As the hours tick past until Saturday’s men’s Olympic road race, the USA team has emphasised that it will have a multi-pronged approach rather than staking everything on a bunch sprint like the British riders.
The tactic is a logical one, both from the point of view that British rider Mark Cavendish is so dominant and also because Tyler Farrar has not yet been firing on all cylinders this year in bunch gallops. Instead, the team will ride aggressively, as Chris Horner explains.
“We have a great director here in Mike Sayers and we’ll have a plan for what tactics are best for the U.S. team and try to stick to that,” he said. “We only have five riders so it is not like we have eight or nine riders. Everyone has to be real honest from the very beginning of the race. If your form isn’t where you thought it would be when we were sitting in the meeting, then you have to let the team know.
“We have a fabulous group of strong riders here. You have Timmy Duggan who can ride really strong all day long, you’ve got Farrar who can win sprints, you’ve got Tejay and I who can go with the best riders in the world on the climb and of course you have Phinney who can motor away. If he gets in the front group at the finish and they give him a gap, they are never going to be able to catch him. It really depends on how the riders feel on the day of the race.”
Phinney has had a strong second pro season, winning the prologue in the Giro d’Italia and wearing the Maglia Rosa, and has been preparing specifically for the Olympic Games. He competed in Beijing in 2008 but focussed on track then; this time round, he’s determined to ride as strongly as possible in the time trial and road race.
“It’s a huge honour for me to be at my second Olympics. It definitely feels a bit different this time around,” he said. “I’ve changed events and grown a lot in the last four years. I’m really looking forward to it. I think we have great support and structure here with USA Cycling and a great team. I’m really excited for the next couple of days. I really like being in an English speaking country and really like London.”
Phinney will be part of the five man team for Saturday’s road race and, despite many people’s pronouncements that Box Hill might not be as decisive as originally anticipated, he’s fine about the route. “I really like the course. It’s not terribly difficult, but it’s going to be fun the seventh, eighth and ninth time around, I would imagine,” he said. “The road is a little crazy but the field is a little smaller than we’re used to.”
Van Garderen agrees that the course could become telling, and says that it makes it difficult to calculate how things will play out. “The tactics are a bit different with the five-man team and the climb is a bit harder than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “I really can’t predict what is going to happen, but regardless it will be fun to watch.”
As Duggan showed in both the Tour of California and the USA Pro Championships, he’s riding very strongly this year. He’ll be a very useful rider on the team, either in working with the other riders to achieve the best result for the squad, or in riding for himself if the situation arises. He echoes suggestions that the climb will appear progressively harder as the kilometres tick past.
“This Box Hill that we do nine times in the scheme of things is nothing so terrible, but I think the added stress of doing it nine times [will make it tough], combined with the fact that the rest of the course is really just not so easy in terms of a lot of time to relax or coast down this nice descent and regain your position. It is a pretty twisty, technical, get out of sight fast kind of circuit with some more rollers.
“I think the race can really happen anywhere, not necessarily in that one place. We’re going to have to be ready to pull the trigger and when it is time it won’t necessarily be on Box Hill. In some races people know where it is going to happen and I don’t think that is the case here. It could happen anywhere.”
Riders’ instinct vital:
Unlike WorldTour races such as the Tour de France, the riders will all be competing without race radios on Saturday. That too will add to the unpredictable nature of the race, with each rider needed to remain attuned to what is happening with his team-mates and also in the event itself.
Both Phinney and Van Garderen gave their thoughts on the lack of communications technology, with one being sanguine about the absence and another being more nervous. “I’m a fan of not using race radios anyway, so I don’t really care either way,” said Phinney. “I like to have both of my ears open and nothing in either one of them. As long as you have a strong team captain, which we do in Chris Horner, who has some sage wisdom, then you are fine.”
Van Garderen appears a little more concerned by their absence. “We just have to stay close to each other,” he cautioned. “Race radios can make a big difference. Say if someone is dropped but really close, if we have race radios we can pace them back to the group. Without radios we may not know things like that and not able to make that call and totally blind to that.
“It is going to be really important to stay close to each other so we know where everyone is and what everyone’s form is.”
Adrenaline and motivation building prior to race start:
The four riders emphasised how important competing in the Games were to them, with both Van Garderen and Phinney referring to the Olympics as a ‘huge honour.’ The former may be highly motivated to do well, but said that he considered racing with the US team in London as something which would be ‘a lot of fun.’ The approach helps to keep the pressure off.
First-time Olympians Duggan and Horner make it clear that competing in the Games is something which is very significant for them. “The Olympics is something that kind of transcends all sports; whether you are a cyclist, a fencer or a skier,” said Duggan. “Everyone in the world understands what being an Olympian and winning an Olympic medal means. It is a cultural icon and to be able to say I’m an Olympian is an amazing feeling.”
Horner is making his Olympic debut at 40 and while taking part is important, he said that the approach has to be about aiming for the biggest result possible.
“It’s all about getting to the Olympics, but once you are here it is all about medalling,” he said. “Really, gold is what counts. You gotta go for the win at the Olympics. It is nice to go silver and bronze, but gold is what counts.”