Olympics 2012: Pick of the Day - Hoy, Pendleton and Trott in the Track Cycling
Three of Great Britain's best cyclists - Laura Trott, Victoria Pendleton and Chris Hoy - compete today. Will they all win their place in cycling history?
Women's Omnium 10:19am BBC Olympics 8; 4:07pm and 4:53pm BBC1, BBC Olympics 3
Women's Sprint Finals 5:26pm BBC1, BBC Olympics 3
Men's Keirin Finals 5:50pm BBC1/2, BBC Olympics 3
Cometh the hour, cometh the king, queen and princess of British cycling? In a fitting climax to the action at the Velodrome, Victoria Pendleton threatens to bow out with one last tilt at glory, while Chris Hoy could be in line to claim a historic sixth gold.
"If six-time world champion Victoria Pendleton is up against Australian Anna Meares, as she was in Beijing four years ago, this will be fantastic," says 5 Live cycling commentator Simon Brotherton. "Theirs is a classic sporting rivalry. Meares beat Pendleton on the Olympic track in February, then Pendleton won at the world championships in Meares' backyard in Melbourne: Pendleton crashed in the finishing straight in the first race; Meares was disqualified for riding out of her lane in the second; Pendleton won the decisive race by inches."
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Meanwhile, Hoy goes in the keirin. "It's an eight-lap race in which six riders follow a motorcycle," explains Brotherton. "They jostle for position as it gradually speeds up to close on 30 mph. Two-and-a-half laps from the end, the motorcycle peels off and then it's a fight for the line. Sometimes they do all end up in a heap! Chris Hoy will be defending his title and it's his chance to add to his five Olympic gold medals."
Then there's the omnium, track cycling's equivalent of the heptathlon: six disciplines held over two days, testing a cyclist’s strength in both sprint and endurance events. Following her blistering win in yesterday evening's thrilling elimination race, the joint leader is the current world champion: GB’s pocket rocket Laura Trott. “She is one of the less well-known names but she’s got real potential to be a double gold medallist,” says Chris Boardman, adding, “She’s great fun, too.”
Trott has already won the first of those medals, alongside Dani King and Joanna Rowsell, in the team pursuit event on Saturday: today if she can edge out the USA's Sarah Hammer, who stands with her on 12 points overnight, she can complete what would be a very popular double.
Read our beginner's guide to the Omnium...
