Olympic R/R Title : what value is it ?

[limerickman]

I would like to get the Forum's view as to the value of an Olympic road race title.

I was fortunate enough to be in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic cycling events.

The US commentators were quite hilarious with some of the questions they asked.
Miguel Indurain, who Juan Antonio Samaranch allegedly begged to participate,
was asked by an American commentator if he had rested and trained specifically for the Olympics !
BigMig answered by going through the miles he had trained that season (17,000) and then explained how he had raced, and that he had just finished 10th overall in the TDF etc.
The expression on the face of the American commentator was hilarious : he simply couldn't believe what he was hearing (through a translator) from BigMig.
(I am not having a go at our American friends here - I'm simply telling how
of how little knowledge there was of what the pros did - this is all pre LA).

That's why I am particularly interested in the view of the road men.
Reading Ullrich's comments about the Olympics evidenced the point of how, in
East Germany where he was brought up, the Olympic Games still means a lot.
Museeuw, in 1996, on the other hand, said that the road race was just another race
and the Paris-Roubaix to him was a more prestigious event to win.
I know the Olympic title means a lot in other sports - and it is the centre of the participants sporting life.

But do the Forum think that an Olympic title is worth more than a Classic title or a grand Tour title, for the road men ?

If I had the chance to win a Classic, a grand tour, or an Olympic title, I think I would a grand tour and a classic would outweigh, in importance, an Olympic title.

 

[Perro Loco]

If I had the chance to win a Classic, a grand tour, or an Olympic title, I think I would a grand tour and a classic would outweigh, in importance, an Olympic title.

Your last sentence I think sums it up perfectly. I think in general the Olympics rates somewhat below the classics (and I am from the U.S.). It would be interesting to ask Tyler Hamilton if he would trade his victory in Liege for the gold? Armstrong for one of his 6 wins (I think he answered that one). Indurain appeared less than interested.

 

[meehs]

I think it still carries a certain amount of prestige. Not as much as a Grand Tour by any means but I'm not sure if all of the classics outweigh the Olympic title. I bet most of the pros would say that the bigger classics like Paris-Roubaix are more important than the Olympic RR title. But do you think a top rider would rather win the Olympic title or one of the "lesser" classics like Ghent-Wevelgem? It's an interesting question.

 

[philoakley]

I would like to get the Forum's view as to the value of an Olympic road race title.

I was fortunate enough to be in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic cycling events.

The US commentators were quite hilarious with some of the questions they asked.
Miguel Indurain, who Juan Antonio Samaranch allegedly begged to participate,
was asked by an American commentator if he had rested and trained specifically for the Olympics !
BigMig answered by going through the miles he had trained that season (17,000) and then explained how he had raced, and that he had just finished 10th overall in the TDF etc.
The expression on the face of the American commentator was hilarious : he simply couldn't believe what he was hearing (through a translator) from BigMig.
(I am not having a go at our American friends here - I'm simply telling how
of how little knowledge there was of what the pros did - this is all pre LA).

That's why I am particularly interested in the view of the road men.
Reading Ullrich's comments about the Olympics evidenced the point of how, in
East Germany where he was brought up, the Olympic Games still means a lot.
Museeuw, in 1996, on the other hand, said that the road race was just another race
and the Paris-Roubaix to him was a more prestigious event to win.
I know the Olympic title means a lot in other sports - and it is the centre of the participants sporting life.

But do the Forum think that an Olympic title is worth more than a Classic title or a grand Tour title, for the road men ?

If I had the chance to win a Classic, a grand tour, or an Olympic title, I think I would a grand tour and a classic would outweigh, in importance, an Olympic title.

The Olympics is definitely worth winning. I view it almost on the same level as the World Championships these days. Like the World's today, it would be worth more if the big champions rode but they don't. However, I think the Olympic road race has value because it can only be won every four years Whether its worth more than a Paris Roubaix or Liege-Bastogne-Liege, I don't know. Only the riders can answer that . I would say that the field for this Olympic road race suggests that it is valued quite highly. O' Grady to win.

 

[Jakebrake]

I would like to get the Forum's view as to the value of an Olympic road race title.

