Shanaze Reade - girl on a bmx or Olympic athlete?

[DSLiverpool]

Golden girl and pictured and promoted all over but In china she rode poorly and crashed IMHO deliberately to avoid looking even worse.

Surely she is more "girl on a bike" ??

[rhinochopig]

Track
Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Team sprint
Gold 2008 Manchester Team sprint
Silver 2009 Pruszków Team sprint
BMX
World Championships
Gold 2007 Victoria Elite Women
Gold 2008 Taiyuan Elite Women
Gold 2010 Adelaide Elite Women

For a Girl on a Bike she's won a fair bit of metal.

[aspender]

She has won rainbow jerseys multiple times in two different cycling disciplines so I'd say she is the real deal.

[Roman]

DSLiverpool said:

Golden girl and pictured and promoted all over but In china she rode poorly and crashed IMHO deliberately to avoid looking even worse.

Surely she is more "girl on a bike" ??

Yeah - about as 'sure' as you saying that to her face..

[DSLiverpool]

Ok you guys know how hard and competitive it is - will she get in the medals the year ?

[Roman]

I think and hope so, I don't follow BMX (though it's good close racing) and she only seems to compete in World Track championships so it's hard to judge her form.

Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish are current world record holders in the team sprint and Shanaze will be replacing Jessica for the Olympics.

This could either be due to the limited number of places in the cycling squad and the fact that Shanaze can double up on disciplines or because she's simply faster than Varnish. I can't see British cycling making many compromises when it comes to winning a medal though.

[aspender]

Roman said:

Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish are current world record holders in the team sprint and Shanaze will be replacing Jessica for the Olympics.

Not sure where you read that, as it is wrong.

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/art...

[Roman]

aspender said:

Not sure where you read that, as it is wrong.

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/art...

I must have read an out of date report - great news for Varnish and well deserved!

[Gizmoish]

I have to say I'm still not entirely convinced by BMX as an Olympic Sport... but it's not like she rides around with Spokey Dokeys on.

[okgo]

Just seen her picture in a newspaper magazine feature that is called 'Olympic Bodies' and guess what, everyone looks lean and mean, she has love handles lol...

[Gizmoish]

okgo said:

Just seen her picture in a newspaper magazine feature that is called 'Olympic Bodies' and guess what, everyone looks lean and mean, she has love handles lol...

But she's, you know... "urban". "Edgy".

A "free spirit".

I'm surprised Brailsford tolerates it.

[Jimbo.]

Gizmoish said:

But she's, you know... "urban". "Edgy".

A "free spirit".

I'm surprised Brailsford tolerates it.

Cavendish is - or was - similar: bold, brash etc. It's what comes with being a sprinter, or so it seems.

[Rouleur]

I saw that photo in The Guardian - she's a big lass isn't she, she's like Tracey Moseley used to be.

[DSLiverpool]

Anyone think she has a chance in this years games? I'm cynical and doubting

[anonymous-user]

BMX is very unpredicatable as it is a contact sport and not punished, I gather most people are tipping Aussie Caroline Buchanan as the favourite though the french are always pretty fast. Reade wil be in the mix but she will need to stay calm

[SkinnyBoy]

She won't be doing any tail whips in that dress!

[SkinnyBoy]

[DSLiverpool]

We will soon find out I guess



- hope she gets gold

[mrmr96]

DSLiverpool said:

We will soon find out I guess



- hope she gets gold

When is the BMX on?

[moleamol]

DSLiverpool said:

We will soon find out I guess



- hope she gets gold

I've met Shanaze a few teams and she is a very serious athlete and trains very hard. If she hadn't fallen in Beijing she would have won. She was World Champion in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010.