Happening Right Now!!

Fausto Coppi Shirt from Laek House

More new stuff from Laek House. Check out the blog here. Sorry you couldn't make it for the NACCCs, Ethan, hope your shoulder is getting better!

Slavoj Zizek

You may or may not have noticed, but I got the Hipster Nascar banner redesigned recently (thanks Katy!) and now it's even more obvious that the subtitle of this page is "a blog about track cycling and anthropology." Yeah, there's hasn't exactly been a ton of posts about anthropology, but seeing as I'm off to Chicago tomorrow (for the NACCCs ) and I won't be able to update much, I thought I'd leave you with some quality reading material. It's not exactly anthropology, but it's close. Here's Slavoj Žižek on Rumsfeld and the Bees. I'll expect your 5 page reaction papers in my mailbox by 9am on Monday morning. No extensions, no exceptions.

"For the past two years, a mysterious disease has been wiping out honeybees in the US and Europe. This catastrophe could have a devastating effect on our food supply: about a third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80% of that pollination. This is how one should imagine a possible global catastrophe: no big bang, just a small-level interruption with devastating global consequences.

There is an air of mystery to this mass death. Although the same thing is happening all over the developed world, local investigations point to different causes, such as the poisonous effects of pesticides, or the loss of the bees' sense of spatial orientation caused by the electronic waves of our communication machines. The multiplicity of causes makes their links with any effects uncertain, which invites the temptation to look for a deeper meaning and consider the so-called "spiritual ecology": is a beehive not a kind of slave colony, a concentration camp where bees are ruthlessly exploited? What if Mother Earth is punishing us?

The best antidote to this spiritualist temptation is to bear in mind the lesson of Donald Rumsfeld's theory of knowledge - as expounded in March 2003, when the then US defence secretary engaged in a little bit of amateur philosophising: "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know." What Rumsfeld forgot to add was the crucial fourth term: the "unknown knowns" - things we don't know that we know, all the unconscious beliefs and prejudices that determine how we perceive reality and intervene in it.

In the case of the disappearing bees, there are things we know that we know (their vulnerability to pesticides) and things we know that we don't know (say, how the bees react to human-caused radiations). But there are, above all, the unknown unknowns and the unknown knowns. There are dimensions of how bees interact with their environs which are not only unknown to us, but which we are not even aware of. And there are many "unknown knowns" in our perception of bees: all the anthropocentric prejudices that spontaneously colour and bias our study of them.

The most unsettling aspect of such phenomena is the disturbance in yet another type of knowledge, in what the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan called "knowledge in the real": the "instinctual" knowledge that regulates animal and plant activity. This can run amok. When winter is too warm, plants and animals misread the hot weather in February as the signal that spring has began and start to behave accordingly, thus not only rendering themselves vulnerable to late onslaughts of cold, but also perturbing the rhythm of natural reproduction. Something of this kind is probably happening to bees.

We pride ourselves for living in a society in which we freely decide about things that matter. However, we are constantly in the position of having to decide about matters that will fundamentally affect our lives, but without a proper foundation in knowledge. This is frustrating: although we know that it all depends on us, we cannot predict the consequences of our acts. We are not impotent but - quite the contrary - omnipotent, without being able to determine the scope of our powers. While we cannot gain full mastery over our biosphere, it is in our power to derail it, to disturb its balance so that it will run amok, swiping us away in the process."

Originally in The Guardian. You didn't think I had Slavoj feckin' Žižek on staff, did you?

New Fuji Track Pro

Looks interesting. After releasing the exact same frame every year, albeit with a different paint-job each time, it looks like the next iteration of the Track Pro has a redesigned frame. Check out that seatpost. That's serious business right there. Thanks to ChrisP for the heads-up.

New Laek House Stuff

Want it! Coming soon. Keep an eye on the Laek House site for this and other new stuff.

Olympic Bike Porn

Cervélo S3. Styling. Cervélo produced a P3C Track with the same paint job for the Danish track team, but I haven't been able to find pictures of it online. I'm also looking for a good picture of Joan Llaneras P3C, but I can't find that either. Basically, I'm rubbish. More details on the S3 here.

