Bicycling spoke to the Olympic cycling team’s manager, Barry Austin on the team selection for London and the most obvious omissions that have had the social networks a-buzz. Austin was not involved in the team selection itself, so all comments are his own opinion.
BICYCLING: Why select Daryl Impey over Robbie Hunter?
AUSTIN: Firstly, swing it around. If Hunter had been selected over Impey, the question would be “Why not Impey?” You are always going to get people questioning the decision of the selectors.
Secondly, Impey has recently won a stage on the World Tour. Whilst Hunter is a valuable rider, he hasn’t had a win like that this season. The question has also been asked why not Reinardt Janse van Rensburg with all his wins? Impey beat the guys he’s going to be racing. Van Rensburg, even with all his wins, hasn’t raced at the same World Tour level.
And what was the reason for not selecting Cherise Taylor?
We only have one clear race winner (Ashleigh Moolman Pasio) who has met the requirements of team selection in terms of World Cup achievements and UCI wins. Hence any other spots were going to go to workers, to assist Ashleigh. Any one of the women in contention could have fulfilled this role. No-one’s mentioned An-Li Pretorius. In stage 2 of the Tour de Free State she stopped to help Ashleigh after she crashed and, along with Robyn de Groot was instrumental in Ashleigh’s success on the day. That’s who we need to help Ashleigh. So perhaps she should have been selected. In the end the selectors went with Jo and Robyn, two solid support riders.
Even though Cherise is ranked higher on the UCI rankings?
Her high ranking is because of points scored at Africa Champs and SA Champs, racing mainly with her own team mates. Take those points away and count only points in truly international races and you are left with only Ashleigh having significant points left to be called a true challenger at present. It would have been great if we did have more riders scoring mainly points in big international races. I am sure this will be changing in the near future.
So it wasn’t because she wasn’t at the Tour de Free State?
Sure, Cherise wasn’t there so the selectors are going on what they see in recent races, I believe. We also have to remember we have to have two workers, since we only have one proven potential winner, so selections I believe were based on this.
And your comments on sending ‘climbers’ for a ‘sprinters’ course?
It might be a ‘sprinter’s’ course in the eyes of riders such as Mark Cavendish, who, let’s be honest, would think Chappies was a speed bump. There are a number of hills on the course, one of which is 3.8km so you need to be able to get over it with the rest of the field, otherwise you will be dropped well before the finish. Then the reference to ‘climbers’ also needs to be looked at. We don’t have a real sprinter as our number one ‘climber’ (Ashleigh) won many of the sprints in RSA last year. So if our climber is winning many of the sprints, who is our sprinter? Surely then the best bet is the best climber who also is the best sprinter.
What are our medal chances?
Anything can happen. If Daryl gets the chance, he will take it and it might just pay off. Ashleigh has got a great support team and has proved she can win against the best.
Bicycling has attempted to get hold of the Cycling South Africa Road Director for comment on the team selection without success to date.
What a load of bullcrap. Then why set selection criteria and make people sacrifice their lives if it doesn’t even count in the end. Talent means nothing seems to me.
Speechless!!! Thankyou for your points towards extra ladies going to olympics cherise we will use them for female riders way dowm the uci list…. Come on ppl this is the biggest load of bull I’ve read!! These athletes work so hard and sacrifice for 4yrs to achieve this goal and this is how you repay them???? The best shd be representing us, frankly this is a flippen disgrace!!!!
I really like Barry Austin, but be real this is absolute crap, yes Barry is only doing his job in backing the selectors. But this leaves everyone thinking that selection criteria means nothing!!
If you need to run the 100m in 10.2seconds to qualify for the Olympics, then you qualified!!
If you make the selection criteria in cycling in SA……….
Gosh! Why didn’t Barry just say Cherise isn’t a team player? It would have been shorter than the bull he has just served up! Oh wait? Isn’t she a team mate of these women already? So CSA decides that women who are already racing as a team can’t race as a team at the Olympics? Something isn’t adding up here…
Your right something isn’t adding up!
If Cherie’s was there you would have two possible winners now there will only only be one rider left fore the sprint
We all know that in cycling you work as a team. The team has worked towords a goal. Now that is’t done we stab the best rider in the back. Cherise is one of best, she should have been the 2nd one to go.
Even us the amature cyclists are stabed in the back.
Thanks SA you lost me as a cyclist aswell.
Good bye.
Yes Barry, you might not be a selector but it was your report to the selectors that they based their decision on. Why the subterfuge?
Because he’s Robyn coach!!
