Hoy and Pendleton cap triumphant team effort as Britain charge back

Richard Moore
The Guardian, Monday 3 December 2007

Britain’s track cyclists recovered from a disappointing first day at the Sydney World Cup with Victoria Pendleton, Chris Hoy and the team pursuit squad leading a charge over the weekend that re-established them as the team to beat in the velodrome.

Pendleton put the disappointment of her elimination in Friday’s sprint quarter-final behind her, and overcame the effects of a stomach bug to return yesterday with a gold medal in the women’s keirin. Hoy emulated her success in the men’s event, with Ross Edgar taking the silver.

But it was arguably the men’s team pursuit squad that provided Dave Brailsford, the British performance director, with the most satisfaction. A makeshift quartet, including one rider who had arrived late in Sydney and one who had contested the points race the previous evening, stormed to a decisive victory in Saturday’s 4km event in a time that surprised not only their opponents but also Brailsford.

“Brilliant,” was Brailsford’s description of the performance of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Newton, Ed Clancy and Steve Cummings. “It shows the level we’ve stepped up to. Bradley had stepped off the plane, Chris had raced the previous evening, and the only time they rode together was for four laps [1km] prior to qualifying. To then ride together as they did in qualifying [where they recorded the fastest time of 4:04.16] was phenomenal.”
Published – December 2007
The Guardian UK – Full Article