Paris Olympic MTB 2024 - ALAN you biscuit!!!

[Shebeen]

[this thread is about the olympic MTB and only that, other Olympic talk elsewhere please]

 

Team SA came away with just 3 medals in Tokyo. 2 for Tatjana Schoenmaker (now Smith if you've looked through the teamsheet and wonder where she has gone) and fluke in the surfing in lumpy japan swell. We might have a few fluke performances, but have very few athletes ranked in the top5 of their sports to have realistic medal chances.

EXCEPT.

Cycling. No disrespect to the other cyclists there, but it is all about our two MTB athletes who are currently on HOT streaks. (AMP is there, but it's a bit of a classics looking course). 

 

Ladies. Sunday 28th of July - 14:10pm.

Candice Lill went to London 2012 as a promising youngster, but this season her results have been phenomenal.

2nd in Epic seems to have followed on the same result in Marathon worlds last year. Privateer status at XCO and she has cracked into the top tier somehow.

She did the test event last september and came 26th.

I find this post pinned on her Instagram from the beginning of the year quite incredible in retrospectively looking at where her rise has come from.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C240S27qtzJ/

 

 

Men. Monday 29th of July - 14:10pm

Alan Hatherley has been at the pointy end for a few years without really consistently being on the podium. Until this year, he just won his first XCO this past weekend in france. MvDP is not there, Pidcock is at the TdF as a GC/stage hunter. Nino is a ballie. The french armada are all good but all of the place. He has a solid shot at a podium if not overall gold if everything falls into place.

he did the test event last september and came 12th. 

wonder if maybe it's the ridiculous 'tache?

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9IROdetSU0/?img_index=1

Here's the course preview from last year

 

False hope? What say you all?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30 by Shebeen
updated because of that bronze

[Rowl]

I couldn't shake 'tashes win the Ashes' watching Alan over the weekend...

 

Flippen super exciting, our mtb prospects (and the Olympics)! Got to be in with a shout for at least a medal here. Wouldn't it be great if both came back home with medals!

[Headshot]

I say go team RSA. The track on the other hand looks like a snooze fest to watch racing on... gravel bike anyone? 

[DieselnDust]

Two weeks to go to the Paris Olympics MTB races. Here is a list of the athletes who have qualified. Jolanda won't be defending her title due to ongoing respiratory control issues. Sina Frei takes her place>

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/all-the-athletes-who-have-qualified-for-the-paris-2024-olympics.html

[NotSoBigBen]

I'm excited to see the racing and how Candice and Alan do, willing them on to bring some silverware home!

 

The only thing in the back of my mind is that I, and it's just my opinion, think there's a lot of sandbagging going on amongst the top contenders .... Thinking PFP for example

[DieselnDust]

42 minutes ago, NotSoBigBen said:

I'm excited to see the racing and how Candice and Alan do, willing them on to bring some silverware home!

 

The only thing in the back of my mind is that I, and it's just my opinion, think there's a lot of sandbagging going on amongst the top contenders .... Thinking PFP for example

Maybe sandbagging, maybe just in different phases of their prep and carrying different fatigue levels. Truth will out on 28th (women) and 29th (men)

[Headshot]

In other news CSA has screwed over several SA DH racers by naming only one elite...Greg M in the elite division for World Champs...CSA need their tyre's deflated.

[Jewbacca]

40 minutes ago, Headshot said:

In other news CSA has screwed over several SA DH racers by naming only one elite...Greg M in the elite division for World Champs...CSA need their tyre's deflated.

I posted in the other thread.

Which other DH men have any chance of getting a result?

The entire Sport structures have no money, why send people to the Olympics who are ranked well outside the top 100? 

It's an expensive exercise just for the Gees.

[Danger Dassie]

37 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I posted in the other thread.

Which other DH men have any chance of getting a result?

The entire Sport structures have no money, why send people to the Olympics who are ranked well outside the top 100? 

It's an expensive exercise just for the Gees.