There is some really petty comments in this article that I just don’t like. The climbers winning the sprints… One sprint I would like very much to address is this years argus, the crash! Take away the vets, give the ladies their own start they deserve ( a little respect for lady athletes) and u may eliminate some carnage and sprinters could win. 2ndly the tour de free state.. A lady cyclist shd now cancel her wedding set prior to the tour date? All the work 12mths prior doesn’t really count? Ashleigh won a stage and came 3rd in that tour, can some1 tell me how the other ladies did? Since the criteria is so important. The africa games are not so important from what I believe in this article? Only europeon races, yet from what I read of cherise role their last year was a support role so why penalise her now? This is just a small observation of a big picture. So very wrong!
Selectors were right on the money…
Two questions to all the critics. Answer these honestly to yourselves.
1.Why plan your wedding in the middle of the European Season? Regardless of TdFS, there are/were/could have been other UCI races at the time. Makes you think and wonder about a rider’s commitment?
2. Is Cherise a team player? (Has there been friction, a history? Has anyone spoken to her team manager?)
Road Cycling is a TEAM Sport. There is no use in selecting individuals
Answers:
1. Cause it fits in with Burry’s international schedule and she already matched the requirement criteria to be selected. It doesn’t show lack of commitment but attention to planning and managing of 2 congested scheduled.
2. Does not matter if she is a team player or not. If she is the second best then she should be sent. The course fits her like a glove.
Road Cycling is individuals within a team concept. Please tell Cavendish sorry we can’t pick you for the TDF since we need a team to support Wiggins.
Then why did the team sign her in the first place if there was friction? Friction with who? Her team mates? I recall a race where Cherise ‘stripped her moer’ for Ashleigh. It was the 2011 Berge and Dale race I think. There was a break in the lead and they were taken the wrong way by the lead vehicle. Cherise was riding in the colours of USN at the time I think. Jo van de Winkel was in this break as well as some from MTN.
Ashleigh went on to win that day but Cherise didn’t think it was very sporting of Ashleigh to take the win after the lead vahicle had caused the leaders to go off course. There was little love lost between Cherise and th e entire Nashua Toyota (as it was then) team, management included. Now you have to be a stupid manager to then go on and sign the same rider? Unless of course if signing Cherise was more about securing the sponsorship with Momentum then I understand trying to squeeze two of the best women into one team even though the manager was well aware of the history of friction between Cherise and her new team mates.
Hi Andrew clearly your value system differs quite a lot from mine. I would think that getting married is one of the biggest things that can happen to you in life. What if you postpone something so important and something tragic happens to one of you and you never get the oppertunity for this day? Do you also suggest by this that Burry is not committed to the Olympics? As far as I know he was also at the wedding in the middle of his racing season!
I guess that if you let your team mate win the African champs and allow the team tactics to play in the SA champs it sounds like you are a team player not to mention the the support in other races locally an abroad to not only Ashleigh but the other members as well. Has this team manager only mentioned to you that Cherise is not a team player or has he also informed Cherise about this issue that she can be aware of it?
Please do not mistaken a person that is not only a puppet on a string and who are willing to stand up for what is right and fair fro someone that is not a team player.
And yes I agree that cycling is a team sport. That also does not mean that just one gets the advantage thereoff.
TFS wasn’t part of the selection criteria though? Also regardless of the number of local races done, they fulfilled the criteria as laid down, so why then go against this in the selection. The logic here is astoundingly insulting.
What define’s a team player “her own team mates” so that’s neither here nor there really.
It could also be argued that Cherise has a strong outspoken personality.
Of course we know what that means in local sports when it comes to selection, which IF thats the case here. Is downright disgusting and unfair to the cyclists concerned.
Once again Barry shows his colours. Bullshit excuses once again. How many races has Robyn finished at UCI level? 0 if I am correct and what form has she got as she has broken ribs that are battling to mend and hasn’t been training correctly.
But atleast Barry has a athlete of his going so he is happy.
So if the criteria was used that was mentioned in the article, then Anli Pretorius should have been considered as well. If the original criteria was used then Cherise STILL met more than other riders. Cherise has incredible bunch skills, she is the south african AND african time trial champion, she place top 10 in top ranked european tours RECENTLY. So who better to pace you through the bunch or give you the best lead out? I’m just working with facts.
Seems to me that leaving out Chersise Taylor is a cowardly selection by individuals who don’t have he ability to front up and manage strongly. Don’t know, but somehow smacks of amateurs trying to operate in a professional environment.
