CYCLISTS PRAISE SUPPORT TEAM

by James Skitt - 20.08.08

Cycling’s successful Olympic Games campaign saw yesterday’s golden girl Victoria Pendleton and super-power Chris Hoy lay credit for their success firmly at the door of their support team, including several English Institute of Sport practitioners, many of whom have been working with the squad out in the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing.

Pendleton took the gold medal in the women’s sprint on Tuesday to record Great Britain’s seventh cycling gold at Beijing 2008, which was soon followed by the eighth when Chris Hoy made history picking up his third gold in the men’s sprint, the first British athlete to take three gold in one Games for a hundred years.

Having missed out on the medals at her only previous Olympic Games, in Athens four years ago, the four-time world sprint champion Pendleton made no mistake this time around as she swept to victory over Anna Meares of Australia in the women’s sprint final.

“Well, I think it’s a combination of things really” she said in a post-race interview on her achievements. “I think we’re lucky enough to have drawn on some real specialists to come and work with us; the psychologists, the nutritionists and the English Institute of Sport.”

“Mark Simpson, my strength and conditioning coach, knows me better than I know me, so credit to him too. I didn’t even think about the outcome, I just focused on the process. It’s gone so well over the last few weeks, it’s been a dream come true. It’s been awesome.”

Speaking to eis2win.co.uk before the Games, Mark Simpson, EIS Strength & Conditioning Coach, working with Pendleton, along with other GB cyclists, was full of praise for Pendleton and for the integration of the EIS and British Cycling support staff.

“She has remarkable strength and power for her height and weight. For the past few years she’s had three, three hour sessions a week on strength - she is a product of her own hard work” he said. “The level of integration between EIS and British Cycling staff is a key factor in the success of the programme and ensures the support team around the athletes’ works as a seamless group. This integration certainly enhances and adds value to my role” he added.

On his fantastic gold rush Hoy said there’s no huge secret to his success, it’s down to hard work and an outstanding support team.

“I believe its hard work that gets you to the top. I try to go into a race knowing I couldn’t have trained harder or be better prepared” he said. “Also our support team is second to none. The competition within the team helps too, with guys like Jason (Kenny) challenging you” he added.

For the GB cyclists though, the competition is far from over with Shanaze Reade through to the BMX semi-finals on Thursday and Oli Beckinsale and Liam Killeen competing in the mountain biking this week too.

With similar explosive power required as that of the track sprint athletes, Shanaze has also been working closely with EIS strength & conditioning coach Mark Simpson, who says she’s one to watch this week.

“Shanaze has significant strength and power, and is peaking at the right time for the Games” he says. “She’s an awesome athlete, with a huge drive and a lot of determination meaning she works incredibly hard” he adds.

The cycling squad utilise a range of EIS Sports Science and Medical services from their base at the Manchester Velodrome and EIS hub in Sport City. World renowned Australian sports scientist, EIS’s Scott Gardner, works alongside performance analysts, physiologists, biomechanics, nutritionists, strength and conditioning coaches, physiotherapists, soft tissue therapists and sports doctors to keep the team on track for success, under the lead of Dave Brailsford and the impressive network of coaches and performance staff at British Cycling.

Photography © Getty Images