PDM Jersey Reissue

Some famous (Seán Kelly) and infamous (Pedro Delgado) riders wore this jersey from the mid '80s to the early 90's. Coming soon to Prendas Ciclismo, go here to pre-order.

Babes in Bikeland II

All female alleycat, Minneapolis, September 27th. Details here.

Vintage Italian

Thanks to Jon on ChiFG for finding this photo of a beautiful late '70s era Benotto Pista Professional. He found it over on Classic Rendezvous, which is chock full of vintage bike porn and is my new favourite timewaster.

Velocult Shirts

It's taking me a while to catch up on my non-Olympic blogging. Soz. This Velocult shirt has been out a few days. Go check 'em here.

North American Cycle Courier Championships - Chicago - Next Week!

YES! This is SOON! Not this weekend but the weekend after that! And I will be in Chicago, and I will probably race, and I will definitely finish close to DFL if I do race! Who cares!?! Everyone should be coming to this, it's going to be a blast. Here's the word from the official site: "just to get it out there and clear up any confusion, everyone is welcome to participate in the race. Non-Messengers are encouraged to compete, and will be placed in their own category for ranking and prizes. Oh yeah. Bring a helmet and plan to wear it. You should already know this, but just in case..." Get all the details you need, register, and buy a sweet NACCCs edition Chuey brand cycling cap, over on the main NACCCs page.

So true.

There's going to be a big bike polo tournament at the NACCCs too, just in case you don't get enough excitement from all the racing and drunken shenanigans. Go here for more details and to register.

"The 4th annual Chicago Messenger Prom (brought to you by PBR, 4 Star Courier Collective, and Chrome) will be held in conjunction with the NACCC. Hell. Yes. This years Prom will be held Saturday August 30th at the Bottom Lounge - 1375 W Lake (Lake east of Ashland) from 8pm - 2 am. Free entry to registered racers, volunteers, and sponsors. Non-participants, same as always, $15 solo/$20 per couple, dress to impress. That means suits, ties, sexy dresses, bike caps and giant banana costumes."

1000km Record

Chicago area cyclist and RAAM finisher Bryce Walsh is attempting to break two records this weekend at the Northbrook velodrome: the outdoor 1000km record, and the 24hr distance record. Wat. I mean, technically, I suppose I like bikes, but 1000km? 24hrs?? No freaking thank you. Bryce's record attempt starts at 10am, Saturday, Aug 23rd. I'm sure the guy is going to need a lot of support to keep him going that long, so everyone should head up to Northbrook and cheer for him. More details on his website here.

Final Events

Well, that's it for the track racing. The last events, the Men's Sprint, the Women's Sprint and the Madison all happened last night, and the Laoshan Velodrome has held it's last three medal ceremonies of these Olympics. Britain killed it in the sprints (surprise!) and claimed three medals, with Chris Hoy getting his third gold of the games in the Men's Sprint by beating teammate Jason Kenny, who got the silver, and with Victoria Pendleton winning the gold in the Women's Sprint.

Chris Hoy with his three gold medals, from the Team Sprint, the Keirin, and the Men's Sprint. Not bad for a bloke who saw his specialty event, the kilo, dropped from the Olympic program. Scotland's most successful Olympian ever, it was just announced that they're naming a velodrome in Glasgow after him. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images.

This is the exact moment where Jason Kenny, front, knows he's lost to Chris Hoy, rear. It was always going to be a big ask anyway, but when Kenny jumped out front he must have known that it was all over, nothing in the world could have stopped Hoy coming around him to win. Look at the concentration and determination on Hoy's face. DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images

Victoria Pendleton with her gold medal for the Women's Sprint. She beat Australia's Anne Mears in the final to claim her first, but probably not her last, Olympic medal. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

