Clancy looks to establish himself at the Europeans

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Ed Clancy heads into the European Cycling Championships in Poland this weekend with a view to build on his surprise success in the omnium event in Copenhagen earlier this year.

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The Yorkshireman faces a busy schedule as he looks to pick up qualification points in the build up to the 2012 Olympics in both the Team pursuit and the event in which he is the reigning World Champion. But for Clancy, the Europeans represent more of a learning curve, as he adjusts to the new format of the omnium.

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“I'll give it my best and we’ll see what happens. It’s not going to be as straight forward as it was last time, given there was only five events in it before, three of which were timed and pretty short ones.”

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This will be the debut of the new format, which sees the points race changing from 60 to 120 laps, the scratch discipline doubling from 40 to 80 laps and the inclusion of an elimination race.

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“I’m not a big fan of the new omnium events if I’m honest”, says the no nonsense Clancy. “The elimination race is a very strange race to have in there. It’s the sort of thing that kids use to learn how to ride a bike.

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“Nonetheless it’s in there now and I have to deal with it as best I can. The governing bodies are free to do what they want in terms of making up the rules as they go along. There’s nothing I can do about that. I’m looking forward to a new challenge.”

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The laid back Clancy has professed that the Team Pursuit will remain his first love, but considering his mantle as World Champion, he cannot ignore the prospect of individual accolades and establishing himself as Great Britain’s number one omnium rider.

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“I’ve given it a bit of thought. This is the first ever race in the new format, which will be the same format for the Olympics.

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“I’m starting to think about getting my foot in the door and establishing myself as the omnium rider. There’s a lot of other people who want a crack at it over the next two years, but we’ll just see who copes with it best.

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“I know I’ll be wearing the World Championship bands, but it’s a completely different event, so it doesn’t necessarily mean ill be good at this one. World Champion or not people will be expecting you to win. It would be great if we could get a medal of some sort, but it think its fair to say that anytime you ride for Team GB there is a bit of pressure.”

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Despite the Union Cycliste International (UCI) introducing wholesale changes to Clancy’s individual event in the lead up to London 2012, it is the restrictions placed on the number of riders at the Olympics which has aroused the most debate.

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Under new ruling, only one rider from each country will be allowed to compete in a specific discipline, regardless of perceived ranking. This is seen as a huge hammer blow to British cycling, which amassed 12 medals in the Beijing Velodrome in 2008 (seven gold, three silver and two bronze), of which eight were won events where Team GB has multiple athletes.

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Despite agreeing it would allow for a more level playing field, Clancy doesn’t think it is entirely fair. “Let's say you’re the second best sprinter in the world, but you happen to come from the same country as the best sprinter, you wouldn’t even get a ride in the Olympics, never mind a medal.

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“The Olympics are supposed to be the biggest stage for the best riders in the world. What would you do if you were Jason Kenny? Perhaps the second best sprinter in the world, but nonetheless the best sprinter in the world comes from the same country as you. It's just a shame that a lot of the guys who will miss out would be from the British cycling team.”

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The British team had to sacrifice competing at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in order to fully prepare for the European Championships. Clancy and the rest of the team in Poland are expecting a good turn out with plenty of medals, but the 25 year-old does not see this as a riposte to Australia’s 14 cycling medals in Delhi.

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“The Aussies are competitive and will like to make a big deal out of winning all those medals, but for us we just want to come here and do a job. Our time will come to go head on with the Aussies, but that time is not now. I think the World Championships in 2012 will be the first big clash. We're hardly done and dusted for 2012, there’s a long time to go yet.”

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