I was fortunate enough to be in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic cycling events.

The US commentators were quite hilarious with some of the questions they asked.
Miguel Indurain, who Juan Antonio Samaranch allegedly begged to participate,
was asked by an American commentator if he had rested and trained specifically for the Olympics !
BigMig answered by going through the miles he had trained that season (17,000) and then explained how he had raced, and that he had just finished 10th overall in the TDF etc.
The expression on the face of the American commentator was hilarious : he simply couldn't believe what he was hearing (through a translator) from BigMig.
(I am not having a go at our American friends here - I'm simply telling how
of how little knowledge there was of what the pros did - this is all pre LA).

That's why I am particularly interested in the view of the road men.
Reading Ullrich's comments about the Olympics evidenced the point of how, in
East Germany where he was brought up, the Olympic Games still means a lot.
Museeuw, in 1996, on the other hand, said that the road race was just another race
and the Paris-Roubaix to him was a more prestigious event to win.
I know the Olympic title means a lot in other sports - and it is the centre of the participants sporting life.

But do the Forum think that an Olympic title is worth more than a Classic title or a grand Tour title, for the road men ?

If I had the chance to win a Classic, a grand tour, or an Olympic title, I think I would a grand tour and a classic would outweigh, in importance, an Olympic title.

If I had my choice, I guess I would rate a Classic, Grand Tour, then Olympic Gold. I think the Olympics have lost a bit of their luster due the fact now professionals participate (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Eastern bloc countries use to send their pros routinely) and also for me, someone who use to enjoy team sports growing up, is the fact that now NBA, MLB, NHL have a very heavy influence of foreign players (thank god for that, especially for the NBA, it's nice to see players who are fundamentally sound again), where as before the only chance you would get to see some of the greatest players/teams go head to head was in the Olympics. Also all the hype, personal profiles, ad buys, tv ratings that dominate the American networks take away from my enjoyment of the games. Not that it really matters, I don't/rarely ever watch TV.

 

[gearshift]

I'm not exactly sure what the majority of the perception is the in cycling community among pro cyclers, but I have two questions I would ask a pro cycler in order to get an indicative response to whether the Olympic Gold means more than the others. I would first ask: Do you think the best of the best are competing in the Olympics, compared to that of a Classic or Grand Tour. If the answer is no, then winning the gold may not mean as much to them because they wounldn't have been up against the best....well, I forgot the second question, but it would be interesting to here a take on how cyclers feel about it, especially in the US.

 

[Jakebrake]

I would like to get the Forum's view as to the value of an Olympic road race title.

I was fortunate enough to be in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic cycling events.

The US commentators were quite hilarious with some of the questions they asked.
Miguel Indurain, who Juan Antonio Samaranch allegedly begged to participate,
was asked by an American commentator if he had rested and trained specifically for the Olympics !
BigMig answered by going through the miles he had trained that season (17,000) and then explained how he had raced, and that he had just finished 10th overall in the TDF etc.
The expression on the face of the American commentator was hilarious : he simply couldn't believe what he was hearing (through a translator) from BigMig.
(I am not having a go at our American friends here - I'm simply telling how
of how little knowledge there was of what the pros did - this is all pre LA).

That's why I am particularly interested in the view of the road men.
Reading Ullrich's comments about the Olympics evidenced the point of how, in
East Germany where he was brought up, the Olympic Games still means a lot.
Museeuw, in 1996, on the other hand, said that the road race was just another race
and the Paris-Roubaix to him was a more prestigious event to win.
I know the Olympic title means a lot in other sports - and it is the centre of the participants sporting life.

But do the Forum think that an Olympic title is worth more than a Classic title or a grand Tour title, for the road men ?

If I had the chance to win a Classic, a grand tour, or an Olympic title, I think I would a grand tour and a classic would outweigh, in importance, an Olympic title.

Do you think that the rich history and tradition of the classics and grand tours might also be a reason why some people/riders might consider these of more value than an Olympic gold?

 

[renoster]

Several top pros are competing in the Olympic Road race. Many targeted it as a major goal for the year.

