Anna Mears

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

Its a shame, Its a natural reaction to lean into who ever is bumping you, otherwise you will lose your balance.

 

[misterspatch]

Its a shame, Its a natural reaction to lean into who ever is bumping you, otherwise you will lose your balance.

She probably would have gained more if she had just crashed out which seems ridiculous.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Meares moved alongside Pendleton and her elbow outstretched into VP. If she'd gone any closer then she would have crossed into the sprinters lane.

I've watched this about 30 times to try and get a good grip on what happened.

Meares elbow isn't raised until VP shifts up the track and appears to lean into her.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/london-olympics/australias-anna-meares-claims-gold-in-womens-sprint-against-arch-rival-victoria-pendleton/story-fndpu6dv-1226445484486

That's what it appears has happened on the slow mo footage.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

were you watching the same race as the rest of us or did you have a CGI version shown is australia? Because it bears no relation to reality. VP (and I'm not her biggest fan) was still in the sprinters lane and had not moved from it when she was elbowed by Mears.

I've watched the slow mo video of it multiple times to come to my conclusion.

It's not a pissing contest. I watch cycling 12 months of the year every year.

I don't give a rats arse who wins, I just love watching great cyclists.

 

[fly high]

Well if its ok to elbow the rival cyclist adjacent to you to gain an advantage in a gold medal race, then it will start happening more often.

Which is excatly what Chris Boardman said last night, green light to play it rough.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Didn't Mears lose a world title to VP for a similar pedantic relegation? Swings and roundabouts really. As soon as it happened I thought she'd be in trouble. I think VP was under enormous pressure from Mears, normally you'd see the inside sprinter hug the inside line for the shortest distance (like Hoy in the Keirin) but VP was already getting drawn up toward Mears, you could say Mears reacted by coming down, which VP then reacted even more by straying out of the line. That said, given the movement from Mears toward her you may of thought it was sufficient doubt not to enforce the relegation, but given where GB are, I think you have to be philosophical about it as VP was in the end.

 

[Bold Seagull]

My take on it was that VP slightly lost her balance coming into the last turn. Her shifting ground and leaving her lane wasn't intentional but due to her slight wobble.

As she drifted up into Meares lane she slightly dropped her shoulder, At that time Meares pushes out with her elbow as VP moves up into her lane.

All that happens in a 15 metre stretch and by the time they nhit the line both had balanced up again.

She did shift up the track slightly and the Commisaire by the rule book made the correct call. But some discretion probably should have been shown given both riders finished over the line balanced up.

I think this is a fair enough description of what happened.

 

[Gritt23]

Can someone confirm whether this was a decision made in response to a complaint by Mears, or merely a decision that was taken without complaint?

 

[Bold Seagull]

Can someone confirm whether this was a decision made in response to a complaint by Mears, or merely a decision that was taken without complaint?

I'm pretty sure they looked it at immediately after without any prompting. Only Brailsford appeared to be around commissaires, Mears was on her exercise bike. Didn't see any of her coaches / team making a fuss.

 

[drew]

I'm pretty sure they looked it at immediately after without any prompting. Only Brailsford appeared to be around commissaires, Mears was on her exercise bike. Didn't see any of her coaches / team making a fuss.

Of course the Aussies weren't making a fuss, they gained from the decision. Don't think it's a secret that the governing bodies don't like the dominance of GB in the sport adn they changed the events from last time to reduce our chances, which of course didn't work.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Of course the Aussies weren't making a fuss, they gained from the decision. Don't think it's a secret that the governing bodies don't like the dominance of GB in the sport adn they changed the events from last time to reduce our chances, which of course didn't work.

I was replying to the post which asked whether the Aussies instigated the review by the commissaires, which I was suggesting they didn't.

 

[Stat Brother]

My understanding is, the key part of the incident is the severity of each 'crime'.

As it stands Mears committed GBH.
But in coming above the red line (out of the sprinters lane) VP committed manslaughter.

In a .001 race in Mrs Stat's favour, she's not going to keep it.

 

[Bozza]

It was a ridiculously close call between two very evenly matched and ulta-competitive cyclists.

I suspect if we were all Australian or the riders' positions were exactly reversed, we'd be saying it was a fair and just decision. That's the way it works.

 

[Triggaaar]

Looked to me like it was Vicky's fault she came out of the line. Shame she was retiring as that meant her head wasn't right for the rest of it.