Great Britain men's team pursuit thrives in new laid-back era of British Cycling

Bradley Wiggins caused a stir a couple of years ago when he identified a deficiency at British Cycling of "someone who actually knows what they’re talking about". 

The multiple Olympic champion was discussing Mark Cavendish's non-selection for the Tokyo Olympics and regretting the rigid "box-ticking" of the national federation. 

"They’d rather someone qualified for all the World Cups, then finished 10th in the Olympics. I think it’s shit, to be honest."

How times have changed. 

There has been a mini revolution at British Cycling in the last couple of years and Wiggins' successors in the team pursuit are reaping the rewards. 

"Previously it was very strict, very serious, very drilled," Ethan Vernon, a key part of the quartet, tells Cyclingnews ahead of this week's European Championships.

"It was all 'you'll live in Manchester, you'll do what we say'. They wanted total priority over our road teams - 'you'll do our camps, you'll do this and that But then Tokyo didn't go to plan..."

Britain claimed just seven medals - three gold - at the Tokyo Games in 2021, a far cry from the six golds they won in Rio in 2016 and the seven from London 2012. 

The results in Tokyo came after of a series of overhauls and restructures at management level, following the string of controversies surrounding allegations of bullying and harassment, not to mention the doping allegations surfaced at the medical trial of former doctor Richard Freeman. 

The red tape Wiggins so hated became tighter but now things seem to have gone completely the other way, the shackles have loosened like never before. 

"There was a big change-up at British Cycling. A lot of staff got fired and riders were moved on," Vernon explains. 

"Now we've got fresh ideas from higher up in management. It's much more rider-focused. Previously riders had no say but now it's completely the opposite."

As such, Vernon and his pursuit colleagues, now working under head coach John Norfolk and men's endurance coach Ben Greenwood, have been given freedom to pave their own path to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. 

For starters, Dan Bigham, previously persona non grata, was allowed back into the fold, bringing with him his own aerodynamics expertise and even equipment from his own company, WattShop. 

Bigham - whose full-time job is performance engineer at Ineos Grenadiers - has been a leading figure, as he, Vernon, Ethan Hayter, Ollie Wood, and Charlie Tanfield have come together to breathe new life into an event previously dominated by the British. 

Not that they have come together very often. 

"We never train together," Vernon says with a grin.

"Dan's in Andorra and doing his stuff with Ineos , Ethan's in Girona and doing his stuff on the road like me. It's only Ollie doing the full-time thing with GB. We just come together a week or two before race day. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. It's a risky strategy, but in Paris it obviously went pretty well."

Vernon is referring to the 2022 World Championships in October, when Britain beat Olympic champions Italy, led by the freshly-minted Hour Record holder Filippo Ganna, in a thrilling finale. 

Having finished seventh in Tokyo and third at the 2021 World Championships, it was a massive step forward.  

"The improvement is across the board. Dan was always solid in the team pursuit but has brought all his ideas. Equipment-wise it's it's been nice not to be restricted by sponsors and just crack on with the best kit. We've shaved seconds off our time just from that," Vernon says.  

"Then Ethan [Hayter] is so much stronger than two years ago and I've developed after a season on the road. Everything has got better."

The road to the 2024 Paris Olympics starts in Grenchen this week 

Everything has got better, but everything could get better still, starting sat this week's European championships in Grenchen, Switzerland, the first official step towards qualification and medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"There's more to come, I believe," Vernon says.

"This squad's capable of going a good few seconds faster," he adds confidently, bringing the world record into the conversation. 

Italy are the current holders, setting 3:42.032 in Tokyo but Britain have come down from around the 3:50 mark to 3:45 at sea level - where the air is more dense - in Paris in October. 

"We're only a couple of seconds off and we haven't trained much together, we weren't in our top olympic stuff in Paris. I think there's quite a bit more to come."

Whether the record might even fall this week, there are factors both for and against.

Hayter won't be there after breaking his collarbone at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which is a big and perhaps insurmountable blow. However the mid-altitude velodrome in Grenchen offers air pressure closer to that of Tokyo. 

"It will be close. It will depend on conditions. There are a lot of factors but with that performance from Worlds we're definitely in the right territory," Vernon indicates.

World record or not, medals and bragging rights are there to be won and lost in what's a key marker on the road to Paris. 

"After we won Worlds, it feels like it's ours to lose again," Vernon says proudly