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Last Updated: 2 Apr 2018 - 8:45:17 PM |
TRACK FEATURE: CAMPBELL TALKS POST-MANCHESTER
By Shane Stokes
1 Mar 2007,
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| Frank Campbell |
Following the Ireland team’s participation in the Manchester round of the UCI World Cup at the weekend, Cycling Ireland High Performance Manager Frank Campbell has said that some important experience was gathered by riders and officials alike.
The highlights of the weekend were David O’Loughlin’s eighth place in the pursuit and aggressive ride en route to twelfth in the points race, as well as Louise Moriarty’s smashing of the Irish record for the women’s 3,000 metre pursuit.
While O’Loughlin showed once again that he has a good future in this area of the sport, both he and Campbell went away from Manchester feeling that more could have been achieved. The Mayo rider recorded a time of 4 minutes 30.12 seconds en route to eighth in the pursuit, yet had been considerably quicker in training before the event.
“To be honest, we are not sure why it was slower because the whole way through Newport and doing trials in Manchester, he was taking five seconds off the time of his national record in every training session he did,” Campbell told Irishcycling.com on Monday. “He was doing 4 minute 25 second efforts so that is why I was so sure that is what he was going to be doing [in the World Cup].
“We can’t work out whether it is something we are doing in the warm-up, whether it is something we are doing in the lead up in the morning, if we are working him too hard. These are all things that we can only learn as we go along.”
Campbell said that they will be able to study the information to get a better idea of what to change in the future. “The thing about track is that it is all there, it is all listed, all the data is taken. We have even got videos of David’s efforts in training so we can sit down and look at that. It is much more measurable than anything we have ever done before.”
At the end of last September O’Loughlin set a new national record of 4 minutes 29.9 seconds but while he went considerably quicker than that in pre-Manchester training, the old mark will stand. This is because the required officials were not present and so the time cannot be taken into account.
Had he been able to replicate that speed in competition, O’Loughlin would have been two or three places better than his final finishing position of eighth. 2004 world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Sergi Escobar (Spain) recorded a time of 4 minutes 25.392 seconds en route to fifth in Manchester, while Daniel Becke (Germany) finished with 4 minutes 26.716 seconds in sixth.
“If he had done it in the race, that would have put him inside the top six,” said Campbell. “We were looking at that place once we knew who was riding, the times they had done in the past and what times they were likely to do. You can measure him against the other riders and it is very frustrating, especially for him. He has taken such big chunks out of it [in training].
“We spoke at length this morning about how we move the thing forward. We need the expertise in coaching… we don’t really have track coaches at the moment. The guy who has been left lumbered with the whole thing is young Brian Nugent. He is trying the very best to work with his knowledge. The thing is that we have moved into world level very, very quickly and we need to learn more.”
More slots for Palma:
Although O’Loughlin will probably be disappointed with how the pursuit turned out, the five second improvement in training vis-ŕ-vis the national record he set in September shows that the potential is certainly there. If he can keep building form and work out what errors were made pre-race, he can chase a good result in this discipline at the track worlds, to be held in Majorca in one month’s time.
Furthermore, the fact that he has been riding the pursuit such a short time suggests that he will be even stronger in the future. Given that 4’25 is possible now, a gain of one or two seconds between this point and Beijing would bode well for a very good performance there.
In the meantime, he’ll focus on his preparations for the worlds in Palma. O’Loughlin rode aggressively in the points race on Saturday and will now be able to take part in that event too.
“David got 12th in the points race so that got him more UCI points,” said Campbell. “We are waiting on written confirmation which is due to come out this week, but I spoke to the UCI yesterday and they are happy enough that we will get a likely invite into three events.
“With David already qualified for the individual pursuit, we will look at the points race for him. As regards the third slot, we will probably put Dermot Nally into the scratch race. Dermot is living in Spain and he was already going to go over to Majorca and help David prepare in the lead up to the event, rather than him having to try to prepare on the track on his own.”
