Alison Shanks Discipline: Cycling Specialist Events: Individual Pursuit (Track), Individual Time Trial (Road)

CHAT with a Olympic Education CHAMPION Alison Shanks Discipline: Cycling Specialist events: Individual pursuit (track), individual time trial (road)

Alison Shanks was born in 1982 in Dunedin, which she still calls home. While studying marketing and human nutrition at Otago University, Ali represented Otago in both basketball and netball. She started cycling in 2005, the same year she graduated from university. The next year, Ali qualified for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, where she placed fourth in the individual pursuit. Since then, she has been the New Zealand and Oceania individual pursuit champion multiple times. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Ali was defeated in the individual pursuit bronze medal match. This meant she placed fourth overall. In 2009, Ali had a great season, lowering her personal best and becoming the individual pursuit world champion. She followed this up with a Gold Medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Because there is no individual pursuit event at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Ali’s goal is to make the New Zealand women’s team for the Teams Pursuit for this Olympic Games. Alison Shanks’s ambition is “to go faster than ever before”.

Career highlights Quick facts 2011: Season individual pursuit • 2nd, World Championships, March, Holland Favourite food: Roast New • 1st, New Zealand Track Nationals, February, Invercargill Zealand lamb with mint and • 1st, World Cup, December, Columbia. new potatoes Favourite movie: Love Actually Teams pursuit • 2011 World Cup Series Champions Favourite music: Zac Brown • 3rd, World Championships, March, Holland Band • 2nd, World Cup, February, Great Britain Childhood hero: Michael • 1st, World Cup, December, Columbia. Jordan 2010: Gold Medal in individual pursuit at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. Current favourite athlete: Roger Federer 2009: Track cycling individual pursuit world champion. Most rewarding moment in sports: standing on top of the podium at the Commonwealth Games (2010) and singing the New Zealand national anthem

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Cycling Men’s cycling has been part of the Olympic Games since the first modern Games in 1896. The events have changed over the years, but there has always been some cycling. Women’s road racing was introduced in 1984 and women’s track cycling in 1988. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the cycling gender gap still existed – there were seven track cycling events for men and only three for women. For the London 2012 Olympic Games, this has been evened up, so men and women will contest the same five events on the track. Unfortunately for Alison Shanks, this means that individual pursuit will not be on the programme for London 2012 – it has become part of the Omnium event. Ali is instead aiming for a place in the Women’s Teams Pursuit team. Things to consider The different cycling events test different combinations of ability: strength, speed, endurance and tactical thinking. Aerodynamics: In cycling, it is important to reduce the amount of drag you feel from the air as this helps you move faster. Cyclists have little body fat and often shave their legs to make their bodies more aerodynamic. Professional bicycles are often built of extremely light materials. Racing suits and helmets are also specially designed to reduce drag and are made from very light materials. Position: When you ride closely behind another cyclist, you can ride in their slipstream and reduce the amount of pressure you feel from the air. This is called drafting. It means you don’t have to pedal as hard, so you can save energy. In team events, it is common for each member of a team to take a turn at the front, giving the other members a chance to rest. In individual events, a common tactic is to try to force the other rider to ride ahead of you, so you can save energy for the final sprint.

Olympic events Track Track cycling is contested on a velodrome. Velodrome tracks are a similar shape to running tracks, but the sides of velodrome tracks are sloped up from the centre. • Team Pursuit: Men compete in teams of four over four laps, women compete in teams of three over three laps. Two teams start at the same time on opposite sides of the track. The aim of the race is to cover the race distance in the shortest time or to catch up and overtake the other team. • Team Sprint: Men compete in teams of three over three laps, women compete in teams of two over two laps. Two teams start at the same time on opposite sides of the track. At the end of the first lap, the front rider from each team leaves the track and the remaining riders continue. The last lap is completed by the last remaining rider. The team with the fastest time wins. • Omnium: This includes several different races, with points being awarded for each race. For example, the rider who finishes first in a race gets one point, the rider who comes second gets two points. The rider with the fewest points after all the events wins. For the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Omnium will include six events: flying lap, points race, elimination, individual pursuit, scratch race and time trial. • Sprint: In this race, two riders start next to each other. The aim is to be the first across the finish line, but it is not as simple as just riding fast from the beginning. One rider will try to force the other to lead and tire themselves out so the first rider can overtake and win. • Keirin: This involves six riders starting side by side. They follow a motorised bike for the first few laps. The bike picks up speed slowly, which tests the riders’ endurance before the bike leaves the track and the riders sprint to the finish. Road Road racing takes place outside, often on public roads. In team events, each team has no more than five riders. • Road race: In this race, all the riders start at the same time. The first rider to cross the line wins. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, the men’s race will be 250km, while the women’s will be 140km. • Time trial: This is about having the fastest time over a course. Riders start 90 seconds apart. At the London 2012 Olympic Games, the men’s time trial will be 44km, while the women’s will be 29km.

Well-known New Zealand track cyclists Sarah Ulmer: The first New Zealander to win an Olympic Games cycling Gold, 2004 Olympic Games 3000m Individual Pursuit Gold. Hayden Roulston: 2008 Olympic Games 4000m Individual Pursuit Silver, 4000m Team Pursuit Bronze. 4000m Team Pursuit Men: Sam Bewley, Hayden Roulston, Marc Ryan, Jesse Sergent, Westley Gough: 2008 Olympic Games 4000m Team Pursuit Bronze.

Sarah Ulmer

Sam Bewley, Hayden Roulston, Marc Ryan, Jesse Sergent