The OutSPOKEn Cyclist
By Diane Jenks
Ah — the Olympics. I’ve always loved to watch them and I am was especially interested in the 2020 Games because of my close association with USA Cycling — the governing body for bicycle racing in the U.S.
After the disappointment of cancelling the 32nd Olympiad in 2020, the anticipation of Tokyo 2021 started to ramp up a few months ago as U.S. Olympic Trials for team selections got underway.
As we crept closer and closer to the opening ceremonies, I had been following the Tour de France, which ended the week prior to the Olympics. Several of the leaders of that race took their places on the podium at the men’s road race in Tokyo, which was held on Saturday, July 24th.
But something went out of the excitement for these Games for me with no fans, no family, positive COVID tests, and a series of foul-ups among all the cycling events.
When we tried to find a way to watch the games, we figured out that, without cable, we couldn’t see what we wanted — only what network TV or Roku synopses would show us.
Meanwhile, two days before the opening ceremonies, I interviewed the Japan and South Korea correspondent for the Guardian who lives in Tokyo and who had just written a book about a form of bike racing we don’t see here in the U.S. but that will be held during the Olympics.
The Keirin, (pronounced Ka-Rin in Japan or Kee-Rin here in the US,) as is a track racing discipline, and we do have U.S. riders competing in it.
That writer, Justin McCurry, was concerned about the intense heat that Japan is experiencing, along with rising COVID cases. As it turns out, he was right to be concerned. COVID is running rampant and the weather is beastly!
Right from the beginning, lots of mistakes were being made — from a false start at the men’s triathlon when a media boat got in the way of half of the swimmers while the other half dove into the water and they had to restart the event — to the expected winner of the mountain bike race literally going head over heels at the first rock he encountered because he believed a ramp that had been in place during training would still be there during the race.
A German sport director made a nasty racial slur into an open microphone during the men’s cycling time trial and was promptly ejected from the games — temporarily suspended. Temporarily? The fact that he even made the comment was a testament to how far we have to go in tolerance and equality.
Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from the games was met with both praise and disdain. We are so judgmental, we humans.
But there were also some highlights that are worth not only mentioning but celebrating.
Masoma Ali Zada, an Afhgan woman now living in France after fleeing her native country, is racing on the International Refuge Team. In addition to her bravery for just riding a bike while still in Afghanistan, her story highlights the plight of these amazing athletes who now have no country to call their own. (You can learn a lot more about the Afghan Women’s Cycling Team from my podcast.)
Anna Kiesenhofer, a 30-year-old PhD mathematician and an amateur cyclist won the women’s cycling road race handily — and almost while no one was looking!
Of course, the U.S. swimmers are beyond amazing and our gymnastics team, even without Simone, is stellar.
So, we still have another week to go before the end o the Games, and there are a lot more disciplines to watch: track and field, all the track cycling and more.
On August 8th, we’ll see the closing ceremonies and begin the task of analyzing the results. For those athletes who would never be able to compete had these games been postponed again, I can certainly understand their desire to be there.
When the torch is lit in Paris in 2024, let’s hope we have a safe and exciting Olympics.
Photo courtesy pexels.com
