Dominant Brits and crashes sum up horror games for our cyclists

ANALYSIS: Australia’s cycling campaign in Rio has been a shambles and the final blow was sprinter Matt Glaetzer falling off his bike before the race for ninth even began.

AUSTRALIA’S Olympic cycling campaign has lurched from one shambles to the next in Rio and as frightening as Great Britain’s dominance has been, it’s nothing new.

The same thing happened in Beijing and in London but the gulf only seems to be getting bigger.

Not every disaster this week has been their fault.

Three likely medals disappeared the moment Richie Porte crashed out and broke his shoulder in the road race, the women’s team pursuit crashed out in training and Rohan Dennis snapped his handlebars with the finish line in sight.

The final blow, which summed up the track team’s Games, was Matthew Glaetzer in the keirin race for 9th to 12th falling from his bike at slow speed after a touch of wheels before the race had even begun.

Matthew Glaetzer on the ground after falling from his bike in the velodrome.

Glaetzer, like the team, had done his absolute best and had two fourths to that point, but was left sprawled across the velodrome wondering what just happened.

But when Australia did get a fair crack at the Brits and the rest of the world they were off the pace, which is no disgrace but it’s the cold, hard reality.

The men’s team pursuit broke the world record and went 1.7 seconds faster than ever before but had to settle for silver.

The women’s team pursuit crashed in training but would they have had a world record 4:10 in them like the Brits did anyway?

Anna Meares partly saved the day with a bronze medal but the men’s sprinters didn’t crack the podium and Glenn O’Shea and Nettie Edmondson, who have both been omnium world champions were seventh and eighth.

Road cyclist Richie Porte crashed out of the men’s road race at the Rio Olympics.

If Cycling Australia wants answers then something has to change and it’s not the athletes who have proven they can do the job at world championships.

But they need a high performance program that specifically targets the Olympics. Forget peaking for every world cup and every world championships, it’s time to get up once every four years for the Olympic Games just like the Poms.

That’s easier said than done because there are two undeniable differences between Great Britain and Australia – more money that is guaranteed regardless of what they do at worlds and more people to choose from.

Australia can’t double its population so it must either put more money into the program or accept that fourth, fifth and sixth really is a result worth celebrating and not below expectations.

Money doesn’t just buy the best bike and sports science, it buys the athlete’s time.

Rio Day 10: Aussies at the 2016 Olympics

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Jack Bobridge is the best pursuit rider in the world on his day, yet was left out of Australia’s semi-final because he simply wasn’t firing this week.

Of all weeks not to fire in the past four years, it was in Rio.

Cycling Australia high performance boss Kevin Tabotta admits they didn’t nail the four months from the world titles in March to the Games in August.

So what were Bobridge and Michael Hepburn doing in May while their British opponents were doing specific training together?

Bronze medallist Australia's Anna Meares partially saved the day for the cycling team.

They were dragging themselves around the Giro d’Italia for three weeks busting their backsides for their professional teams so they could make a decent living from the sport while they still can.

As Australia begins its full-scale review of its track program it must also face up to the very real prospect of life after Anna Meares.

For so long Meares has been the team’s most bankable medallist, but the tank is finally empty.

Australian cycling needs to either shape up to Great Britain off the track and follow its proven pathway to Olympic success or accept the reality that they might both be racing in the same velodrome but they’re just not in the same ballpark.

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Originally published as Dominant Brits and crashes sum up horror games for our cyclists