Performance director Dave Brailsford predicts more cycling success for Team GB at Rio 2016 Olympics
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Your support makes all the difference.Team GB's performance director Dave Brailsford says that his team can continue their track success in Rio, with rising stars who will carry on after Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton.
Britain topped the medal table on the track for a second successive Games with seven out of a possible 10 golds and nine medals in all. It proved the last Olympic outing for both Pendleton and Hoy but Brailsford insists British hopes are in good hands with talent such as Laura Trott, Jess Varnish, Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes for the 2016 Games.
“I don’t look back but only forwards,” said Brailsford. “It’s about looking to Rio and beyond. Now it’s all about the next generation of riders to be the very best they can. The aim is always to be the top nation whether that’s in Rio or at the Tour de France.
“There are four years until we get to Rio and we have some young sprinters coming through the ranks.”
In Rio, Britain should boast a line-up rich in Olympic experience. By then, double gold medallist Trott will be just 24 while Kenny, now with three golds, will, in theory, be approaching his peak as a rider at 28.
Brailsford had previously claimed events in Beijing could never be repeated but the gold medal haul in London matched that of China. However, following the end to the track events, he hinted he always thought it was possible. He said: “It’s all about under-promising and overachieving. You just have to manage expectation.”
However, Brailsford, who could yet focus on Britain’s road racing ambitions with Team Sky after the Games, warned that Britain won’t always be No1 on the track.
“I don’t think you can stay at the top of the sport forever,” he added. “But we want to stay at the top and to keep cycling booming.”
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