Basically, the British team owned the Laoshan Velodrome. They won 12 medals on the track. 7 of those 12 medals were gold, which only left 3 gold medal for the rest of the world! The 7 gold medals they won at the velodrome propelled Britain to 3rd in the overall Olympic medal table. An incredible performance, it just shows what can be achieved with the right funding, support and structure to develop talent. But, there was one sour note for the British. There was a shock in the Men's Madison, where the British team of Mark Cavendish (who won 4 stages at the TdF this year) and Bradley Wiggins (who already has 2 gold medals this Olympics) could only manage 9th. Argentina won, Spain came second, and Russia third. Amazingly, the result means that Cavendish will be the only British track cycling squad member to return home without a medal. Every other member of the squad has won at least one medal. I'm a big fan of Cavendish, and while I know the 4 stages at the Tour are a bigger deal, I'm disappointed for him that he didn't add the Madison gold to his palmarès. He must be gutted! Imagine being on that plane home, when every other member of the team is wearing an Olympic medal! Still, I'm sure he'll bounce back. Will he quit the track now and focus on road, or will he be back on the boards in London in 2012? Who knows, but I do know that he's got many, many wins to come in his career.

So, congratulations to all the racers at the Laoshan Velodrome. Britain has shown the way, and now it's up to the rest of the world to step their game up if they want to compete. Hipster Nascar will now return to it's regular schedule of inconsequential bullshit, lazy poachings from Tracko, and pictures of cycling caps. Yay me!

Olympic Track Racing So Far

Marianne Vos of Holland, the only woman ever to win world championship titles on the road, on the track, and in cyclocross, celebrates winning the Women's Points Race gold medal. She dominated the race from start to finish, and was the only rider to lap the field. MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images.

Ireland's David O'Loughlin riding in the qualifying round of the Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit. After a disappointing ride, David finished 10th, two places outside qualification. Clive Rose/Getty Images.

Joan Llaneras of Spain riding uptrack of the peleton in the Men's Point Race. Llaneras would go on to win the race, reclaiming the gold medal he won in the Sydney olympics in 2000. At 39, Llaneras is oldest male cyclist competing in the Olympics. Check out his beautiful Cervélo P3C. DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images.

Britain's Jamie Staff, Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy riding the Men's Team Sprint in style. They destroyed the competition and claimed gold ahead of the world champion French team. DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images.

The Women's Points Race field, led by Italy's Vera Carrara and Great Britain's Rebecca Romero. MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images

The New Zealand Men's Team Pursuit squad riding their way to the bronze medal. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images.

Sarah Hammer of the US, Trine Schmidt of Denmark and Satomi Wadami of Japan crash in the Women's Points Race. Hammer injured her shoulder and was taken to hospital for x-rays, Schmidt didn't seem to be injured, but Wadami had to be carried from the velodrome on a stretcher. Let's hope they are all okay. MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images

The gold medal winning British Men's Team Pursuit squad of Paul Manning, Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins pose for the cameras after receiving their medals. The team smashed their own world record in the process of winning, setting a time of 3:53.314. MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images.

It has been a pretty amazing few days at the Laoshan Velodrome. The British domination that everyone was expecting has been, if possible, even more dominant than anyone thought it would be. Gold medals in Men's Team Sprint, Men's Keirin, Men's Individual Pursuit, Men's Team Pursuit and Women's Individual Pursuit. Silver in Men's Keirin and the Women's Individual Pursuit, and Bronze in Men's Individual Pursuit and in the Men's Point Race. Plus, with the Men's and Women's Sprint finals and the Madison all happening tonight, the British team could add another few gold medals to their tally. The most exciting race so far has to have been the Men's Point Race, won by Spanish legend Joan Llaneras, which was full of action, sprints, breaks and tactical riding. Tonight is the last night of velodrome action, so whatever you do, don't miss it.

Hoy Dominates Keirin

Now that's a victory. Chris Hoy crossing the line well ahead of the other riders in the keirin final, claiming his second gold medal of this olympics. Fellow Scot Ross Edgar claimed the silver. So far, every single British cyclist to start a track final in Beijing has won a medal, and there's a lot more to come. Amazing. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

Day 1 of Track Racing at the Olympics

Here's a "live" account of my experiences trying to watch the first day of Olympic track racing.

"Women’s feckin’ weightlifting?? Why, Venezuelan TV? For god’s sake, why??

It's 4am, and I just woke up to watch the first day's action at the Laoshan Velodrome, but I can't seem to find an online video link that will work, and the Venezuelan TV station that's covering the Olympics is showing women's weightlifting. Ok, they just changed over to the velodrome. China against Japan in the Men’s Team Sprint qualifying round, and there seems to be a problem with the Japanese team. Did one of them snap a chain?