A lot of strong riders from country's with very deep talent did not make the teams. Ask one of the top french, spanish, italian, belgian riders how they felt about not making their team. I think you will find that they were deeply disappointed.

I only know of one top rider that specifically chose not to compete - Lance Armstrong. For many, an Olympic gold medal is up there with any victory.

 

[keydates]

Lance would have competed, but he wanted to spend more time with his family. At least, that's his reason, obviously up to you to believe it or not.

I concur with many posters here that the Olympic (Gold) Road Race is important and prestigious, but nowhere near the likes of the Grand Tours and major Classics.

 

[derKaiser]

I think the Olympics are second only to the three grand tours. Although Paris-Roubaix and Milano-San Remo are prestigious wins, they don't attract the same level of competition as the Olympics. When was the last time Jan Ullrich rode Paris-Roubaix for the win? And the Olympic Road Race is a much more publicized international event than the regional classics. An Olympic victory carries more prestige.

Lance would have competed, but he wanted to spend more time with his family. At least, that's his reason, obviously up to you to believe it or not.

I concur with many posters here that the Olympic (Gold) Road Race is important and prestigious, but nowhere near the likes of the Grand Tours and major Classics.

 

[patch70]

I think it varies quite a bit with nationality and how important the olympics are in general. I know it means a lot to Aussies and I believe it is also important to people from US, NZ, East Germany, Russia. I think it is less important to Italians, French, Belgians, Dutch - maybe as they have much more of a history with the classics?

 

[thebluetrain]

BigMig answered by going through the miles he had trained that season (17,000) and then explained how he had raced, and that he had just finished 10th overall in the TDF etc.
The expression on the face of the American commentator was hilarious : he simply couldn't believe what he was hearing (through a translator) from BigMig.
(I am not having a go at our American friends here - I'm simply telling how
of how little knowledge there was of what the pros did - this is all pre LA).

One thing you have to realize is that the NFL is KING in the States. After that is the NBA, MLB, and NHL. After that is Golf, Track and Field, Volleyball, NASCAR, X-games,Tennis, plus many others. Not to mention you have all these same professional sports at the college and high school level also(with the exception of Nascar and Xgames). Kids in the States grow up playing football. It is the #1 sport in the States. Cycling in the States is way down on the bottom of the list of sports, so of course their is little knowledge. Kids in the States ride their bicycles to football, baseball, and basketball practice. Thats about the exent of cycling to most young kids. Another thing you need to look at is the salaries. Compare the salaries of the top cyclists in Europe to Shaqille O'neal, Peyton Manning, and Alex Rodriquez. Money talks. Which means more advertising, publicity, and endorsements. Trust me I will be the first one to agree that these sports stars are overpaid but thats just the way it is. I guess the point I am trying to make is that while Cycling is KING in Europe, Cycling in the States has a lot of competion.

 

[mojomarc]

The US commentators were quite hilarious with some of the questions they asked.
Miguel Indurain, who Juan Antonio Samaranch allegedly begged to participate,
was asked by an American commentator if he had rested and trained specifically for the Olympics !
BigMig answered by going through the miles he had trained that season (17,000) and then explained how he had raced, and that he had just finished 10th overall in the TDF etc.
The expression on the face of the American commentator was hilarious : he simply couldn't believe what he was hearing (through a translator) from BigMig.
(I am not having a go at our American friends here - I'm simply telling how
of how little knowledge there was of what the pros did - this is all pre LA).

In Olympic coverage over here, there are a ton of sports that have only a small following, and the commentary is almost always bad. It's not a lack of knowledge about cycling, but that the various networks will only hire so many people to cover all the sports. This means events like the equestrian Three Day Event and team handball and field hockey often get covered by people who spend most of their time reading the rules off the card some intern prepared for them. If you're trying to attribute this to a lack of pre-Lance knowledge, I think you would be surprised to find that there still aren't American-born commentators for cycling here in the country, but instead we get the same group from the TdF--Liggett and Sherwin. You don't only have to be knowledgeable, but a broadcaster, too, after all ;-)

Then again, I remember being in China when Wayne Gretzky broke the NHL scoring record, and caught a newspaper brief about it which I wish I had kept, it was so hilariously ignorant. Just goes to show that even with 1.2b people, it's still hard to find a decent sportswriter

 

[James Felstead]

straight from the horses mouth (or should that be crickets?):

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/olympics04/diaries/paolo.php?id=paolo0417

 

[limerickman]

straight from the horses mouth (or should that be crickets?):

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/olympics04/diaries/paolo.php?id=paolo0417

James,
thanks for this.
Obviously the Olympic r/r title means a lot to Bettini.