Quite clear that the so called reasons(if one could call it that) advanced as well as the argumentation(if one could call it that ) to arrive at those reasons is fundamentally flawed. I wonder if they really want us to believe this hogwash. More disturbing is that they themselves seem to believe it. If she was not selected due to her not being at the TFS why does he refer to the performance of the other selected riders at that event and uses that as an illustration of their so called worker capabilities. When in a corner he summarily discounts certain UCI points(probably because it is a much more objective measurement). I wonder if all the cyclists were aware of the criteria and the discretion of the selectors to apparently discount whatever is uncomfortable for them to reach the conclusion that they desired.
I can only agree with Anriette. If you do everything correctly for the years leading up to the games selection and don’t get selected even though you are the 2nd ranked cyclist in the country then something is wrong.
This extract is by William Newman. President of cycling SA.
Our riders have worked extremely hard to put themselves into contention for Olympic and Paralympic selection and to realise their dreams of representing our beloved country. After years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice many riders will either be selected or miss the selection. That is the reality of sport. Each discipline however has well documented selection criteria, of which an appeal process is part of. Riders who therefore feel that they have been overlooked have the avenue of appeal open to them as part of the process.
What a joke
So the selectors used the following subjective points table (it was compiled by the selctors and I keep asking myself if it was to justify their selction or to make the selction? Maybe I am just too suspicious) as the basis for their selection.
listed under domestique, climber, spinter, suitability for the London course, total
vd Winkel (world rank 138th with 26 pts) 8 8 5 7 28
de Groot (323rd, 5.25pts) 8 7 6 6 27
Olivier (231st, 7pts) 4 5 7 6 22
Taylor (98th, 49pts) 3 5 7 5 20
Over half vd Winkels UCI points were also earned at SAs and African Champs
Cherise would still be third best SA rider without her African and SA champs (vd Winkel would move ahead of her)
More than half of de Groot’s points were from African events and the rest were from a …. wait for it …TEAM TIME TRIAL.
So tell me how, the rider ranked 323 is just one point from being top and the top-ranked rider (of these four) is bottom? Do the selectors really know? The insinuation is that Cherise scored her points from African and SA Champs … errrr, what about her fifth position against a top international field in Tour de Luxembourg? and other events where she did well overseas.
So, on a scale of 1 to 10, Cherise scored 5, so the winner of Argus in 2011, African time trial champ, and SA time trial champ twice (and winner of a few local MTB races) absolutely cannot climb. Mmmmm.
As the second ranked South African and in the top 100 in the world she is the worst of the four riders in contention to support Ashleigh. And as the best sprinter (of these) she will not be able to help in the lead out on a flattish sprinters course.
On a scale of 40 she scores a mere 50%
On a course that has been designed to give the pom sprinters the best chance of securing gold the best sprinter is unsuitable for the course.
And as a coach of the athlete controversially included, for Barry Austin to have anything to do with selection (if he does, and I believe he has had input even if he is not a selector) it is my opinion that the selection is massively flawed.
Please can we have an honest justification for Cherise’s exclusion. Even if it the real reason why they feel she will not be the best for the team, give us reasons so we know. Not bullshit subjective tables which could (just my suspicion, no real basis on fact) have been created after the selection.
It is really sad when an athlete delivers as required and is not rewarded acordingly , the administrators have far to much influence over these peoples lives.
I want to comment on ( Is Cherise a team player ?)
Having been involved with Charise and Karien when the Nashua Team imploded as back up vehicle and on many occasions as Manager and again in the USN Team, I can only comment
on my first hand experiences. Cherise is the most proffesional unselfish Rider I have ever met
and she would be my first pick in any Team, she assisted her Team in all respects and sacrificed herself on many occasions for the benefit of others.Please look at the results the
USN Team achieved in 2011.
This is truely a sad day for Womans Cycling and have no doubt that this will affect the future
of Womans Professional Road Cycling in this Country, it may even be too late as some of the Pro Teams have intimated that because of the interference in the sport they will not be Sponsoring Teams next year.
How do the relevant people sleep at night ???
I agree with Andrew and Mandy a bit. Ashley is the better rider, she has more international experience and commitment. Ashley can only perform as good as her team allows her to be and with Cherise they might compete against each other and South Africa might not bring any medals back. I saw Ashley coming past us with the Amashova(the 2nd bunch of the VA men) and the bunch tried to catch her without any luck, she is an absolute machine on the bike and she and HER team deserves to go to the Olympics and I think everyone should start supporting the girl we have and stand behind her instead of bringing Cherise into the picture and complaining about everything and whara-whara about it. I’m with Barry Austin and the board on their decision. Best of luck for the Olympics!