- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Did you catch the women's crosscountry bicycle race? The announcers called it the greatest upset in the history of bicycle racing. The Netherlands team was far and away the strongest and was heavily favored to win, possibly to sweep the podium. Early in the race a group of 5, including the lone Aurstian competitor Anna Kiesenhofer, jumped out ahead of the pack. As the race went on 4 of them dropped back, but Kiesenhofer kept peddling for all she was worth and eventually held a four-minute lead. The Dutch team, seeing the 4 slipping back into the pack, lost track of Kiesenhofer (she was far out of sight and there is no radio communication in the Olympics.)
So the Dutch riders spent the whole race lolllygagging around making sure that they remained near the fron of the pack. When the lead Dutch rider crossed the finish line, she thought she had won the gold medal, only to learn that the Austrian (who has a PhD in mathematics from Oxford, by the way) had already been in the club house for 3 minutes.
Well, not exactly in the clubhouse. Rather, rolling on the track in agony sounding like she was gasping out her last breath.
So the Dutch riders spent the whole race lolllygagging around making sure that they remained near the fron of the pack. When the lead Dutch rider crossed the finish line, she thought she had won the gold medal, only to learn that the Austrian (who has a PhD in mathematics from Oxford, by the way) had already been in the club house for 3 minutes.
Well, not exactly in the clubhouse. Rather, rolling on the track in agony sounding like she was gasping out her last breath.
Last edited: