Day five Summary: No panic for Team GB

2009 track cycling world championships logo

published 8 April 2009

Two years of dominance came to an end for the British track team in Poland last week as the other nations finally pegged them back. But this was no disaster, and there will be no panic or blame reverberating through the offices around the Manchester Velodrome.

This was another five days of solid performances from a very different looking British team that won nine medals from nine different events. There was no bumper gold medal haul like the ones in Palma or Manchester, but the medals that were won confirmed that the British team can still hold their own despite fielding a young team missing five of their Olympic champions.

The team had travelled to Poland secure in the knowledge that this was the start of the run that goes all the way to the London 2012 Olympics ? it was in effect the bottom of the barrel. They could have tried to reproduce the performances of last year but there was no point. There is nothing to gain from winning the team pursuit with the same four riders that won last year; the aim is to move the team on and bring through the young riders that will be competing in three-and-a-half years time.

?It was a conscious decision. We said as a whole group, staff and riders, we?re not going to perform to the level we have in the past, it?s not going to happen,? Performance Director Dave Brailsford said. ?We?re just going to have to take it on the chin, knowing that we?re working to a plan to build and perform well in 2012 rather than panicking and trying to hang on to meet the level of expectation and then die off afterwards.

Last year Team GB were utterly dominant in Manchester, almost to the point that it was a bit embarrassing for the rest of the world. They won medals in 10 events, but because there were nine gold medals to celebrate it felt like a rout. This year there may only have been two golds, but Team GB won a medal in nine events. And that's without Sir Chris Hoy, Rebecca Romero and Bradley Wiggins in the team ? who between them contributed to seven of those golds in Manchester.

Pendleton's attempt to win a medal in all four sprint events was hugely ambitious, particularly after the year she's had. The epic sprint final against Willy Kanis took too much out of her for the keirin. But a best-ever performance in the World Championship 500-metre time trial and a first bronze medal, followed by a silver and gold makes it a hugely successful week for a rider who is not at her peak.

Great Britain has won a medal in the World Championship team pursuit every year since 2000. That run came to an end, but the positives are obvious. The team's average age was just 21. Steven Burke, Peter Kennaugh and Jonny Bellis were making their Worlds debut in the event. Half-a-second quicker in qualifying and they'd have been comfortably in the gold medal final. That's without even mentioning that three of the team lost crucial days of training a fortnight before the race because of food poisoning, and that three weeks ago Ed Clancy broke a bone in his foot when he stubbed his toe.

Jason Kenny

Chris Newton

Victoria Pendleton

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Day five Summary: No panic for Team GB

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