European Track Championships begin countdown for Olympics
The inaugural edition of the senior elite European Track Championships will be held this weekend at the BGZ Arena in Pruszkow, Poland. More than 260 of Europe’s top track cyclists from 25 different nations will by vying for 11 different titles over three
days.
“It's basically going to be like a world championships without the Australians," said cyclist Chris Hoy. "It's very important to start off for the Olympics on the right foot, and the Europeans are our first step towards qualification for London 2012.”
The first day, Friday, hosts the team sprint and team pursuit, Saturday will hold the individual sprints and the first day of the omnium events and Sunday features the keirin competitions and the conclusion of the omnium events. Several Olympic qualification
points are on the table, ensuring a stiff competition between the over 260 cyclists signed up.
Hoy is the favourite for the men’s sprint and a member of the British team sprint squad. He was been among the cyclists who recently expressed displeasure at the proximity of the Championships to the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. Many riders
have stated that it is a lot to ask of a cyclist to compete in the Championships so soon after returning from India. Several sprinters have declined to compete in the event for that reason.
“It's a decision that's been forced on me by the nature of the qualification process for the London Olympics,” said Hoy. “It wouldn’t be sensible to come into a long track season with all guns blazing. Last year I made that mistake when I was too enthusiastic
at the start and paid the price by the end. I've taken deliberate steps to make sure that doesn't happen again.”
UCI president Pat McQuaid rejected the criticism. The Commonwealth Games finished on October 8, giving the riders almost a month between the two events, a far larger gap than road cyclists are used to. It is perhaps a new idea to the track cyclists, since
this is the first time the European Championships is not an exclusively under-23 event and Olympic qualification points are up for grabs.
"I do not necessarily agree with some of the statements that have been made by some athletes that they cannot compete at certain events because of the European Championships," said McQuaid. "I believe that if an athlete cannot compete six, seven maybe ten
times a year then they should not call themselves a top class athlete. And so I think some of the statements made was a little bit of playing to the galleries."
Lithuania will be bringing a strong team in the women’s team sprint and keirin, while the French and British teams are offering stiff competition in most of the races. World champion Ed Clancy is a favourite for the men’s omnium, but Lizzie Armitstead’s
absence at the championships will open up the women’s omnium to several possible favourites. Victoria Pendleton has also opted out of the women’s individual sprint in favour of the team sprint, which will likely be Lithuania’s big win in Poland, in the hands
of world bronze medallist Simona Krupeckaitė.
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