The 2021 Tokyo Olympic Thread

[Sharkey]

I don't mind things like skateboarding, tennis, golf, surfing - they are sports.

But breakdancing? Really? That is not a sport and just should not be there.

DS

I actually don't think there should be any events at the Olympics that are scored by judges. The Olympic motto is Faster, Higher, Stronger not Artistic, Popular, Most Rad.

[Retrobyte]

I actually don't think there should be any events at the Olympics that are scored by judges.

Spot on! If you can't decide the winner with a stopwatch, tape measure, a finish line, or by counting goals then it's not really a sport.

[Arbuckle23]

I actually don't think there should be any events at the Olympics that are scored by judges.

Spot on! If you can't decide the winner with a stopwatch, tape measure, a finish line, or by counting goals then it's not really a sport.

100% my attitude as well

[MichaelB]

I don't mind things like skateboarding, tennis, golf, surfing - they are sports.

But breakdancing? Really? That is not a sport and just should not be there.

DS

I personally like the older ideal of it was for more 'traditional sports' and amateurs. Then again, synchronised swimming wouldn't be missed.

Meh, dunno what the 'right' answer is ?

[warthog1]

Just watched a women's 100m sprint semi-final.
The defending gold medalist hit 39.3kmh before she turned off the taps at ~75m mark and still trotted over the line in first. 10.73s sec I think it was.

[Warnesy]

Just watched a women's 100m sprint semi-final.
The defending gold medalist hit 39.3kmh before she turned off the taps at ~75m mark and still trotted over the line in first. 10.75s sec I think it was.

I was watching that too. Think she's faster than me when I go for my sprint on the bike

[warthog1]

Yep. Imagine tapping along pretty hard on the roadie and she runs past!

[AUbicycles]

The BMX was good to watch but also frustrating that another rider can take you out like that… but penalties are not easy to rule on in BMX.

I partly agree on the judging, but have really enjoyed the skating and freestyle BMX which are judged.

Break dancing can be about physicsl capability but the artistic is a matter of taste … like the rhythmic gymnastics

[Mr Purple]

When you think about it, most of the swimming events are a bit redundant.

I mean in athletics, you have the 100m sprint. Whereas if you had the same equivalent as the swimming, you'd have the 100m sprint, the 100m hopping on one leg, the 100m running backwards, and the 100m crabwalking.

We all know the fastest way to get through a 100m on land, but get multiple options in the water. All of which are slower than freestyle.

[foo on patrol]

Men's Teams Pursuit, never got to finish, due to Porter breaking his handle bars and face planting the track. It seems that they won't get to ride, oh I just heard that they may yet, after the medal presentation for the women's Teams Pursuit.

Foo

[warthog1]

Men's Teams Pursuit, never got to finish, due to Porter breaking his handle bars and face planting the track. It seems that they won't get to ride, oh I just heard that they may yet, after the medal presentation for the women's Teams Pursuit.

Foo

Ouch.
Scary!!

[Derny Driver]

Men's Teams Pursuit, never got to finish, due to Porter breaking his handle bars and face planting the track. It seems that they won't get to ride, oh I just heard that they may yet, after the medal presentation for the women's Teams Pursuit.

Foo

Ouch.
Scary!!

So disappointing. Tough to come back after that crash.
They had to rearrange the order and try to ride a time with just 3 riders for most of it.

[P!N20]

[warthog1]

^^A picture tells a thousand words.
Thanks PIN
A bit of a vid here
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/oly ... 94995.html

[foo on patrol]

Men's Teams Pursuit, never got to finish, due to Porter breaking his handle bars and face planting the track. It seems that they won't get to ride, oh I just heard that they may yet, after the medal presentation for the women's Teams Pursuit.

Foo

Ouch.
Scary!!

So disappointing. Tough to come back after that crash.
They had to rearrange the order and try to ride a time with just 3 riders for most of it.

Yes very and Porter favoured that left leg on the restart. A lot of matches burnt in the original start, so that was also against them. Wonder if they can use a reserve rider tomorrow and go for the WR?

Foo

[Derny Driver]

Wonder if they can use a reserve rider tomorrow and go for the WR?

Foo

Great idea.
Luke Plapp is there and is definately good enough.
Love to see that !

[stevenaaus]

I guess they were/are saving Plapp for the finals.

Nasty bike debacle

[DavidS]

That was a shocker, good thing the handlebars broke on the last bike in the group or it would have been even worse.

DS

[Derny Driver]

I guess they were/are saving Plapp for the finals.

I think the plan was probably to swap Howard for Plapp in the final.

Im wondering if they may sit Porter out today, and use Plapp, Welsford, O'Brien and Howard. Porter is a powerhouse though and the starter. It will be slightly disruptive. But those 4 should be able to qualify faster than the countries in 6th, 7th and 8th.

If Porter recovers, we could then bring our A team to the bronze ride tomorrow. Porter, Welsford, O'Brien and Plapp/Howard. Ride a time that shows what we could have done if we had not crashed. Maybe attempt the world record.
Only problem with that idea is that lapping at 14 seconds, its only 7 seconds to catch the other team. That could quite possibly happen if Australia are on song, and will interfere badly with their time.

Either way I hope the team can put in a strong ride today and / or tomorrow, and show us what they are capable of.

[dalai47]

The new minimalist aerobars!

I had posted the following in the Track forum, DD mentioned an existing topic here...

The failure (alleged) of the 3D printed base bars in the Mens Pursuit forcing the Australian's had to regroup and ride again is ridiculous. I am surprised more stringent testing wasn't undertaken, especially as everything is meant to be on sale for the public at least that was the rule... All those years training for the riders only to miss out on potential gold due to the breaking (allegedly) of the handlebars.

Also the sneaky Dutch with TapeGate. Each rider has tape on their shins which is not illegal (yet - UCI will have the rules rewritten in a jiffy) to assist aerodynamics. When I went into the Monash Wind Tunnel back in 2008. At the end of my session I still had some tunnel time, so I had a couple of additional idea's I wanted to confirm. One of which aero benefit of covered legs which I tested quickly by pulling on a pair of Skin compression tights and saw a slight improvement in reducing drag. Will be marginal gains, but at that level...

[fat and old]

Maybe they should have stuck with the stock bars?

The strongest athletes need the strongest equipment. We, therefore, raised the maximum resistance up to 350kgf - more than 3x the load recommended for the BB by ISO test standards. We did the same thing for the cockpit, where we doubled the load compared to ISO standards for fatigue and ultimate strength testing.

[familyguy]

The British women rode a great team pursuit. Then turned off and one of them rode into the back of another, oops!

The Aussies just broke the Olympic Record in the mens team sprint heat. Then the Dutch came out and lowered it again!

[familyguy]

Did the Danes just mess that up??

[foo on patrol]

Did the Danes just mess that up??

Yes and no. The position they ride in is not good for frontal vision but feel the should have a glance up, as the come out of every bend, so that they know where the other riders are.

Foo

[find_bruce]

I thought the Aussie team sprint had found an unusual way to mess up, then the Brits did the same