German world champion cyclist Kristina Vogel has labeled Team GB's cycling success at the Rio Olympics as "very questionable" after the team's "sharp upturn in form" since the World Championships, according to Samuel Stevens of the London INDEPENDENT. Jason Kenny and Laura Trott became the latest British athletes to win Gold at the velodrome on Tuesday night, "taking Team GB's total medal haul in cycling up to 12 -- five more than gymnastics." But some, including French sprint coach Laurent Gané, have "posed unwelcome questions" over Team GB's "meteoric rise" at Rio, saying they did “nothing extraordinary” beforehand. Vogel said, "They were cannon fodder when you look at the last few years. Now they come along with a (high) level. I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything but it is all very questionable." Michaël D’Almeida, part of France’s Bronze Medal-winning sprint team, said, "We are human beings like them, we are made of the same stuff, we have a bike like they do, so why are they better? If I had the explanation I wouldn’t be here today with a Bronze Medal around my neck. I’m not in their camp, in their country, I don’t know how it works, I don’t know what goes on. I have my ideas about certain things" (INDEPENDENT, 8/17). In a separate piece, Stevens reported Australian cycling team captain Anna Meares has insisted she did not accuse her British cycling rivals of cheating when she said, "We're all scratching our heads," over Team GB's continued success at the Rio Olympics. Meares, who won Bronze in the women’s keirin, tweeted, “I would like to clarify that I never said or insinuated that Team GB are cheating or doing anything suspicious.” The 11-time world champion added, “What I said was it makes me scratch my head to think how we can be better competitive with them at the Olympics." However, Meares had originally questioned Britain’s medal haul, saying, “We’re all just scratching our heads. They’ve got it together, and to be honest I’m not exactly sure what they’ve got together. It is not just the Australian team that have questions” (INDEPENDENT, 8/17). In Sydney, Samantha Lane reported Britain's cycling team manager said that rival teams "simply haven't shown up" to the track competition his squad is "dominating," and has "batted down the growing number of riders openly questioning how the superpower is blitzing a third consecutive Olympics." The "growing list of notables at the track who raised open-ended questions about Britain's exceptional Olympic performances" has prompted Team GB cycling Head Iain Dyer to "point the finger back at opponents he described as under-achieving." The "consistent tenor of the dialogue is that British cyclists are producing unbeatable results in Olympic Games after presenting differently at other major meetings." Dyer said, "If you look at some of the times that have been done here, some of the teams simply haven't shown up. That's the bottom line. I don't want to cite specific examples but you can all trawl through the times for World Cups and World Championships. Some of the people here are not even performing at the level of World Championships." Asked whether he "found the comments of riders and fellow team boss offensive," Dyer said, "If what I am hearing is true, yes, it is. It's a shame" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/17).