No clue, because the only channel showing it live here have gone back to women’s weightlifting. I would understand if there was even one Venezuelan in the women’s weightlifting, but there isn’t.

Back to the velodrome! Britain against Germany in the Men's Team Sprint. Jaysus, the Brits are fast! They crush Germany, the current Olympic champions, hitting an average top speed of 62.8kmh, almost 40mph. It’s a new world record time, 42.95 seconds!

Aaaaaand back to the weightlifting… this is brutal… None of the online video links are working for me because of region restrictions, so I’m reduced to live text feeds from the BBC.

Okay, the weightlifting is over. Some giantess from China won, I think, and we’re back at Laoshan Velodrome for the Men’s 4000m Individual Pursuit qualifying round. Stephen Burke and Carlos Alzate just went, which means it was heat 2. Four more heats, and then it will be David O’Loughlin’s turn.

Oh good, now they’re showing an interview with a Venezuelan Judoka, some bloke who got knocked out of the competition days ago. C’mon! There’s actual racing happening right now! Jaysis, I’m knackered. Why am I awake?

Hey, they’re back to showing the track, and Popkov from the Ukraine was doing pretty well in the early laps, but he ends up 5th so far. Oh… they’ve changed to swimming. This is driving me mental.

Hockey?!? I quit.

Wait, wait, I don’t believe it, they’re showing David O’Loughlin’s qualifying heat! Amazing! He gets a good start, 4th fastest so far after the first lap. C’mon Davo! C’mon Ireland! Still 4th after 3 laps. The Venezuelan commentator is really struggling with David’s surname… “David…. O… Youngling?” Not bad, I suppose. David has slipped to 5th. C’mon son, dig dig dig! He doesn’t look that comfortable to me. Brad McGee started slower but is getting faster. Bell lap! Go go go!

David’s time was 4:26:102. We’ll have to wait and see where that puts him. I think he’s 6th at the moment, but I’m not sure. Maybe 8th? That’s not good. Fastest 8 qualify.

Roulston, from New Zealand, puts in an impressive ride to register the fastest time so far. Bradley Wiggins is next, though… Wow. Wiggins is amazing. He breaks his own Olympic record, and rides the 5th fastest 4000m individual pursuit of all time, 4:15.031. Can anyone touch the British on the track this year? No. They can’t. Simple as that.

David O’Loughlin doesn’t qualify. Feck that anyway. He came 10th with his time of 4:26.102. He started well, but couldn’t keep up that pace, looked less and less comfortable as the race went on, and ended up 2 places outside of qualification. His time was a full 6 seconds slower than the Irish national record he set a couple of months ago. If he’d ridden anywhere near his personal best, he would have been in the top 5, and easily through to the next round. Gutted.

Next up, Men’s Team Sprint first round, but Venezuelan TV are showing Judo instead. I’m going back to sleep."

3 Hours To Go

In about 3 hours, David O'Loughlin, Ireland's only Olympic track cyclist, will take to the boards in the qualifying round of the Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit.

David O'Loughlin of Ireland warming up on the Laoshan Velodrome. MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images

Starting a practice lap. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

The starting order of the qualifying road of the Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit. David goes 7th, with Brad McGee of Australia.

I can't feckin' wait! Seeing an Irishman out there on the track, giving it socks, well, it's going to be special. It's all happening in a scant few hours, so I best get the head down asap, but I'll be up at 4am (Caracas time) to watch David, and to watch the Men's Team Pursuit of course (can France take it from Britain?).

Watching the Olympics Online

If the track cycling isn't on TV where you are, try some of the following links. I'm not sure if they'll work, so don't give me any grief, but hopefully at least one of the following sites will be showing some of the Olympic track action:

CBC (they're showing the cycling live, but it might be restricted to Canada)
NBC (if they're showing the cycling, you should be able to see it here... but I'm not sure how much, if any, they're showing)
BBC (this will only work if you're in UK. Might work in Ireland, but I doubt it)
Eurovision Ch. 8 (this will only work if you're in Europe)
cycling.tv (not sure about this one at all, I can never figure out their mad interface)

Thanks to the brilliant cyclingfans.com for compiling the above links, and thanks to DublinMessengers for the cycling.tv suggestion.

