Double Olympic gold medallist in the Team Pursuit for Great Britain, Jo Rowsell, shares her thoughts to preview the track cycling events of Paris 2024.
How excited are you for the upcoming track cycling events?
I'm so excited. I cannot wait. Proper nerdy sidetrack cycling
fans. So yeah, I'm super excited. We've got seven days of racing and 12 gold medals available so it gets the program as busy as we go on here.
How do you preview the team sprint events?
On the men's side, I see the Dutch as the favourites, but the Aussies will be a strong challenger. They did the beat when we had the UCI World Championships at this same velodrome two years ago in 2022.
The Brits got silver at the last couple of UCI World Championships to the Germans, so Germans are favourites. However, I have heard the Brits are again very, very well, so I think they could
take the win.
However, a few weeks ago, the Chinese team, who have won the last two Olympic Games, broke the world record at an event in China. They seem to do a very good job of raising their game at the Olympics. They've won the last two.
The GB women's team hasn't qualified for the last two Games, and in London before that, they were disqualified. It's been a bit of a tough streak for them in the team sprint. But I think that's going to change tomorrow afternoon—I believe GB is going to win.
What about men’s sprint? Can anyone beat Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)?
I think Matthew Richardson (Australia) is going to be probably the best challenger. He’s a runner that has beaten Harrie Lavreysen on a couple of occasions in UCI Track Champions League in the last couple of seasons. Also look at Jack Carlin, the British rider, but it’s very hard to see past Harrie Lavreysen for the sprint. I'd love him to be challenged for the good of the sport. But I think it's going to go his way.
Which teams should we keep an eye on in the Men's Team Pursuit, one of the iconic events in Olympic track cycling?
Denmark, GB and Italy – it’s very hard to pick between those three, I think the medals are going to go those ways. I also expected the Kiwis to be in one of the finals.
The Italians just seem they bring their A game. If they make it to the gold medal final, I think they can win. The trouble is going to be making it there because I'm expecting a strong challenge from Denmark and GB. But if the Italians are in a final, I think they'll win that.
What about Women’s Team Pursuit ?
I think we're talking Great Britain and New Zealand - that's what happened at the UCI World Championships last summer. I believe both had been training really well and they both have really strong squads. GB have lost Katie Archibald, which is bad news. But I think as a team, they can still win.
Katie Archibald is a super strong rider, but we've got a good strength and depth within GB, I think it's going to be tough between the Kiwis and GB. Also, the Italians and the French, the other two teams to look out for.
The Germans won in Tokyo, but they haven't quite been at the same level ever since. But I think the French home games have advantage. They've been raising their game throughout this Olympic cycle on the women's side particularly.
The Italians are European champions, UCI World Champions
previously (on this track, a couple of years ago). They have a team that races really well when it matters. I think it can be very exciting. If I had to pick a favourite for the gold, I would go GB. But it’s going to be very tough with the Kiwis, the French and the Italians.
Track cycling cartoon created by French artist Dadou for Eurosport FranceAdam Blythe, Eurosport UK cycling expert and former professional cyclist also previews the upcoming track cycling events.
How much are you looking forward to the track cycling events at Saint-Quentin?
Within road racing you don't get that big arena. In track cycling, this is where you get the noise, the crowd, the atmosphere. You do get the atmosphere on the road as well but it's just a completely different vibe on the track. So yes, I am buzzing about it to be honest.
The first set of medals are in the team sprint – it’s hard to look past the Netherlands?
I think the Netherlands are going to smash it. I think the way that especially Harrie Lavreysen has been riding and racing for the past couple of years, he's just been such a dominant force. I think he and that team will be absolutely fine. They have Jeffrey Hoogland as well. It's not theirs to lose, but they are the firm favourites.
It's the Olympics - new kit, new bikes. We've not seen the riders for quite a while, so everyone just might have stepped that game up. It might be closer than what we think.
Are Team GB more of a gold medal chance on the women's side with potentially the Germans? And maybe the Chinese as well?
I think it will come down to milliseconds. I think that's the main thing, everyone is on the top of their game for this. This is the biggest thing, the biggest sporting event for track cyclists especially. This is their bread and butter where they make their living from. It will be a close one, but I think GB will be a very, very strong chance, especially with Emma Finucane in that team.
How would you assess the chances of the Italian team, with Filippo Ganna on their team?
For the Italian men’s team especially, you've obviously got Filippo Ganna, he's got second already in the time trial on the road race. They've also got Jonathan Milan, such a successful rider on the road this year in the Giro d’Italia, he is almost one of the fastest sprinters this year on the road. So with them two within that team they are going to be a force to be reckoned, that's for sure.
The Danes are world champions, they've stepped it up over the last couple of years. I just feel like coming into the Olympics, the other nations like GB and Italy will have just stepped it up that little bit more.
And then on the women's side and Team Pursuit as well. Are you looking at potentially a GB and New Zealand medal fight?
I’d say it will be between GB and New Zealand. I think it's going to be a tough one. I think with Katie Archibald having her injury and not being at these Olympics, they have lost a huge amount of power within that team. But it happened two or three months ago now. So I think for them, they'll have been able to adapt, they've been able to reset and just do what they can do.
Is it possible to beat Harrie Lavreysen in the sprint?
He is quite predictable in the way that he rides. You know that he's the strongest, you know that he's the fastest, but tactically you can play within that little bit more. We saw that last year especially in the UCI Track Champions League with him and Matthew Richardson - but from what we know of him, what we've seen of him, he does look - I'm not going to say unbeatable because nobody is unbeatable - but, he's going to be a hard man to beat.
