin final she also won by a landslide. It was just crazy to see how superior she was to all the other talents out there. Last year she already won bronze in the sprint, only losing to Gros in the semifinal. I am really excited to see which athletes will compete for Germany in the (team) sprint/keirin in Tokyo. Welte probably has a safe spot in the team sprint, but right now i hope that Grabosch and Friedrich will compete in the sprint and keirin. Emma Hinze is also in the mix, but she is the oldest one among those 3 and clearly needs a huge jump in her development if she wants to qualify for Tokyo.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
On the womens side so far business as usual: Italy dominating endurance events and Germany dominating sprint events
On the mens side things are not so clear and there is much more variety with medals for India, Czech Republic and Kazakhstan
Positive surprises: The polish girls and the french guys (maybe we could also mention the australian guys) + track cycling might finally become a more global sport
Negative surprises: GB as a team and from a german perspective the whole team except for womens sprint events
I wish the german coaches would take lessons from the french coaches. France had one amazing talent on the womens side in Gros and now they seem to focus more on the mens side, Germany on the other hand is producing great female sprint talents every year, which makes not much sense given that there are only 2-3 spots in those events at the olympics. At the same time Germany is clearly lacking talent on the mens side and in all endurance events. Until 2020 Germany should be fine, but after that the german team faces a very dark future in mens sprint/team sprint/keirin.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Historic day for cycling, one legend leaves the stage (Vogel), while another one returns to the stage (Bötticher). Now all he has to do is stay healthy, then there are no limits for him. With Grabosch back german track cycling doesnt seem hopeless, although the absence of Vogel in Tokyo will probably cost Germany 2-3 gold medals.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
That again shows the amazing control those riders have over their bikes. Also glad to see a german athlete beating a dutch athlete at a major competition, dont remember the last time this happened (across all sports), even at the water polo european championships Germany flopped hard.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Absolutely true, but don't forget Vigier. I think he will be on the sprint podium at the Olympics with Kenny and Botticher. Maybe the Dutch still have a chance for a medal in the teamsprint.
GB will of course will win gold in both events ... but the dutch certainly have a chance for silver in team sprint, the same is true for Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, France. I think it will be GB-Netherlands-Germany. GB always wins gold, the Netherlands are currently ahead and Germany has a very new team with a guy born in 1999 in first position so they will surely get better.
In the individual event it will be a massacre with Kenny, Carlin, 2 dutch guys, Bötticher, Vigier and Glaetzer. For me this is the most competitive event in track cycling.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Netherlands being amazing at european championships as usual, just to roll over when it really counts. I think its sad that the dutch coaches think that british dominance at the olympics is so big that they dont even have to try to peak for the olympics, instead they focus on the european championships.
Good comeback for Bötticher, he has already the best raw speed, now he just needs some routine with his tactics and then i dont see anyone (maybe except for Kenny or another injury) stopping him. Unless Grabosch, Hinze or Gros beome good really fast, europe might struggle to win a medal in womens sprint at the next olympics.
Womens omnium has to be by far the most boring event in track cycling, even madison is (sometimes) a bit entertaining, although still a horrible event for people who dont follow track cycling very closely, elimination race on the other hand is super easy to follow and therefore would be better as an olympic event.
Edited by OlympicsFan
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
I am not a fan of omnium, for me it would be best to have 3 endurance events (individual pursuit, team pursuit, elimination race) and 3 sprint events (sprint, team sprint and keirin) at the olympics.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
When even people from the home of this kind of racing are confused, cheering one lap too early (including the commentator), you know madison is confusing
There are american fans in Glasgow?
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
All those endurace events remind me of curling, watching them helps you fall asleep. They should cancel this event and instead introduce mixed team sprint/pursuit.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Same is true for Grabosch. Both have insane raw speed but are absolutely hopeless when it comes to tactics, thats why the training with Vogel would have been so valuable for them. Vogel was never out of this world when it comes to raw speed, but she just knew how to trick the opponent. With Vogel gone Germany lost 2-3 safe gold medals, but of course thats not important as long as Vogel gets back on her feet.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
I think GB, France, Italy, Switzerland and Russia can all go 3:56. I have to say that i am not happy at all with the first german rider, Leon Rohde gave up in both rounds after like 100 m (i am exaggerating a bit of course), this cant have been the plan.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Good time for Germany, considering that Hinze is only the 3rd option and that this is the first time that Welte and Hinze compete together. Maybe in Tokyo we will even see Grabosch and Hinze together.
Also gutsy move by the german coaches to have Timo Bichler (born in 1999) in position 1, will be hard for him to make Rene Enders (probably the best athlete ever in position one of the team sprint) proud .
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Both Denmark and Germany flopping hard. Germany has an excuse since Schomber and Reinhardt are ill/injured, but what the hell was going on with Denmark?
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
I think GB and Italy were both slower than at the world championships while Germany was more than a second faster. I am bit surprised that neither Brauße nor Knauer made the team, overall the german team is rather old. On the mens side i am very excited to see what the german team can do with two new riders (One of them being Domenic Weinstein, who is by far the best german athlete in individual time trial) compared to the team that rode 3:56 at the world championships.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Posted
What? She won bronze in womens sprint last year ...
The fact that she witnessed Vogel's accident live clearly took a toll on her (according to newspaper reports), but i have no doubt that she will be fine for 2020.
In the end those world championships between olympics are rather unimportant, especially because GB never bothers to show up. I think the past couple olympics only very few world champions won the gold medal in their respective events and i don't think it will be different this time. I think the Netherlands will win gold in men's team sprint and GB will probably win both team pursuits, but apart from that i don't see anyone who can already be considered a big favorite for the olympics.
Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached.
Link to post
Share on other sites