Laoshan Velodrome

This is where it will all kick off in less than 12 hrs, Laoshan Velodrome, home to the track cycling events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

View from the seats. MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images

The beautiful wooden track. More photos on the Olympics homepage.

View of the track, the infield, and the amazing ceiling. More photos on the Olympics homepage.

The purpose built velodrome is a pretty impresive venue. The building itself covers more than 33,320 square metres. The three-story building is 33.8m tall, capable of seating 6,000, including 3,000 temporary seats. It is capped with a dish-shaped dome ceiling, where more than 200 lights are installed, which is designed to look like the spokes on a bicycle wheel. The building also contains a 3 story bicycle parking garage for visitors, which holds 5,000 bicycles. Pretty freaking sweet.

The track itself is 250 meters in length and 11 meters wide. The wood-surface track (made from "special fast wood" apparently) has a seven-meter race lane and a four-meter safety lane. The track is banked at between 13 degrees and 47 degrees. Yikes. Makes every track I've ever been on (granted, that's only three) look as flat as a pancake.

The velodrome was designed by the famous Schürmann Architects, arguably the best designers of velodromes in the world. The firm goes back through three generations of the Schürmann family, built its first velodrome in 1926, has since completed over 120 more, and is responsible for some of the most famous tracks in the world, including the beautiful Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan.

So, as I said, less than 12hrs to go to till the first competitive races happen at Laoshan, with the Men's Team Sprint qualifying starting at 4:30 PM Beijing time, which is 5:30 AM Eastern time in the USA (and, not that anyone but me really cares, 5:00 AM Caracas time).

Victoria Pendleton on Track Sprinting

Victoria Pendleton, Women's Sprint World Champion and one of Britain's brightest hopes for a medal on the boards, on the agony and excitement of the sprint: "you only have one chance. You can't afford to make one mistake. It's not a nice feeling. It's a very, very tight focus, sometimes it can be very subtle. It's like fencing. You are in an arena, waiting for the moment to attack: an eye movement, a change of grip on the bars, fingers flexing, one foot being back, small subtle things. And you are doing it in an environment of adrenaline-pumping intensity. It's very mental, very, very mental. One mistake and it's over. You are waiting to be shot down. It's an awful event. You could be the fastest on paper and go out in the first round. I like winning but I take a lot of punishment in the process." To read the rest of her interesting and insightful interview, go to The Guardian page here. Follow her progress at the Olympics, starting on Aug 16 at 11:05 PM ET, in the Women's Sprint qualification round.

British Cycling Academy

British cycling is going through a bit of a renaissance right now. Mark Cavendish made a strong claim to being one of the best road sprinters in the world by winning four stages at the Tour de France this year, and this was after he and Bradley Wiggins won gold in the Madison at the Track Cycling World Championships. In that same World Championships, British teams won the Men's and Women's Team Pursuits, the Women's Team Sprint, Chris Hoy won the Men's Sprint and the Keirin, Victoria Pendleton won the Women's Sprint, and Rebecca Romero won the Women's Individual Pursuit (altogether an incredible haul of 9 gold and 2 silver medals). Shanaze Reade, one of the members of the World Champion Women's Team Sprint squad (with Victoria Pendleton) is competing in BMX at the Beijing Olympics this year, and is expected to do well. Nicole Cooke, arguably the best female road racer in the world right now, just won the Women's Road Race gold medal at the Olympics, and Emma Pooley just took silver at the Women's Time Trial.

Great Britain's pursuit track cycling team are seen during a training session of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the Laoshan Velodrome. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

But how has Britain made itself so successful? Is there anything that other countries could learn from the way the British run their national squad, especially on the track? In part, Britain's recent successes are down to the incredible amount of work that British Cycling have put into spotting and developing talent, particularly through its Olympic Academy Program, which, British Cycling says, "aims to deliver riders to the Podium programme who are ready to win medals at World Championships and Olympics." In essence, the Academy takes young riders and seeks to develop them into Olympic and World Champion medal winners. Riders "are required to live close to the programme's base in Manchester, and there are many aspects of the Academy life which could be likened to going to University: it's often the first time riders have lived away from home; the skills development and learning experiences they go through are preparing them for adult life in their chosen career; they find themselves having to get on with strangers in a strange environment; and they are often making decisions for themselves for the first time. However, there's probably more at stake day-to-day for members of the OAP than for any university student: the new challenges thrown at them have to be tackled against a background of high levels of self-discipline and year-round performance expectations. Of course, for the aspiring professional cyclist, sacrifices of lifestyle are a small price to pay in return for a chance to chase personal goals." Clearly, the British are not messing around.