They're self-funded, so let it be their prerogative to go and compete. Wether it's for a result on the podium or outside the top 100. It's about more than just 'gees' 

[Danger Dassie]

4 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

I'm excited to see the racing and how Candice and Alan do, willing them on to bring some silverware home!

 

The only thing in the back of my mind is that I, and it's just my opinion, think there's a lot of sandbagging going on amongst the top contenders .... Thinking PFP for example

That would be something, really looking forward to watching the racing! 

 

[J Wakefield]

26 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said:

They're self-funded, so let it be their prerogative to go and compete. Wether it's for a result on the podium or outside the top 100. It's about more than just 'gees' 

World Champs is not about Gees or learning. 

[Danger Dassie]

6 minutes ago, J Wakefield said:

World Champs is not about Gees or learning. 

Precisely what I said John. "It's more than just gees" ... at the end of the day when people have been self funding throughout an entire season as well as the expectation for WC, there should be some latitude. 
Or are we just chasing hunger games vibes. 
 

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Headshot said:

In other news CSA has screwed over several SA DH racers by naming only one elite...Greg M in the elite division for World Champs...CSA need their tyre's deflated.

sorry matey I disagree here, strongly

No one bar Greg met the criteria. Those okes are all crying because they wanted their cake and to eat it but didn't do the arithmetic required to qualify. If they had participated in 75% of the National Cups and National Champs they would have the necessary  points. They didn't. Do any of them have a realistic shot at a top 20 result, other than Greg?

I don't side with CSA often but on this one, all I see is a lot of dummy's being thrown from prams. Thy treat the sport like their personal playground and have an expectation of representing. 

 

This is the World Championships, not a down down competition........wait hold on, that came out wrong, it is a down down but not a down down......aaaargh feck it

 

[Shebeen]

15 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Two weeks to go to the Paris Olympics MTB races. Here is a list of the athletes who have qualified. Jolanda won't be defending her title due to ongoing respiratory control issues. Sina Frei takes her place>

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/all-the-athletes-who-have-qualified-for-the-paris-2024-olympics.html

With only two slots available to top nations powerhouses like SUI and FRA really do have their chances reduced. It's definitely easier to win an olympic medal than the world champs as there are solid athletes watching from home. Suisse have 5 riders in the top13, and the two going are more likely to switch each other out of contention than work together.

 

In the ladies, Tiffany Keep has been selected along with Candice. I'm not sure how controversial that is, as she doesn't seem to have any UCI ranking points currently.

edit: DnD pointed out she is on the road team. my bad!

 

2 hours ago, Headshot said:

In other news CSA has screwed over several SA DH racers by naming only one elite...Greg M in the elite division for World Champs...CSA need their tyre's deflated.

not olympic talk!

Edited July 16 by Shebeen
correction

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Danger Dassie said:

They're self-funded, so let it be their prerogative to go and compete. Wether it's for a result on the podium or outside the top 100. It's about more than just 'gees' 

that self funded thing is a lekker big tjom bhajah thing. The XCO guys are also self funded but they had to qualify to represent SA. They worked their butts off to qualify. The DH bro's didn't even bother to read the selection criteria which has been in place in 2023 already and was applied again in 2024, published on the CSA site in December. IF you want provincial and National colours, surely you read the rules and requirements to get those colours?

Edited July 16 by DieselnDust

[DieselnDust]

5 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

With only two slots available to top nations powerhouses like SUI and FRA really do have their chances reduced. It's definitely easier to win an olympic medal than the world champs as there are solid athletes watching from home. Suisse have 5 riders in the top13, and the two going are more likely to switch each other out of contention than work together.

 

In the ladies, Tiffany Keep has been selected along with Candice. I'm not sure how controversial that is, as she doesn't seem to have any UCI ranking points currently.

 

 

not olympic talk!

Tiffany is representing RSA at the Ladies Road race event along With Ashley Moolman Pasio. Candice is our sole Ladies XCO representative as we only qualified for one spot.

Alan is our Mens XCO rep.

Ryan Gibbon is racing Mens Road

Edited July 16 by DieselnDust