At the Beijing leg of the 2011-2012 UCI Track Cycling World Cup, which concluded on January 15, 2012, Chinese star Guo Shuang won three gold medals, helping the team top the medal table with a total of 3 golds, 2 silvers, and 1 bronze. Looking ahead to the London Olympics in six months, team leader Song Xiang said that although the challenges are greater compared to 2008, the athletes are showing strong confidence.
For this competition, the Chinese track cycling team sent 29 athletes to compete on behalf of the national team and three professional squads. The national team secured 3 golds, 2 silvers, and 1 bronze — their best performance at the Beijing leg in the past four editions. Among them, Guo Shuang, who won bronze in the women’s sprint at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, participated in all three key Olympic events for China. She claimed gold in both the sprint and keirin events, and teamed up with Gong Jinjie to win the women’s team sprint, showcasing an impressive form.
“Over the past two years, I’ve been battling injuries and my results weren’t very consistent. After making active adjustments last year, my condition has been improving steadily,” said Guo Shuang, who added that she and her teammates are preparing diligently to be in the best shape possible before the Olympics. In the interview, Guo revealed that the focus of their preparation would be on team events. The Chinese team broke the 33-second barrier for the first time in the women’s team sprint at this event, significantly boosting team morale. Despite having won medals in three consecutive Olympics, China’s track cycling team has yet to secure its first Olympic gold. “The women’s team shows definite competitiveness in short-distance events, and the outlook for winning gold this time is more promising than it was four years ago,” said the team’s French coach, Daniel Morelon, without false modesty.
However, the athletes aren’t letting the good results breed overconfidence. “We should be clear-eyed — the two individual events we won didn’t see the presence of our main rivals. How to carry over our strong performances from smaller events to major competitions is something we need to reflect on and keep striving for,” said Song Xiang. He noted that the three World Cup golds have no direct bearing on the Olympics, “and our rivals are also closely watching us, so we absolutely cannot let our guard down.”
Currently, the Chinese team is actively preparing for the final World Cup event in London in February and the World Championships in Melbourne in April. After these two events, the season will conclude and the Olympic qualification slots will be finalized.
According to Song Xiang, since Olympic “qualifying spots” are allocated based on points earned in the team sprint, with higher-ranked teams automatically earning individual event berths, China has basically secured full quotas in all three key events. “At present, our points are looking good and there shouldn’t be many variables,” said Song, admitting that competing as the away team at this year’s Olympics will definitely be more challenging than at the Beijing Games. But the athletes are working hard and showing strong confidence. “This competition also served as a milestone test — we achieved certain results and gained a lot of confidence. No matter the circumstances, we’ll do our utmost to strive for good results.”
“Over the past two years, I’ve been battling injuries and my results weren’t very consistent. After making active adjustments last year, my condition has been improving steadily,” said Guo Shuang, who added that she and her teammates are preparing diligently to be in the best shape possible before the Olympics. In the interview, Guo revealed that the focus of their preparation would be on team events. The Chinese team broke the 33-second barrier for the first time in the women’s team sprint at this event, significantly boosting team morale. Despite having won medals in three consecutive Olympics, China’s track cycling team has yet to secure its first Olympic gold. “The women’s team shows definite competitiveness in short-distance events, and the outlook for winning gold this time is more promising than it was four years ago,” said the team’s French coach, Daniel Morelon, without false modesty.
However, the athletes aren’t letting the good results breed overconfidence. “We should be clear-eyed — the two individual events we won didn’t see the presence of our main rivals. How to carry over our strong performances from smaller events to major competitions is something we need to reflect on and keep striving for,” said Song Xiang. He noted that the three World Cup golds have no direct bearing on the Olympics, “and our rivals are also closely watching us, so we absolutely cannot let our guard down.”
Currently, the Chinese team is actively preparing for the final World Cup event in London in February and the World Championships in Melbourne in April. After these two events, the season will conclude and the Olympic qualification slots will be finalized.
According to Song Xiang, since Olympic “qualifying spots” are allocated based on points earned in the team sprint, with higher-ranked teams automatically earning individual event berths, China has basically secured full quotas in all three key events. “At present, our points are looking good and there shouldn’t be many variables,” said Song, admitting that competing as the away team at this year’s Olympics will definitely be more challenging than at the Beijing Games. But the athletes are working hard and showing strong confidence. “This competition also served as a milestone test — we achieved certain results and gained a lot of confidence. No matter the circumstances, we’ll do our utmost to strive for good results.”
