Tickets...a hard thing to come by in Beijing. This morning several Trek staff decided to try to get tickets to get tickets to the swimming which was taking place at the Water Cube. So they got up early, went to the Olympic Green and thought they would try their hand with scalpers. It turned out that tickets are really pretty easy to come by...just the good ones are hard to get. They were offered Modern Pentathalon, Fencing, Archery, Badminton, Race Walking (huh? Wasn’t that one a free competition?? If not, seems it should be)...but no Swimming. Finally they did locate some (they were hoping for 4), but as the asking price was more than the average person's annual salary, they decided to go find a coffee shop and watch from there. Go Michael!
Another thing we are finding interesting while here at the Olympics is the number of well known athletes, current and former, that you see and run into. Today, Trek China General Manager Todd McKean, ran into former Australian pro and Garmin Director Sportif Matt White and the most famous Australian cyclist of all time Phil Anderson. He also had an encounter with Beach Volleyball phenoms Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh…I am guessing he was a little more interested in meeting the girls than seeing the boys again!
Unfortunately the track was not very kind to USA. Both Taylor Phinney and Sarah Hammer struggled in their events and did not move forward. For those being honest with themselves, this was the expected result for Taylor. While he is the current World Jr Pursuit Champion and World Record Holder, the Jr Pursuit only covers 3km, while the Sr men and Olympic distance requires the athlete to cover 4km. That extra 1km may not seem like much, but that is the point where many crack. Although Phinney received a significant amount of attention and press coverage, unfortunately much of it was overly optimistic. Of course keep in mind Taylor is only 18 and has a long and likely successful road ahead of him. Hype or not, it was great to see all the support he got from friends and family I am sure we will see great things from him in the future. Sarah on the other hand was a big and realistic hope for the US team. Maybe the only genuinely realistic US track medal hopeful. As a 2 time World Champion and a regular visitor to the top step of the awards podium, it was disappointing to see her not even make the finals! Maybe she will come back and surprise us in the Women’s Points Race tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.
Day 9
Track cycling saw 2 sessions today. A morning session which included team pursuit and individual sprint qualifications and an evening session, which included the women’s pursuit finals and additional qualification rounds. For the most part this was a day that just set up the action we will look forward to in the coming days. However, it was impressive to see the Great Britain team pursuit “A” team set a new World Record. And to think that was only a qualifying race!
As the Cycling events move forward we look ahead to the men and women’s BMX. Although many cyclists around the world got their cycling start in BMX, the most famous being speed demon Robbie McEwan, this is the first time it is an Olympic medal event. The US athletes arrived yesterday and began their preview of the course today. These athletes are all hopefuls; so keep your eyes on these races later this week!
Stay tuned! Lot’s more coming your way. Although not a pure cycling event, we will have staff out at the women’s triathlon tomorrow to bring us back a first hand report.
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