Chris Hoy Wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Chris Hoy, the preeminent track sprinter in the world right now, won the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award last night. He was up against double Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, but the Scot, who won three gold medals in Beijing, the first Briton to win three golds in one games since 1908, won the public vote convincingly, and became the first cyclist to win the award since the great Tom Simpson in 1965. It was a great night for British track cycling generally, as the Olympic track squad won Team of the Year, and their coach Dave Brailsford won Coach of the Year. It just shows how the incredible performance of the team during the Olympics really captured the public imagination in Britain, and augurs well for the sport there. More details here.

Paralympic Track Action

Check out these shots of some of the track racing action at the Laoshan velodrome during the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. It's a real shame that the Paralympics doesn't get more media attention. Anyway, enjoy these photos.

Australians Kieran Modra, right, and his pilot Tyson Lawrence compete in the Men's 4000m Individual Pursuit. AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

Britain's Aileen McGlynn, right, with her pilot Ellen Hunter reacts after they won the Women's 1km Time Trial final. AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

Tang Qi of China cycles during the women's individual pursuit. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Gold medalist Simon Richardson of Britain, center, is flanked by silver medal Masaki Fujita of Japan, left, and bronze medal Greg Ball of Australia during the award ceremony of the Men's 1km Time Trial (LC3-4) final. Britain killing it on the track again. AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

Carlos Arciniegas and Juan Careno of Colombia (R) race against Ben Demery and Shaun Hopkins of Australia in the men's sprint. Awesome. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Dong Jingping of China cycles during the women's individual pursuit track cycling. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Australian Kieran Modra, right, and his pilot Tyson Lawrence reacts after they win the Men's gold medal 4000m Individual Pursuit. They set a new world record at 4 minutes 18.961 sec. AP PHOTO/ANDY WONG

Cool shots, huh? The tandem sprint in particular looks feckin' mental!! Do they trackstand?? As far as I know, the stoker of the tandem is the paralympian, and is usually blind. The pilot basically just steers. No disrespect to the pilots, but the idea of being a blind track cyclist is so impressive and inspiring.

Greta Neimanas - Chicago Paralympian

Local rider and xXx Racing member Greta Neimanas is competing in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing right now. Check out her homepage and her blog here, and follow her progress on the velodrome here. Good luck, Greta!

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.

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.

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

Ireland to Race at the Olympics!

Fantastic news! It has just been announced that Irish national road champion and Pezula Racing rider David O'Loughlin has qualified for the 4km Individual Pursuit at the Beijing Olympics! Feckin' brilliant!!

David O'Loughlin, of Ireland and Pezula Racing, at the Track World Championships in Manchester this year. Photo by Stephen McMahon for BikeRadar.

I've been following David's attempts to qualify for some time. He smashed the Irish national 4km Individual Pursuit record at the recent World Championships in Manchester, where he came 6th overall and moved up into 6th place in the UCI world rankings. But, even that great performance wasn't enough for the Irishman, who only took up track in 2006 and who has to train in England because Ireland doesn't have a velodrome, to qualify. David missed out by one place! There was a slight chance that he might qualify as first reserve if someone dropped out, but no one was really holding out much hope. Well someone has dropped out, and David is now going to the Olympics!

The news gets even better. Apparently, David has improved his 4km time to 4 minutes and 20 seconds, 9 seconds faster than the time that got him 6th place at the Worlds, and only 2 seconds off Bradley Wiggins' World Championship winning time. So, he has a real chance of a medal in Beijing. I'm delighted for him and his team, because they've really been working hard for this, and it will be great to have someone to cheer on while watching the track racing. I'll be giving it loads of olé olé, don't you worry!