|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Thinking about Sydney
In 1999, British cyclist Jason Queally set two British records at the World Championships, finishing second in the Olympic sprint and fifth in the 1 kilometer time trial. The 29-year-old also won the Olympic sprint at the European Championships and won three World Cup events. While working as a research technician at Lancaster University, Queally began riding at the Manchester velodrome and developed an interest in cycling. In 1996 he decided to ride full-time. Check out Queally's diary every month on CNNSI.com
July 29, 2000
Only eight weeks to go until the big day.
I must say I get rather nervous each time I am drawn to thinking about the Olympics. It is going to be one heck of a competition.
From what I can gather about my main contenders -- Arnaund Tournant, Shane Kelly, Herve Thuet and Stephan Nimke -- they all appear to be in excellent form. If I was a gambling man, however, I would bet my bottom dollar on Arnaund. He recently broke Shane Kelly's world record in Mexico City.
My form at present is pretty good. I just competed in a world cup event in Turin in the Olympic Sprint where we got the bronze medal. This was a very positive ride as we were running with our reserve, Neil Campbell, in the third position. Neil will be the chap who fits into the team if anything happens to either Chris Craig or myself.
I have also ridden my last kilo before the games. This was for the national championships. I won the event for the first time with a sea level personal best of 1.03.081. I was hoping to break the 63 second barrier for the first time -- a mark I feel reflects a world class performance. I'll have to save this for Sydney.
It's been pretty hectic with the media lately. I have done several interviews with various national newspapers and some television appearances. I have actually quite enjoyed doing these so far. I suppose because it's all quite new to me.
I was down in London just prior to my excursion to Italy to do some work for adidas. It was for the technology launch of their Olympic kit. I had been asked to model the suit they have produced for me for the Olympics.
They had this futuristic stage setting like something out of the film "The Fifth Element." Four rotating silver pods set at the back of the stage rotated to reveal various athletes, including myself, clad in all this high tech apparel.
We walked forward from the pods on cue to the center of the stage where the press and TV companies were all situated filming and taking photographs. The whole performance was set to the theme music from the film "Gladiator." I suppose you would have to be there to get a real feel for it but it certainly got the endorphins flowing.
Training's been going reasonably well although I had to take a week of rest due to accumulated fatigue (I was tired). It seems to have done some good though, as I feel a lot fresher these days. It's always very hard convincing yourself that stopping training will actually be beneficial. The body and mind are so used to training that when I stop I start to get withdrawal symptoms. I did not know what to do with myself. I ended up watching a lot of TV, reading and doing some gardening, so watch out Alan Titchmarsh.
I have started to integrate some interval training into my schedule to enhance both my aerobic and anaerobic energy systems although I will not start specific kilo training until the last four weeks in the lead up to the kilo.
These intervals are done on a static trainer similar to those exercise machines you see or maybe use in the gym. I ride for 20 seconds at 700 watts (a watt is a unit of power) followed by 10 seconds recovery. I do this six times so altogether in one set I cycle for two minutes and 20 seconds.
I will usually do one to two sets in one training session. They are hard work, and I often feel sick each time I do them. In addition to this workout, I continue with both the track and weight sessions.
I'm off to watch some track racing at the national championships at the Manchester velodrome, so I'll say goodbye for now. My next installment will come from Brisbane, Australia.
Oh yes. Before I forget, well done to Lance Armstrong for winning his second consecutive Tour de France.
--Jason
| ||||||||||||||||||||
