There are only four days left before the opening of the Olympic Games, and the participating athletes have begun to arrive one after another. There are already reporters waiting at Heathrow Airport around the clock, looking for opportunities to interview big-name celebrities.
As soon as the national team walked out of the tunnel, a group of reporters gathered around them. The domestic reporters were all wet with rain and dew and everyone took a few pictures, while the foreign reporters all came to Zhang Guan.
"This is all for you, go and deal with it. Otherwise we will be surrounded at the airport today." The team leader said to Zhang Guan.
Zhang Guan nodded: "You don't have to wait for me, just take the bus first. I'll just find a car and go back."
The team leader knew that Zhang Guan had many connections in London. Besides, it was not an exaggeration for a rich man worth 20 billion US dollars to be accompanied by a team of dozens of bodyguards. It was normal for him to take a special car, so he took the other team members and left the airport first.
Zhang Guan was surrounded by reporters.
"Zhang Guan, how many gold medals are you planning to win in this Olympics?" a reporter asked.
"Similar to the last Olympic Games, I have signed up for a total of 10 events, and of course my goal is to win 10 gold medals!" Zhang Guan continued: "As for which 10 events, I think for you, it is definitely not The secrets can be found on the official website of the International Olympic Committee and the official website of the London Olympic Organizing Committee.”
"Zhang Guan, except for tennis and long jump, the events you have signed up for this time are all events you have never participated in in the Olympics. We are all more concerned about this." Another reporter said.
"This is the reason of the IAAF. Last year, the IAAF introduced new rules that restricted an athlete to only participate in three Olympic track and field events. So far, I should be the only athlete restricted. This It also forces me to choose other sports to participate in competitions. The IAAF should not be able to restrict me from participating in non-track and field competitions!" Zhang Guan shrugged.
"I noticed that you did not participate in sprint and middle-distance running in track and field events, but chose long-distance running. Ordinarily, you are the world record holder in sprint and middle-distance running, so your road to defending your title should be easier. But you Why did you choose a long-distance race this time?" Another reporter asked.
"This is also the reason of the IAAF." Zhang Guan said.
"IAAF? We only know that the IAAF limits the number of participating events, but we haven't heard of any restrictions on what events athletes can participate in?" the reporter who just spoke said.
“The sprint and middle-distance running competitions have to go through the process of preliminary, semi-finals and semi-finals. When the IAAF established the track and field schedule, it conflicted with the competitions in other events I participated in, so I had to give up the sprint and middle-distance running. When it comes to long-distance running, everyone knows that the outcome is determined by one battle, so for me, there will be no schedule conflicts." Zhang Guan said with a smile.
The surrounding reporters were speechless for a while. Everyone said that Zhang Guan really complained about the IAAF. The conflict in the schedule was all due to the IAAF.
…
On the evening of July 27, local time, the London Olympics held a grand opening ceremony. This time, Zhang Guan did not continue to hold the position of flag bearer. He did not even go to the opening ceremony because in the morning of the next day, he Then he will usher in his first game: the final of the bicycle road race.
The entire race distance of the bicycle road race is 250 kilometers, which is a relatively long distance even in the Tour de France.
With a distance of 250 kilometers, the competition will take nearly six hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., so there are no preliminaries and semi-finals, and the winner will be determined by all contestants. There will be no sprint points or climbing points during the competition, only general timing points.
Cycling is the traditional advantage of the British. Whether it is road bicycles, track bicycles or BMX, British athletes are very strong. What's more, this time Britain is playing at home.
In this kind of long-distance competition, playing at home obviously has great benefits. Just in terms of being familiar with the track, the British have taken a big advantage. The 250-kilometer track takes a long time to drive. Athletes from other countries have no chance to get familiar with the track and can only improvise during the game. But the British team plays at home and they can start targeted training many days in advance. training. For the same 250 kilometers, the effect will definitely be different between the first ride and the Nth ride.
And the men's road race is also the event where Britain has the best chance of winning the gold medal on this day.
On the first day of the Olympic Games, six gold medals will be decided, namely the men's road race, men's 10-meter air pistol, women's 10-meter air pistol, women's weightlifting 48kg, women's judo 48kg and men's judo 60kg. In the five events, the UK only focuses on participating. Only in the men's road race, the UK has the strength to win the gold medal.
Britain is the host nation, and the symbolic significance of winning a gold medal on the first day of the competition, or the British team's first gold medal in this Olympics, is huge.
Therefore, the British team also sent its top players. The leader is Bradley Wiggins.
In the 2011 Tour de France, Wiggins was once the favorite to win the championship. At that time, Zhang Guan came out of nowhere and took away the Tour de France championship. In 2012, Wiggins finally lived up to expectations and became the first British person to win the Tour de France. And he is also the most popular candidate for the road cycling championship in this Olympics.
The British team's second cyclist is Christopher Fromm, who finished second in the just-concluded 2012 Tour de France. But his potential is much greater than Wiggins, because in the future, Fromm won the Tour de France three times in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
The third British player is Cavendish, an old acquaintance of Zhang Guan. In 2011, he was second in the sprint points, beating Zhang Guan several times. In addition to this night, Britain also has two strong players, Stannard and Millar.
The British team is the best in the world in terms of lineup strength and depth, so it is reasonable for the British to have high hopes for this gold medal.
…
The boulevard in central London connects Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. It is a route built by the United Kingdom specifically for major ceremonies. In the London Olympics, the boulevard will serve as the starting and ending points for the three events of road cycling, marathon and race walking.
The British team has the world's top riders such as Wiggins, Fromm and Cavendish. It can be said to be an all-star lineup of road cycling. Therefore, a large number of people went to the boulevard to watch the game and cheered for the British riders. , one after another.
From the British point of view, their country's players are strong and have the home court advantage. Winning the gold medal is an obvious thing, and even taking the top three is not impossible!
"Britain must win!" The five British riders surrounded the city in a circle, put their hands together and shouted loudly. The surrounding audience gave the warmest applause.
Not far away, strong road cycling teams such as France, Belgium, the United States, and Australia are feeling tremendous pressure. Even though they all have star players, they still feel defeated psychologically when facing the powerful British team at the British home court.
Zhang Guan had a deep smile on his face.
"Britain must win? If I weren't here, maybe that would be the case!"
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(End of chapter)