Chris Hoy, the undisputed king of track cycling. The current Olympic record for track cycling is 9.815 seconds set by Hoy in 2008.
Hoy must have never thought that the Olympic record he set would be broken in the next Olympics four years later, and it was broken at his home stadium.
"Zhang Guan broke Sir Hoy's Olympic record!"
Throughout the cycling track, the spectators all had panicked expressions. Hoy was a flag of British sports, but now, Zhang Guan was like a pair of sharp scissors, cutting the flag into two sections from the middle.
Moreover, Kenny lost the first game. In a best-of-three game, winning the first game meant getting the match point. The side that loses a game first is at an absolute disadvantage both in terms of situation and psychology, and the only option is to fight with its last resort.
Kenny looked solemn. Playing at home, he should have been in the right place at the right time, but he lost the first game so easily. But Kenny also knew that facing the final score of 9.757 seconds, he was not unjustly defeated.
"I didn't expect Zhang Guan to be so strong." Kenny took a deep breath, and then his fighting spirit became even more high.
9.757 seconds is indeed very fast, but this result is not out of reach for Kenny. In training, he often rides within 9.8 seconds.
In track cycling racing, at the Olympics four years ago, Kenny was already on par with Hoy, and four years later, Kenny's strength has surpassed Hoy's. It is precisely because of Kenny's The strength is strong enough, so the British team sent Kenny in this project instead of the former overlord Sir Hoy.
"I'm going to go all out in the next game. My limit can reach 9.6 seconds!" Kenny was ready to start.
…
"Kenny seems to be getting serious. He is ready to go all out!"
"That's right, you should try your best from the beginning! Zhang Guan took advantage of the loophole in the last round, so we must not be careless again in this round!"
"Kenny will definitely win as long as he doesn't underestimate the enemy. We can look forward to the gold medal!"
In the audience, people gave Kenny the warmest applause. Although Kenny lost a game first, the British audience still firmly believed that Kenny would win.
Britain's strength in track cycling is indeed strong enough, and British audiences never thought that Britain would lose the competition. This is like basketball for the American team. Even if they lose by 30 or 40 points in the first half, American fans will firmly believe that they can come back and win in the second half.
The two riders stood on the starting line again. Following the starter's order, the coach holding the bicycle let go at the same time.
This time, Kenny didn't compete with Zhang Guan to see who was riding slower. He seemed to mind leading the riders from the front. Instead, he rode directly into the inner lane. He wanted to ride at his own pace.
Although the leading player consumes more energy, for a top player in the world like Kenny, rhythm is more important. Following the opponent and taking advantage of the opponent's wake can indeed save more energy. However, if you ride at the pace you are good at, it will be easier to achieve faster results.
After all, what suits you is the best.
In the first lap, Kenny rode neither too fast nor too slowly, but he always kept a certain distance from Zhang Guan, obviously not wanting to be taken advantage of by Zhang Guan. On the second lap, Kenny started to accelerate, accelerating exactly according to the rhythm he was accustomed to.
Seeing this scene, British team coach Sutton showed a satisfied smile on his face.
"Kenny is like the young Hoy. He is talented, trains hard, and has a good mental quality. Now he has entered into his own rhythm. It seems that he is a sure winner in this game!"
At this time, the two players were about to enter the third lap, and the scene suddenly sounded like a volcanic eruption. If you listen carefully, you can tell that many people are calling Kenny's name.
Kenny and Zhang Guanyi were one behind the other, the latter's front wheel almost touching the former's rear wheel, and the two rushed into the third lap at high speed.
At this moment, Zhang Guan was seen moving to the outside fiercely.
"Zhang Guan, trying to overtake on the outside! Kenny speeds up! Zhang Guan didn't succeed!"
Kenny made a great defensive play and held his position. In fact, Kenny, who has entered a familiar rhythm, is indeed difficult to surpass.
Zhang Guan followed closely behind, preparing to look for opportunities to overtake again, but Kenny was indeed the world's top cyclist, and his defense was flawless, not giving Zhang Guan the slightest chance.
"There is no chance yet, so we should speed up first." Zhang Guan thought secretly in his heart. He knew that if he wanted to surpass Kenny, he had one more chance, and that was the sprint on the final straight.
This is similar to a long-distance running race in track and field. You can follow in front, but when you enter the final straight, you must make the final sprint. It's just that the cycling track is only 200 meters, which is much shorter than the track and field track, and the speed of cycling is much faster than running.
Entering the corner, Zhang Guan reached the outside again, and Kenny was keenly aware that Zhang Guan was once again preparing to overtake.
"This is Zhang Guan's last ditch effort!" Kenny knew that at the end of this corner, the winner would be decided.
The next moment, the outsider Zhang Guan had caught up with Kenny and was almost on par with Kenny.
Finally, both men entered the straight, but Kenny did not pay attention to Zhang Guan's position. He only had the finish line in his mind. He lowered his head to reduce air resistance as much as possible, and at the same time began to sprint forward with all his strength.
"If I can win, I must win! Fight!" Kenny used all his strength on his legs. Apart from the sound of the wind, there was no other sound in his ears.
"Whoosh!" Kenny crossed the finish line, and he vaguely felt that there was a figure beside him who also crossed the finish line.
Kenny raised his head and indeed saw Zhang Guan not far in front of him on his right.
"Zhang Guan!" Kenny gasped, and suddenly there was an ominous premonition in his mind.
Next, Kenny immediately looked at the electronic display on the sidelines. There were two names on it, and the one ranked first was Zhang Guan!
"Zhang Guan is faster than me again? How is this possible! In this game, I was riding at my own pace. Although the soldiers did not perform at a super level, I was already the best version of myself under normal conditions. Even if I didn't It reaches 9.6 seconds, which is probably about the same. How could Zhang Guan be faster than me!"
Kenny looked unhappy as he continued to look at the results of the players behind him.
"9.522 seconds! Zhang Guan's score is 9.522 seconds, a new world record!" Kenny exclaimed.
The world record for men's track cycling is 9.572 seconds. This result is an unreachable height for any track cyclist. In the current cycling world, most players' results are outside 10 seconds, and only a few players can achieve results within 10 seconds. Kenny is almost the best in the world, but he can only get closer to 9.6 seconds.
In racing, the closer an athlete's speed is to the limit, the more difficult it is to improve it. For example, in the 100-meter dash, an athlete's time is 10.1 seconds. If he wants to improve his time by 0.1 seconds, he has great hope as long as he is willing to train hard. And if an athlete's time is exactly 10 seconds, even an improvement of 0.01 seconds is extremely difficult.
In bicycle racing, the improvement from 9.6 seconds to 9.572 seconds can be said to be as difficult as climbing to the sky. On the basis of the world record of 9.572 seconds, it is further improved to 9.522 seconds, which is even more unthinkable for ordinary cyclists. Things to think about. Even Kenny could only despair when he saw the result of 9.522 seconds!
Now Kenny is indeed in despair. 9.522 seconds is a number that Kenny would never dare to think of.
"World record, new world record! Zhang Guan broke the world record. And he overtook it once during the race!" Kenny suddenly remembered that at the beginning of the third lap, Zhang Guan had once again tried to overtake.
"That time Zhang Guan tried to overtake, but I defended him, so he failed to overtake. If he failed to overtake, he would definitely lose some time. Even if Zhang Guan lost time, he could still ride 9.522 seconds, which is enough to break the world record. , if no time was lost, Zhang Guan’s speed would definitely be faster! It would definitely be more than 9.522 seconds.”
Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Kenny's head. 9.522 seconds is already a result that is difficult for him to achieve. If it were faster, Kenny simply did not dare to continue thinking about it.
"It seems that I will never be able to defeat him in my life!" Kenny lowered his head silently.
…
"Kenny actually lost!" The members of the referee team looked at the result with surprised expressions on their faces.
"This is already the second game, 2-0, Zhang Guan actually beat Kenny, what should I do?" The referee obviously did not want Zhang Guan to win the championship.
"Quick, go watch the video and look for any fouls by Zhang Guan! As long as Zhang Guan fouls, Kenny will win this game, and the British team will still have a chance!" Another referee said.
