interesting article - Victoria Pendleton

[kesa]

great article here, a very frank one too - i wonder how many top cyclists are driven by similar demons?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/oct/28/victoriapendleton-cycling

and i particularly liked this!

"And what other sport has to deal with the attitude we get as cyclists on the road? I certainly haven't noticed any sudden courtesy to cyclists in the wake of us being the most successful British team in the Olympics. I cycle to the velodrome most days and I have one narrow escape for every hour on the road. I just think, 'Holy shit, I could die on my bike out here.'

"To a cyclist, these bloody motorists might as well be running around with a loaded gun."

[Tapeworm]

"...When you have that sort of attitude towards cyclists how are we going to move our sport into the mainstream?..."

Why isn't track cycling more popular? Certainly here in Oz people are quite happy to stay glued to swimmers doing endless laps in a pool, yet not so interested in seeing laps on the track.

I mean you can't even see their faces and expressions in the pool, least you can on the track. And with track cycling, unlike road, you get to see them go past more than once every 5 mins (or less)

Is it because some of it is too confusing for the average punter?

[kesa]

i don`t know about Oz, but here in japan they just don`t try hard enough. i mean, with Keirin, they have this really cool spectacle, bright colours, high speed crashes (come on you know you love them), cool as heck bikes, even head-butting! but they somehow manage to take all the glamour and fun out of the whole experience - there`s only one race every 30 minutes, and between races they play this god-awful music - there`s no beer on sale - and the races are all daytime.

be4 i went to watch a few races, i had this image of night-time racing, spotlights, cheerleaders (!), beer to be drunk and a good time being had by all - i also thought that the place would be packed. instead the stadiums attract hard-core gamblers - you know, the seedy types - and the homeless! there were about 25 people last time i went, in a 2,000 capacity venue. the races were great, but it was all somehow generally depressing!

but then the japanese officialdom DO have a gift for taking the fun out of everything...

[BenCousins]

Why isn't track cycling more popular? Certainly here in Oz people are quite happy to stay glued to swimmers doing endless laps in a pool, yet not so interested in seeing laps on the track.

The sport itself has no relevance. It about if the audience can relate to it. People swim at school and for pleasure a lot in Oz. Riding a fixed gera bike arounda wooden track isn't such a big participation sport.

[BenCousins]

i don`t know about Oz, but here in japan they just don`t try hard enough.

I don't think they want the only legalised for of gambling to be too fun.

[GrahamB]

but they somehow manage to take all the glamour and fun out of the whole experience

One thing is that if the organisers are getting a cut of the gambling income, they really don't have to make much of an effort to lure ordinary folk. My impression was that horse racing in Australia was like that for many years... until casinos and other methods of donating your money to big business and government became available

[kesa]

good point, it`s all rather shady really, the keirin. the yakuza are involved somehwere... and the riders themselves all tend to drive gangster cars! they get quite well paid.

[RTW]

My girlfriend was talking to her the other day (BBC news) and said she is as nice as she looks. I stayed in bed at home though!

[Sprinter]

i don`t know about Oz, but here in japan they just don`t try hard enough...there`s only one race every 30 minutes, and between races they play this god-awful music - there`s no beer on sale - and the races are all daytime.

be4 i went to watch a few races, i had this image of night-time racing, spotlights, cheerleaders (!), beer to be drunk and a good time being had by all

I went to Keio Kaku velodrome in Tokyo recently. It was a day-night event - and they did have cheerleaders. Still no beer or spotlights, and the music was still pretty awful.

Keirin is making some small efforts. There are three keirin manga magazines available now and keirin phone cards (whoo hooo!).

Of course, right now the international series is on too. Guys such as Ross Edgar and Teun Mulder are racing. The crowds have been OK. Recently all the keirin stars raced against the Olympic stars on a temporary track in Tokyo. The crowd was very good for that - even though the publicity was non-existent.

The keirin officials really need to check out the six-day racing in Germany and Ghent to see how it should be done.

In Fukuoka there's an excellent indoor wooden track - perfect for Japan's first six-day race.

[Tapeworm]

Why isn't track cycling more popular? Certainly here in Oz people are quite happy to stay glued to swimmers doing endless laps in a pool, yet not so interested in seeing laps on the track.

The sport itself has no relevance. It about if the audience can relate to it. People swim at school and for pleasure a lot in Oz. Riding a fixed gera bike arounda wooden track isn't such a big participation sport.

I understand the notion that because the masses do something for recreation then it translates to an interest at a higher level. However going for a swim at the beach when compared to laps in the Olympic pool is pretty much the same as riding a bike for fun when compared to laps on a velodrome. I would wager that there would be comparable numbers of kids who swim to kids who ride bikes.

Perhaps it is poor marketing?

[DocRay]

Why isn't track cycling more popular? Certainly here in Oz people are quite happy to stay glued to swimmers doing endless laps in a pool, yet not so interested in seeing laps on the track.

The sport itself has no relevance. It about if the audience can relate to it. People swim at school and for pleasure a lot in Oz. Riding a fixed gera bike arounda wooden track isn't such a big participation sport.

neither is F1 racing.

velodrome racing used to be the #1 sport in the US at the turn of the century. NY state had 20 wood velodromes, and salaries were huge.

it's all about marketing. Marketers convinced people that baseball should be the #1 sport, and now NASCAR.

in the hands of the right marketer, velodrome racing would make great TV.

people absorb any crap on tv...just try and explain why golf is so popular.

[GrahamB]

The sport itself has no relevance.

neither is F1 racing.

Yes it is. Lots of people drive cars. Many of them fantasise about driving them fast, and/or being rich and famous.

F1 is about young men who are rich, famous and drive very fast; when they're not driving fast, they are being pursued by attractive women.

It's a marketer's dream.