While they work on all disciplines of cycling, the Academy's main focus is track, because that's where the most number of Olympic and World Championship medals are available. As Mark Cavendish says in this Guardian piece, he moved to the academy when still a very young cyclist, lived in a small flat in Fallowfield, near the Manchester Velodrome, and began to learn his trade. The Academy "was all about learning hard work, and Rod Ellingworth (the Academy's director) was strict. If we didn't perform in a race, we would be doing three hours around the top of the track in Manchester, or 150km team time-trials in a single line, maybe on a small circuit just to make it harder. He would hide in the bushes to make sure we weren't slacking. I knew he wasn't doing it to spite us but to help us. I knew the position I was in, I knew how much he could help me. If you get that into your mind it can work well for you."

It's important to note that, especially in early years of training at the Academy, the focus is on skills. This is something that I think all beginning track riders should know, and focus on themselves. British Cycling notes, "as with the whole cycling programme, from Talent Team through to Olympic Podium Programme (senior GB team) there is a gradual move from skills training to physical conditioning. The first year in the Academy is usually heavily skills-focused, but as rider progress they will find themselves experiencing the progressive workload increases that they will have to handle if they are to succeed at the very highest levels." Skills first, then strength. It's a valuable lesson.

Clearly, instilling an attitude of hard work and professionalism at an early age has paid off for the British team. Of course, not every British cyclist, and not even every track cyclist on the Olympic squad, has passed through the Academy. But, the Academy seems to be indicative of British Cycling's attitude to winning. The heavy focus on the track does leave a lot of British road racers lamenting the relative lack of funding they feel their part of the sport receives, but it cannot be denied that Britain are the dominant nation in track cycling right now, and as track cyclists like Bradley Wiggins and especially Mark Cavendish make a successful transition to road, surely the profile of British road racing can only get even better?

For now, Cavendish's focus is on the Olympics. As he says in his Guardian column, "the Olympics are the pinnacle of the lottery-funded programme (the Academy). For me the Tour de France this year was a huge objective but, as far as the Games are concerned, it's medal or nothing. I'll be really disappointed if Bradley Wiggins and I don't win the Madison and, if we don't get a medal, we will have failed miserably. This is what we have been building for since I moved into that flat in Fallowfield."

It'll be interesting to see how the British team does this weekend. If they perform as well as everyone thinks they will, it will also be interesting to see if other countries begin to adopt some of Britain's ideas about how to make young, talented cyclists into World and Olympic Champions.

Olympic Velodrome Training Photos

Great Britain's Team Pursuit track cycling team practice during a training session at the Laoshan Velodrome. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

German team members practice their Madison throws at the Laoshan Velodrome. DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images.

Chris Hoy warming up at a training session at the Laoshan Velodrome. Sweet bars. CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

Training session at the Laoshan Velodrome. DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images

Gregory Bauge of France's men's cycling track team attends a training session in the Laoshan Velodrome. DANIEL GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images

Olympic Mascots

Unsurprisingly, I like the track one best.

Just so you know, it's going to be all track, all the time here at Hipster Nascar for the next week or so while the Olympic track cycling events are in the offing. I'll be getting up at 4am Caracas time all next weekend, in the vain hope that one of the channels here will be showing the track racing, so I should have live updates of results here. Then, after the track events are over, we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming of undemanding rubbish!

