They’re my heroes in Olympic sport.
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“He’s just one of the boys, he’s got no ego, he’s fun and focused and really a nice guy”.
“It was more about what it meant personally to me”.
“I’d come away with a bronze medal there and thought that’s it”.
“In some ways I realised what we were going into and that adds nerves to it”.
“This is the best gold medal of them all”, the 31-year-old said.
“Thank f– for that”, was Wiggins’ overwhelming feeling at the end of the race, when the rest of the team were celebrating. It’s gone now. Two years ago, all this press has been building up. It had become a burden, and it was clear just looking at him that it had lifted.
“It’s great to see him back on the track where his career started, and clearly enjoying it”. One step at a time, not thinking about the gold. In 2014, when Wiggins won silver in the team pursuit at the Commonwealth Games many questioned whether gold in Rio was a step too far.
Clancy, a bronze medallist in the omnium at London 2012, had to be driven to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester lying flat on his back in a van in late December as he could not sit upright in a chair and he went hill walking for fitness. Yet there was a persistent itch to get back on the track, one that he couldn’t help but scratch.
They originally won the final against Germany but were relegated to second for an illegal change over.
Sutton spoke to the review panel last week and Wiggins expects him to be exonerated, having been accused of making sexist remarks by Varnish and using offensive remarks to describe the para-cyclists who share the Manchester velodrome with the able-bodied riders.
Add to this his rather unique personality – the Modfather of the track, a huge Jam and Weller fan, his irrerverence (note the tongue and silly face last night on the podium) – and Wiggins has been huge not just for his sport, but for helping transform this country into a nation of cyclists.
After the victory, the three greats were brought together.
He now has team pursuit titles from 2008 and this year, individual pursuit crowns from 2004 and 2008 and his time-trial gold from four years ago.
Olympic officials say work has begun on returning the water in the diving pool in Rio to its original blue colour after it went green. Past year was so hard.
“When you’re that confident and you throw it out there and you pull it off, well, congratulations”, said Jack Bobridge. “We left it all out there”. They are so talented at what they do but they don’t get the credit for it because they are not big road stars.
Page admits it’ll be years until she realises the realities of her Olympic silver after becoming the first British athlete ever to win a trampoline medal at the Games.
Australia gambled in the final, setting out at breakneck pace. “We’ve had some big downs and crossing the line, it made every single pedal rev and every training session worthwhile”.
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Despite ruption in the British Cycling camp in the lead-up to Rio, including Wiggins’ old mentor and team director Shane Sutton standing down after a discrimination controversy, Britain’s dominance on the boards continues.
