Written by: Myles McCorry

Although I am sad to see the exclusion of the individual pursuit from the Olympics- I am delighted to see the inclusion of the Omnium.

I grew up with the 4000-meter pursuit. The head to head, split screen TV was electric viewing. It was the ultimate benchmark for a track cyclist. I was hypnotized to the evolution of Mike Burrows ‘Lotus’ bike ridden by Chris Boardman, not only won gold at the 1992 Summer Olympics, but moved cycling technology a massive leap forward. Such a jump, that his bike still looks futuristic, nearly 18 years later. The powers that be, have decided it is gone (yet left in the team sprint?!??). I really looked forward to see Taylor Phinney and the likes of the Australian Meyer brothers challenge the pursuit records- yet the Omnium will do nicely. This is a multiple race event in track cycling in which all contestants compete against each other in five different disciplines. The decathlon of track cycling, should filter out the master of the boards as the disciplines feature both sprint events and endurance events. There will be a 3,000-meter pursuit to placate the purists, a scratch race, and point’s race- but why I’m excited is the Devil.

The Miss and Out, Devil Take the Hindmost or elimination race- Call it what you like. The half an hour at the Ghent 6day in 2004, when I first witnessed the Devil is glued in my memory. Thundering round the 200m track every 9 seconds is just heart stopping. It is a massed start event where at the end of every lap or every set number of laps the last rider to cross the line is eliminated from the race. This is none stop riveting biking, where each lap people are sprinting for their lives. Thrilling stuff. When just a handful of riders remain, they sprint for the finish. Tactically, the real racing in a “devil” happens at the back of the field. With riders at the front riding steadily and those behind moving up on the elimination laps to find a safe spot.

In the summer of 2012 at the new Olympic Velodrome in London, – If I’m living I will be standing (on my seat) for the final laps of this magic event. The race favors riders with nerve and track-craft, rather than just power.

RIP individual pursuit but welcome the Olympic birth of the Omnium.

Submitted by: BIKEPURE.ORG