Olympic Track Cycling TV Schedule

Date/Time Event
Aug 15 5:45 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Team Sprint - First round
Aug 15 5:45 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Team Sprint - Qualifying
Aug 15 6:40 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Team Sprint - Final heat for bronze
Aug 15 6:45 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Team Sprint - Final heat for gold
Aug 16 4:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit - First round
Aug 16 4:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit - Qualifying
Aug 16 4:50 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Keirin - First round
Aug 16 5:05 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's 3000m Individual Pursuit - First round
Aug 16 5:05 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's 3000m Individual Pursuit - Qualifying
Aug 16 5:25 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Keirin - First round repechage summary
Aug 16 5:25 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Keirin - First round repechage
Aug 16 5:40 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Points Race - Men's Points Race
Aug 16 6:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Keirin - Second round
Aug 16 6:50 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit - Final heat for bronze
Aug 16 6:55 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit - Final heat for gold
Aug 16 7:15 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Keirin - Final round heat 1-6
Aug 16 7:20 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Keirin - Final round 7-12
Aug 16 11:05 PM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Qualification round
Aug 16 11:20 PM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Qualification round
Aug 17 4:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - 1/16 final
Aug 17 4:50 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - 1/16 final repechage summary
Aug 17 5:05 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's 3000m Individual Pursuit - Final heat for bronze
Aug 17 5:10 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's 3000m Individual Pursuit - Final heat for gold
Aug 17 5:15 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - 1/8 final
Aug 17 5:25 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - 1/8 final repechage summary
Aug 17 5:45 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - 1/8 final repechage summary
Aug 17 6:15 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Team Pursuit - Qualifying
Aug 17 6:15 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Team Pursuit - First round
Aug 18 4:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Points Race - Women's Points Race
Aug 18 5:05 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Quarterfinal heat 1
Aug 18 5:20 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Quarterfinal heat 1
Aug 18 5:45 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Quarterfinal heat 2
Aug 18 6:00 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Quarterfinal heat 2
Aug 18 6:15 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Team Pursuit - Final heat for bronze
Aug 18 6:20 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's 4000m Team Pursuit - Final heat for gold
Aug 18 6:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Quarterfinal heat 3
Aug 18 6:40 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Quarterfinal heat 3
Aug 19 4:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Semifinal heat 1
Aug 19 4:40 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Semifinal heat 1
Aug 19 4:50 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final heat for place 9-12
Aug 19 4:55 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Semifinal heat 2
Aug 19 5:05 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Semifinal heat 2
Aug 19 5:15 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Final heat for place 9-12
Aug 19 5:20 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Semifinal heat 3
Aug 19 5:25 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Semifinal heat 3
Aug 19 5:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Madison - Madison
Aug 19 6:30 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final for bronze heat 1
Aug 19 6:35 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Final for gold heat 1
Aug 19 6:35 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final for bronze heat 3
Aug 19 6:40 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final for gold heat 1
Aug 19 6:45 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Final heat for place 5-8
Aug 19 6:50 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final heat for place 5-8
Aug 19 7:00 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Points Race - Final for gold heat 2
Aug 19 7:00 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Final for gold heat 3
Aug 19 7:05 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final for bronze heat 2
Aug 19 7:10 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Final for bronze heat 1
Aug 19 7:10 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final for gold heat 2
Aug 19 7:10 AM ET Track Cycling - Men's Sprint - Final for gold heat 3
Aug 19 7:25 AM ET Track Cycling - Women's Sprint - Final for bronze heat 3

Irish Olympians

The Olympics start today, and there are four Irish cyclists participating. Nicholas Roche (Crédit Agricole) and Philip Deignan (AG2R) are in the Men's Road Race tomorrow, Robin Seymour (Team WORC) is competing in the Men's Mountain Biking, and, of course, David O'Loughlin (Pezula Racing) is competing in the Men's 4000M Individual Pursuit on the track, with his first round in the Olympic velodrome next Saturday, Aug. 16th. David is in with a real shout at a medal, having improved his time from that which earned him 6th place at the Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester a few months ago. An Irish track cycling Olympic medal? That would be feckin' deadly. C'mon Davo!!

Track Samurai Shirt

I got an email from Braden over at Carytown Bicycle Company about a limited edition t-shirt they're selling to raise money for their speedway track series in Richmond, VA. $20 post paid anywhere in the U.S. and 100% of the proceeds go to supporting track cycling in Richmond, VA. So if you want to support track racing and score a dope shirt, drop him an email at bikes@carytownbicyclecompany.com