The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Track Cycling Day 5 - Men's and Womens Omnium

15th August, 2016
5am - Men's Omnium Flying Lap
5:30am - Women's Omnium Individual Pursuit
6:23am - Men's Omnium Points Race
7:17am - Women's Omnium Elimination Race
Mark Cavendish is, as always, one to watch. (Image: Omega-Pharma Quick-Step).
Roar Guru
15th August, 2016
118

After four days of solid racing, the evening session of Day 10 of the Olympic Games will see both the Men’s and Women’s Omnium on track, with the Men’s competition featuring the final two events before the medals are handed out. Join The Roar for a live blog from 5am (AEST).

5am – Men’s Omnium Flying Lap
First up in the evening session will be the Men’s Omnium flying lap, a competition which consists of the riders completing 2 laps of the track gaining speed, before ramping up the pace inside the final lap to set their quickest time over the 250 metres of the track. It is essentially the same as the format for that is completed in the Sprint qualifications.

The Men’s Omnium features a very talented set of sprinters which you may be familiar with from their exploits racing on the road.

30 time Tour De France Stage winner Mark Cavendish will be the favourite in this competition, having shown incredible speed at this year’s Tour, taking four sprint stage wins.

Experienced Italian Elia Viviani who rides for Team Sky on the road was the fastest in this event at the World Championships, ahead of Australian Glenn O’Shea.

Current world Omnium champion, and sprinter Fernando Gaviria will also be up there, while Giro D’Italia stage-winner and new recruit to Australian team Orica-Bike Exchange Elia Viviani should be around the Top 5.

Also, watch out for Denmark’s Lasse Norman Hansen, who looks in fabulous in the event thus far.

5:30am – Women’s Omnium Individual Pursuit
After starting their program in the morning session with the hotly contested Elimination race, the Women will be on track again for the 3 kilometres Individual Pursuit.

Advertisement

Three names to watch out for here are the three medalists in the Omnium from the 2012 Olympics, while also being key parts of their countries Teams Pursuit squads.

Expect Sarah Hammer to win this event comfortably, having done so at this year’s World Championships by over three seconds.

Gold medalist from London Laura Trott should be a guarantee for the top 3 in this event, having finished second to Hammer at the World Champs in this leg of the Omnium, whilst anchoring GB’s Team Pursuit gold medal, and world record.

2015 World Champion Annette Edmondson has had a torrid 2016 season, having been involved in a car accident weeks out from the World Championships. She finished fifth overall in the Omnium at the World Champs, and finished a lowly 11th in this leg of the event.

However, when she won the World Championships in 2015, she finished second in this leg of the event.

6:23am – Men’s Omnium Points Race
If this year’s World Championships are anything to go, the final event of the Men’s Omnium should be an absolute cracker.

The 40-kilometre points race consists of 160 laps of the track. Every 10 laps, there is a sprint, with the first four riders taking points (first gets 5, second 3 and so on). That is not the only way though you can get points. If you take a lap on the rest of the field, you will get 20 points.

Advertisement

Riders that are able to take laps on their competitors will often be up there at the end of the event.

At the 2015 World Championships, the event went down to the final lap, with German Roger Kluge, Australian Glenn O’Shea and Colombian Fernando Gaviria all locked on 191 points. Gaviria would win out countback. Could we see a similar situation today?

7:17am – Women’s Omnium Elimination Race
The third and final race for the Women in the Omnium today will be the Elimination Race. Every two laps, the last rider will be eliminated.

It is the type of event that could see one of the big favourites go out early if they are not careful!

Join The Roar for a live blog from 5am (AEST)

close