Things are looking bleak

Help me out, I am having some memory problems. Other than Clara Hughes what other canadian women have medaled on the road at the olympics.

Other than Clara????

What's wrong with Clara's bronze (correction) medal? How many do you need? Canadian women had always done well in the past. This is their worst Olympic road race.

Fausto Coppied said:

Other than Clara????

What's wrong with Clara's gold medal? How many do yo need? Canadian women had always done well in the past. This is their worst Olympic road race.

Nothing is wrong with Clara's gold (did she get gold? I could swear that it was two bronze medals).

Your previous statement implied that more than one canadian women had medaled. When to medal in womens road and TT events it took probably the best female athlete in Canadian history.

Didn't you make fun of how canadian women did 2004?

Did you watch the race this year? Do you know what happened? Do you know anything about the canadian women who raced?

This was the worse finish for Canadian women in years, medals or not.

Let's see, 2004, when Sue Palmer "launched" an attack slowly grinding the biggest gear she could while Bessette crashed at the front of field chasing?
No, I did not see that.

I'm not really blaming the women themsleves but the entire Canadian "system" or lack of it.

The Canadian Olympic cycling selection has always been flawed. It focuses on the qualification and leaves the athletes ill-prepared for the event itself.

We have faired better at Worlds.

Women's Road Race event in Olympic cycling.

Year: 1984 (first year in Olympics)
Gold: Connie Carpenter-Phinney, USA 2:11:14
Silver: Rebecca Twigg, USA 2:11:14
Bronze: Sandra Schumacher, FRG 2:11:14

Year: 1988
Gold: Monique Knol, NED 2:00:52
Silver: Jutta Niehaus, FRG 2:00:52
Bronze: Laima Zilporité, URS 2:00:52

Year: 1992
Gold: Kathy Watt, AUS 2:04:42
Silver: Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli, FRA 2:05:02
Bronze: Monique Knol, NED 2:05:03

Year: 1996
Gold: Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli, FRA 2:36:13
Silver: Imelda Chiappa, ITA 2:36:38
Bronze: Clara Hughes, CAN 2:36:44

Year: 2000
Gold: Leontien Zijlaard, NED 3:06:31
Silver: Hanka Kupfernagel, GER 3:06:31
Bronze: Diana Ziluté, LTU 3:06:31

Year: 2004
Gold: Sara Carrigan, AUS 3:24:24
Silver: Judith Arndt, GER 3:24:31
Bronze: Olga Slyusareva, RUS 3:25:03

Fausto Coppied said:

The Canadian Olympic cycling selection has always been flawed. It focuses on the qualification and leaves the athletes ill-prepared for the event itself.

I agree with you on that, for most of the part. The late selection dates creates problems for many athletes. However the medal contenders know way in advance that they are going. For example Alex Wrubulski (who crashed really hard in road race BTW) and Premont knew early on that they were going. The other athletes who aren't really medal contenders have to wait.

One problem with early selection is things can change quickly. For example if the womens MTB team had been selected last year Bisaro would have probably been selected over Pendrel. Pendrel is going into the olympics fresh off a world cup win and ranked 3rd in the world. Bisaro, who has had some injury problems, is ranked 30th in the world.

And yet, the men's team had their best showing in years. Mike B was right there in selection with Valverde and all and finished 9th--best showing since Bauer's (amateur) silver. Ryder in break all day.

Svein tuft--7th in TT. Zach Bell, 7th.

Kabush--medal in MTB?

have a good day sir.

kclw said:

I agree with you on that, for most of the part. The late selection dates creates problems for many athletes. However the medal contenders know way in advance that they are going. For example Alex Wrubulski (who crashed really hard in road race BTW) and Premont knew early on that they were going. The other athletes who aren't really medal contenders have to wait.

One problem with early selection is things can change quickly. For example if the womens MTB team had been selected last year Bisaro would have probably been selected over Pendrel. Pendrel is going into the olympics fresh off a world cup win and ranked 3rd in the world. Bisaro, who has had some injury problems, is ranked 30th in the world.

Well...there is no planned program in CCA. These few good athletes are freaks and no one really cares about them, but they still do well because they love what they are doing. This just shows that they are great athletes. But when you look what is happening where it really matters for the future and where the program for London olympiad should start, there's nothing there. I mean Juniors and U23 here.

You just need to have long term program. Sure CCA has cool plans but execution sucks big time because there's more people interesting in their own salary than people interested in cycling and athletes. Hell...I know people in CCA positions who are doing their best (or worst) to shoot down the modest efforts in provincial level.

Look at Christian Meier--he's at least an example of SOMETHING good coming out of the CCA junior and u23 development program. National team projects and training since junior, now on Garmin as stagiare and doing well in the first few races in Europe, getting in moves etc.

holli said:

Well...there is no planned program in CCA. These few good athletes are freaks and no one really cares about them, but they still do well because they love what they are doing. This just shows that they are great athletes. But when you look what is happening where it really matters for the future and where the program for London olympiad should start, there's nothing there. I mean Juniors and U23 here.

You just need to have long term program. Sure CCA has cool plans but execution sucks big time because there's more people interesting in their own salary than people interested in cycling and athletes. Hell...I know people in CCA positions who are doing their best (or worst) to shoot down the modest efforts in provincial level.

Uboat said:

Look at Christian Meier--he's at least an example of SOMETHING good coming out of the CCA junior and u23 development program. National team projects and training since junior, now on Garmin as stagiare and doing well in the first few races in Europe, getting in moves etc.

Thanks for correction. I just don't think that this would be enough. If there would be 3-5 Christian Meiers every year, then I could talk about a well planned program.

Well, it looks to be over.

As I predicted after the Athens Games in 2004, Canadian cyclists did not bring home one Olympic medal, not even in BMX an event created for them and Americans.

No surprise. The entire medal count for Canada seems to be low. Mediocrity rules in the Great White North. You have a mediocre PM. You have a mediocre public.

Your athletes are top notch but they are saddled by dismal bureaucrats.

Nowhere is that more evident than in cycling which put a woman in charge who knows absolutely nothing about the sport. Only in cycling could you find a policy so idiotic. That shame there lies with former CCA President Bill Kinash of Saskatchewan, the worst cycling province in Canada in the last 35 years.

I have been telling you things were in a death spiral for five years now. You refused to listen.

Too bad for the riders They have suffered the most.

You are simply getting what you deserve because you have done nothing to change it. Not one thing. But everybody is having fun taking rich masters or cyclotourists to Europe and ripping off riders with huge registration fees in meaningless mass events ignore by the media (except Rob Jones and his Canadian Cyclist so he can sell you pictures) so 800 or 1200 of them can get a t-shirt and one guy can take home a prize in equipment of $500.

Congratulations on your dismantling of the sport Mr. Kinash. It is now completely. You can return to your hole like a Prairie Dog.

Very sad on so many levels.

Those of you that think you are helping out our youth with your silly grassroots programs should take a long look in the mirror and see who has really been served in these programs.