Rider chat: Ed Clancy (Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK)

Last week at the Eddie Soens, we had a quick chat with Ed Clancy about the Track Worlds where he was second in the Team Pursuit with Team GB

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Rider chat: Ed Clancy (Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK)

Last week at the Eddie Soens, we had a quick chat with Ed Clancy about the Track Worlds where he was second in the Team Pursuit with Team GB

Ed, who is now on a training camp in Spain with his trade team, Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK, explained that there were mixed emotions about the result at the Track Worlds.

“There were ups and down like we did a decent qualifying ride and we knew the Aussies were strong. We were happy we’d beat the Danish in the first round who we hadn’t beaten in the World Cups and we’d done a really good ride to do that”.

“Then, in the final, we rode well. We rode an ambitious schedule but couldn’t hold it. We were up against a faster team, simple as that. We did a really good ride compared to our past rides including those at the Olympics, and it’s comparable to what we’ve done at our very best but the Aussies have moved the game on.”

Putting their result in Poland into perspective in other Olympic four year cycles, Ed explained how in 2014 they were eighth in Columbia in a line up that included the likes Ed, Owain Doull, Jon Dibben and Sam Harrison and yet came back in 2016 and won the Olympics which included Doull and Clancy (as well as Wiggins and Burke) in a time of 3:50.2 compared to their 3.50.8 in Poland.
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“We have had disappointing worlds, like that eighth in Columbia but we still clawed it back and won it (the Olympics) so we are starting in a good place and as long as we see this as the starting point and we work hard in the next 18 months, we shall see.”

“We (the GB team) keep saying it, we’re only going to ever get our best performances at the Olympics but we cannot become complacent. The Aussies are going places no one has been before and we have to respect that. We have to make sure we are better than we have ever been and add to that an Olympic package and maybe we’ll be on par with them.”

With the track worlds done, the road season is just getting going for Ed and his trade team. He rode the Eddie Soens but after being ill after the Worlds, he wasn’t in the best form for that event which he has won multiple times before.

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Looking ahead at 2019, he explained that crit races and the like complement what he needs to do in the team pursuit on the track. “The track will always be at the forefront of my mind and how we want to go out in Tokyo” he explained.

“I’ll never be away from the track for long. I’m on it on Wednesday and Thursday and in constant contact with the team. That is still the bulk of Ed Clancy and alongside that, hopefully we can do good things on the road that complement what we do on the track. Any crit or flat road race that isn’t six hours long has the potential to do well for me and the team”.

Finally, I’d been told by one of the country’s top sprinters Ethan Hayter that the turns on the front in the Team Pursuit are actually quicker than sprints on the road. “Oh yeah” replied Ed. “The team pursuit has become like a sprint event now. We are now doing longer turns and having longer recovery time and it’s like two sprints.”

“A big sprint to start, get comfy and then another big sprint. If you are looking at some of the strategies like the Aussies, there’s one turn strategies, almost like what the wattbike lads have been doing, halfway to their strategy, and it’s interesting how the Team Pursuit is moving on. Hence why I like the crit races which work well with the track because you are punching out the same 700-800 watts time at the front …”

Thanks to Ed for his time and good luck in 2019 with Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK

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