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Olympics 2004 – Men\’s Semi-Final, Final Sprint

August 24, 2004 – There was nothing more brilliant  than Theo Bos’ (Netherlands) tactics in the semi-final. He was up against Rene Wolff (Germany) , who  looked much like his name with, of all things for a bike racer, a goatee  which looked quite dwarfed by his giant frame. And while Bos didn’t nearly  have the same size as Wolff he had the most brilliant of tactics. With dives  would have qualified him for the high board, Bos used brains against brawn  and took both heats: 10.502 and 10.639

The other semi-final saw Australia’s   Ryan Bayley up against France’s
Laurent Gane. Bayley was probably the best  example of the Aussie machine
that dominated the velodrome so completely this  Olympics. He simply
powered his way in both heats, whether from the front or  back, he was an
absolute train, jumping his wheel over the line as opposed to  Gane’s
traditional lunge. Bayley recorded 10:546 and 10:638 and moved into  the
finals against Bos.

Men’s Final
The bronze medal ride was decided  in two straight for Wolff. Wolff took
the bronze with 10.677 and 10.612. In  the gold and silver medal race,
things weren’t so cut and dry. Bos used his  usual brilliant tactics to
take the first heat in 10.710. But Bayley  dominated the two remaining
heats and scooped the gold in 10.661 and 10:661  and 10:743. Later Bayley
summed up his win. “It’s unbelievable. Everything  came together at the
right moment on the right day. I am a little bit faster  than Bos, but he
is a clever guy. He knows what he wants.”





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