Squad dealing with learning curve:
Nally and O’Loughlin were two of the four Irish riders who rode the team pursuit at the weekend. Campbell said prior to the race that they had done 4’20 in training; he was expecting them to equal this or perhaps go slightly faster. In the end, they covered the distance in 4’21.658.
As was the case of O’Loughlin’s individual pursuit ride, Campbell said that the final lead-up possibly worked against getting the best possible time. “Prior to the World Cup, I had some [experienced] people looking over us at Newport. They were watching us and seeing where we are coming from. As a result, we think there is a lot more time there in the team pursuit.
“The guys didn’t go quite as fast as we were expecting…I think that was down to technique and also their lead-up to the race. We know where we went wrong, to be honest with you…we didn’t do the correct warm up and we didn’t put them on the track that morning beforehand. They always go better in their second ride.
“Maybe it was brilliant that happened after all. Perhaps it is good that we didn’t get where we thought we should have because now the guys are really, really keen to continue on. They want to know what is happening next and how can we do better in the future.”
Campbell feels there were important lessons learned at the weekend, and that better results will be achieved as the riders and officials gain experience. “The track is so measurable. We are working hard at the moment to try to bring the standard up,” he says.
“In truth, we are starting from nowhere, really, coming from a very low level. But with what we have done at the weekend, if nothing else, is that we have set a lot of benchmarks. We have increased the pursuit time for the ladies through Louise so we know exactly where we are there. She took five seconds off the old record, so that was a good ride.
“We have done a team pursuit in the right conditions so we know where we are there. As for David, he has done the individual pursuit and we have seen that he is getting closer there in that area [going by his training times].
“Now, we will get the worlds done and after that, we will have six months to start on the talent ID programme. We will see the talent that is out there, bring them to the track and work them through a project like this.
“It all takes time. British Cycling are working at this twelve years…it is a long time and they have a lot more money. In fairness, though, we are getting a lot of help from the Irish Sport Council and from the Sports Institute… They have been very supportive of what we have been doing.”
New Dublin track on the way?
Clearly one major factor to consider is that Ireland currently lacks an indoor velodrome. If the riders want to train in the same conditions that they will race in, it is necessary for them to travel to overseas tracks. It’s a less than ideal situation.
The British model has shown that if money is put into building velodromes and backing the athletes, world and Olympic medals are possible. In the recent past Irish riders have focussed on road and MTB events; these have higher numbers of participants and give the riders one shot at medals [two if the road riders also do the time trial]. However, track competition enables a country to enter riders across a range of disciplines. This plus the smaller number of competitors significantly increases the odds of success.
The biggest single improvement would come from building a velodrome here. It has been rumoured for quite some time that one will be constructed north of the border prior to the 2012 Olympic games in London; final confirmation is yet to be given for this project.
However, contrary to expectations, a recent article in the Sunday Business Post said that an indoor track is almost certain to be built as part of phase two of the Sports Campus Ireland project in Abbotstown. While it was hoped that one would be constructed at some point in Dublin, the news plus the projected opening date of 2010 has taken Cycling Ireland by surprise.
“I have heard nothing official about it,” said Campbell. “I think there has been discussions and talks but that’s all I heard. When that write up came out in the paper, I wasn’t aware that things had progressed so far so I am not so sure where that information came from at all. It surprised me.”
Providing the information is correct, the news is a big boost to Cycling Ireland’s track aspirations. Firstly, it would make velodrome usage a lot easier – and less expensive - than is the case at present. Secondly, it is a safe, traffic-free and weatherproof way to increase the numbers of young people in the sport.
Anyone who has spent time in the Manchester facility will have seen the large numbers of young riders buzzing around the track. There is a clear grassroots benefit and, as the British model proves, there is also a considerable return in terms of success at the top level of world cycling.
Cycling Ireland’s decision to target track racing is a good tactic vis-ŕ-vis the hunt for world championship and Olympic medals. The world championships next month in Palma is a strong short-term goal, and after that Campbell, Nugent and others will move onto the next step of maximising existing talent while also pinpointing new track riders.
If it proves that the rumours are true about tracks in Abbotstown and across the border, the long term prognosis will be an even better one.
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