The same trick was used by the referee in the women's racing team competition a few days ago. After the Chinese team had won the championship, I re-watched the video and found an excuse for the Chinese team to lose the gold medal.
Today, the referee team obviously planned to repeat the same trick. After Kenny lost the game, they immediately watched the game video, hoping to find an excuse for Zhang Guan.
But unfortunately, the referee watched the video twice and found no suspicion of foul play on Zhang Guan.
"There was no problem. There was no problem during Zhang Guan's entire ride."
"Zhang Guan's overtaking was from the outside, and there was no possibility of crossing the line!"
The referee team quickly came to a unanimous conclusion.
"It seems that we can only admit this result. The host team, the British team, can't help you this time!"
…
"9.522 seconds! A new world record! In two games, Zhang Guan broke two records in a row!" Sutton, the head coach of the British team, looked at this result and felt as if his heart had been hit hard by a giant hammer.
At this moment, Coach Sutton knew that the British team had lost and lost the gold medal that seemed to be a sure win before the game, but that was not the most important thing. The most important thing was the world record of 9.522 seconds, which was enough. Destroy the confidence that the British Cycling Team has built up over the past few years!
In the UK, on such an important stage as the Olympics, in track cycling, a traditional British advantageous event, in a duel with British athletes, the opponent broke the world record! This kind of blow is unbearable for the entire British cycling movement. Kenny can even predict that after today, there will be many fewer young people engaged in cycling in the UK, and the British cycling audience will also be lost. The entire British cycling movement will be devastated!
Coach Sutton sighed in despair. At the London Olympics, the British team suffered a big defeat in the cycling event where it had an advantage. Especially the men's team, which has only won one team gold medal in track cycling so far. , this only gold medal also triggered a scandal of diving and bribery, and the French are already preparing to file lawsuits in the International Court of Justice.
"No, I can't give in yet! The UK can't give in either. There will be the last event the day after tomorrow, the men's keirin. Sir Hoy will appear. He will definitely be able to save the face of our British cycling team!"
Thinking of Chris Hoy, the legendary cycling star, Coach Sutton's heart was once again filled with hope.
…
The auditorium, which was buzzing just a moment ago, has now become silent.
"Lost, Kenny actually lost!"
"It's already 2-0. If you lose this round, you'll lose the game!"
"9.522 seconds, I have never seen anyone ride so fast!"
"I don't want to watch the upcoming award ceremony. Let's go!"
Before the awards ceremony even started, the audience was already leaving the venue.
If it were normal times, if they finished second and got a silver medal for the British team, the audience would still give warm applause to the participating athletes and stay at the scene to watch the awards ceremony.
But the cycling event is different. This is the most powerful event in the UK. In addition to the gold medal, the British will not accept any other results! For these British spectators, watching their own country's athletes stand on the runner-up podium in the track cycling competition of the London Olympics is a torture and even more humiliating!
Therefore, many British spectators left the venue early. They did not want to see British athletes with only a silver medal hanging around their necks.
…
During the award ceremony, on the bench of the British team, Hoy looked at the three national flags rising with a look of shame and anger on his face.
Kenny only got the silver medal, and the British flag was also hung in the runner-up position. The song that surrounded Hoy's ears was not the song "God Save the Queen" that he was very familiar with, but the impassioned "March of the Volunteers" 》.
Hoy clenched his fists fiercely, with a look of determination in his eyes.
"Keirin, I will definitely win! I want the flag of the British Empire to appear at the highest position in the middle, and I want this venue to sing "God Save the Queen"!"
…
On the podium, Zhang Guan sang the national anthem accompanied by music.
"Next, it's time to deal with the reporter's interview, and I have to thank Sebastian again!" Zhang Guan thought gloatingly.
I drank a little too much at my father-in-law’s house yesterday, and I haven’t recovered yet. Let me change the minimum standard for another day. Thanks for finally being able to change my name, Dongfang Yiying, xsf9800, bubble 2016, Duoduocaini, linaww512, CHENGcheng, red civil and military, 168***609, Dongfang Yiying, Da 10%, jiangsuzj for the reward!
(End of chapter)