 

[Roadrash Dunc]

I tend to agree.Even though the Olympics are only every 4 years , i suspect the top riders are after classic victories , far more history involved in something like the Paris-Roubaix than the Olympic Roadrace for cyclists.

Perhaps guys who have already won a classic or 2 would pay more mind to winning the Gold in the Olympics , but given the choice i know what i'd prefer.

That said , i think the Olympic TT is going to gain more prestige each games and be soemthing the big boys pay more attention to.Theres something more quantifiable about winning a TT rather than those dodgy Olympic circuits they set up for a road stage.

 

[James Felstead]

Well it seems to me that the reaction of each of the winners - and sometimes the losers - (men and women) seems to indiacte that the Olympic titles are valued pretty highly. Read Tyler's, Bettini's, Van Morsels, Nicole Cookes etc reactions and judge for yourself.

Happy amateur's such as myself can speculate all we like about the value but the only answers that seems worth listening to are those of the competitors. Anything else is pure conjecture - not a highly valued source of information in most walks of life!

 

[ilpirata]

It certainly has at least the same value as the of winning a classic. But not nearly the same as winning the tour de france. Naturally Indurain is more interested in the grand tours because that was his area of greatness. It is also natural for a cyclist to give more importance to a win in a classic that is in his home country. A road race of this type has interest because of the team tactics. This olympic R.R course was not particularly selective.

 

[kgruscho]

I think a lot of the writers here are underestimating the value of the olympics. I think the olympics means a lot more than people admit, not in terms of palmares but career.

It's a world champion style race that you can take to the bank for about 3 and a half years. BUT it's better because you even have some market ability to non-cycling folks. Jan Ulrich has certainly benefited tons from this.

Any rider whose style lent itself to winning that race was aiming for it big time.

It may be a bit less prestigous, but only for the same reasons that the World Championship has lost its luster... it's always a bit of a **** shoot, it's only one day and it has a bad time in the calendar for the top stage racers.
I really wish that they would have a four day stage race and give out an overall medal. Always have one mountain top finish, one rolling terrain with cobbles/rough roads, and one ITT. Give out medals each day and an overall. It's more hardware, but it would reward people for mastery of different cyclign skills and specialization as well as an all-rounder.
But this is unlikely to happen... why: because then it would be harder to market the winner.. final point, well Eki certainly seemed to care a lot about the ITT...

 

[limerickman]

I think a lot of the writers here are underestimating the value of the olympics. I think the olympics means a lot more than people admit, not in terms of palmares but career.

It's a world champion style race that you can take to the bank for about 3 and a half years. BUT it's better because you even have some market ability to non-cycling folks. Jan Ulrich has certainly benefited tons from this.

Any rider whose style lent itself to winning that race was aiming for it big time.

It may be a bit less prestigous, but only for the same reasons that the World Championship has lost its luster... it's always a bit of a **** shoot, it's only one day and it has a bad time in the calendar for the top stage racers.
I really wish that they would have a four day stage race and give out an overall medal. Always have one mountain top finish, one rolling terrain with cobbles/rough roads, and one ITT. Give out medals each day and an overall. It's more hardware, but it would reward people for mastery of different cyclign skills and specialization as well as an all-rounder.
But this is unlikely to happen... why: because then it would be harder to market the winner.. final point, well Eki certainly seemed to care a lot about the ITT...

Judging by the reaction of the inners to the r/r and ITT : I am beginning to think that you and James Felstead might just be right after all.
I think the Olympic title does mean a lot and I am happy to acknowledge that perhaps I might have just got it wrong.