You’ll have already observed from the Instagram movies, however when a British bike owner wins a medal on the Paris Olympics, they obtain a guard of honour again on the group’s lodgings. They stroll over a Group GB mat, and into a large room, clad with Union Jacks. It does not appear to be the cramped residence blocks of the Olympic village. That is as a result of it is not.
Whereas lots of Group GB’s athletes are staying within the village, the vast majority of the biking squad is staying out of city, in a resort close to Versailles.
In accordance with the squad’s efficiency director, Stephen Park, that is for “logistical” causes.
“At this Video games, as with plenty of sports activities, lots of our key biking venues are located exterior of Paris, so it makes logistical sense to remain in nearer proximity to them, in addition to giving our riders quick access to street coaching.”
The Olympic village is situated northeast of the French capital, within the division of Seine-Saint-Denis. Many of the biking occasions have taken place southwest of town, with the mountain bike course in Élancourt, and the velodrome and BMX racing observe in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, each 20 miles away from the village.
The one members of Group GB’s biking squad who did keep within the village have been the BMX freestylers. Their occasions befell in Place de la Concorde, on the backside of the Champs-Élysées, solely six miles away.
When Kieran Reilly gained his silver medal within the freestyle park, he deliberate to have fun again at his shared lodging. “There was somewhat dessert bar on the village I have been taking a look at all week, so I’ll deal with myself to one in every of them,” he smiled.
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Along with the logistical causes cited by Park, staying exterior of the village additionally means GB’s cyclists can isolate from different athletes, with the concern of Covid nonetheless current. The squad can likewise usher in their very own cooks, somewhat than depend on the meals within the village, which swimmer Adam Peaty claimed is contaminated with worms.
“The catering is not adequate for the extent the athletes are anticipated to carry out,” Peaty advised the i. “I like my fish and persons are discovering worms within the fish. It is simply not adequate. The usual, we’re taking a look at the most effective of the most effective on this planet, and we’re not feeding them the most effective.”
Group GB’s residence within the Olympic village is adorned with flags.
(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
Park stated GB’s biking squad are nonetheless “nice advocates for the Olympic motion”, and have loved staying within the village in earlier editions of the Video games. He added that the British Olympic Affiliation [BOA] has been “extremely supportive” of the squad’s resolution to remain exterior of the village.
“[The BOA] labored onerous to create a high-quality efficiency surroundings for our athletes, to assist them in delivering their finest efficiency whereas additionally feeling related to the broader Group GB,” Park stated.
“It‘s very nice,” stated GB observe bike owner Ethan Hayter. “We’ve obtained a resort to ourselves, surrounded by the British cyclists and assist workers. Everybody can chill out collectively and wind down.”
GB’s cyclists are usually not the one ones sleeping away from the village. A lot of these using within the observe occasions this week are staying close to the velodrome, with some in official accommodations supplied by the Olympics in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The French squad have been put up in a big château.
Group USA’s basketball gamers have been staying in a four-star Marriott resort in central Paris. In accordance with a report within the Each day Mail, that is to allow them to sleep in longer, sturdier beds, somewhat than the cardboard ones within the village.