Olympics Women's Road Race

[RoadRaven]

I didn't easily find a thread on this, so I apologise if you have discussed this.

Was anyone else disappointed in the way the women's race began?
It was great that eventually some attacks happened and that there was a breakaway and a chase... but for goodness sake, was anyone else as frustrated as me for the first hour plus watching them tootle along at 30kms or so as if they were on a Sunday recovery ride.

Had no-one told them they were riding for an Olympic GOLD??? - not a Sunday coffee.

When there were attacks, they didn't last... rider 1 attacks, then rider 2 attacks... and then rider 3... and then they turn around to see who will continue the attacks, who will help them break up the bunch... no-one.

I felt so frustrated... if I had been their age, with that opportunity, do you think I would have been sitting in hoping not to get dropped? Hell no! I would have been attacking, lifting the pace, stringing out that damn line. There were talented strong women there..... but nothing

If this is how it is usually (and since we rarely see womens cycling, who really knows?) then it is no wonder women's cycling gets so little sponsorship and media coverage.

Feeling ashamed and disillusioned...

[Blueberry]

We had about 10 minutes of TV coverage (the end of the race), so I didn't get to see the rest of it. That is most disheartening.

CA

[oxysback]

We had about 10 minutes of TV coverage (the end of the race), so I didn't get to see the rest of it. That is most disheartening.

CA

You can watch it here...http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/pla...elcode=sportcy

There's still not very much coverage. Only about 30 minutes for a 78 mile race.

[dex]

I tried to watch the live streaming coverage online (that's really your best bet for seeing a variety of events). I got so bored watching them toodle along that I actually started working instead. By the time the racing got a little interesting, I'd already given up on it. Ah, well.

[Blueberry]

You can watch it here...http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/pla...elcode=sportcy

There's still not very much coverage. Only about 30 minutes for a 78 mile race.

Ah - good to know Thanks!! Don't think I'll go back and watch this one (due to the lack of excitement), but I can search around for some of the stuff I've missed (or that wasn't covered on our network...

CA

[dachshund]

The men's race started at a leisurely pace, too. I was really disappointed that they had to ride in pouring rain. I kept thinking, don't crash, please don't crash.

But TV loves those crashes, so that was the next thing they showed. It looked like the Korean woman just suddenly went at a diagonal and took out people in her way. (I haven't watched the online footage yet.) What was she thinking??

I certainly don't race, but I imagine the rain squashed the attacks that we should have seen.

[Trek420]

It looked like the Korean woman just suddenly went at a diagonal and took out people in her way. (I haven't watched the online footage yet.) What was she thinking??

That's what I was thinking. It was wet, pouring, slipping, I would think the racers would want to organize in the center and nobody would want to be at the edge ... then she went bowling across the pelaton she seemed to waver like one does when tired or trying to zig sag up a hill and then zipped right to the side. It was early in the race so I would not think she'd fade.

I don't draft at all but know you are supposed to stay steady.

Did she have a mechanical? Armstrong got caught up in that I think, great job of getting back in.

I wish Longo had placed in the TT. So close.

[oxysback]

Ah - good to know Thanks!! Don't think I'll go back and watch this one (due to the lack of excitement), but I can search around for some of the stuff I've missed (or that wasn't covered on our network...

CA

You're welcome! I've been watching the 3 day eventing. Our network isn't showing any of that at all.

[Trekhawk]

Oh don't be too hard on them.
I think that everyone was so worried about the conditions ( I think humidity was at about 97 percent at the start) that maybe that just wanted to minimize their chances of cracking. Lets face it plenty of blokes did towards the end of the course. Im sure the girls would have taken that into consideration.
The look of that smog was enough to freak me out.

[maillotpois]

Yeah, I could see wanting to go out as slowly as possible and spend as little time in the red zone with that smog and humidity. More of a tactical race than one of riding peoples' wheels off. Of course the TT Was completely the opposite.

Good to know about the 3 day eventing, etc. That would be fun to watch and NONE of it is getting shown here. Too many women in bikinis to show...

[SadieKate]

There was a lot of coverage on 3 Day Eventing. It was on one of the "other" channels. Oxygen? USA? Something. I saw a lot. Gina Miles, the silver medalist, is from Davis.

I saw a lot of dressage yesterday.

[arielmoon]

I just watched the team final for dressage on the streaming feed. About the only way I was going to be able to see it.

I love that Equestrian sports are co-ed.

[oxysback]

I just watched the team final for dressage on the streaming feed. About the only way I was going to be able to see it.

I love that Equestrian sports are co-ed.

Oooh! I'll have to go check that out.

Yep, the sport is co-ed because the horse is the equalizer.

[Eden]

I didn't get to see all of the race - our coverage cut back and forth from cycling to 3 or 4 other sports that were happening at the same time, but from my experience I'd say that it is not unusual for a long race to unfold that way. Women do tend to race a bit more tactically and a bit less on brute strength than the men do. Even in men's races long breaks generally succeed, not because the people are that much stronger, but because the peleton either miscalculates the catch or (in a stage race) doesn't care to chase them down.

The olympics is a little different too - the most on any one "team" are 3 people and it really changes the dynamics of the race (Kristen Armstrong was even talking about this before the olympics). It's hard to act as a team when you only have 3 people, so its kind of like a perpetual break away situation. (Women though, you would think, unfortunately would be more accustomed to this situation...)

Normally an early break or lots of attacks early in the race aren't even intended to win the race. Unless you are much stronger than the majority of the field or the event has some serious climbing early on, then its unlikely that you'll stay away. Lots of attacks early on usually is a tactic to wear down the other teams - make them chase , keep them on their toes so that when you really do send out your A racer that they can stay away. With the small teams and the lousy weather I would guess that no one wanted to risk that not working out and then having no teammates for help later on. Who knows - there may have even been some rivalries within country/teams - would you want to be the person who says - we are riding for me to win the gold, to the others.....