The Piste Take

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Ahead of the Commonwealth Games we speak to Ciara Oliva, after she completed one of the most amazing comebacks in track cycling. After her career on GBCT and the disappointment of being a reserve at the Rio Olympics, Ciara has came back after 10 years retirement, 3 kids and a whole other career to compete for Wales at her 3rd Commonwealth Games. We talk through the whole journey, and it's an inspiring one.

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We are back! We might have missed a week in our release schedule but we certainly didn't miss any quality with our latest guest, former world champion in the once conquering Aussie Men's Team Sprint Team and now endurance hero - Thomas Cornish. We hear all about his 10 year plan from sprint to enduro, what it was like behind the scenes in Team Aus during the Paris Olympics and you guessed it... The AUS->GBR transfer of Matthew Richardson. 
We were also delighted to hear about how his progression from sprinter to track endurance rider is going, his exploits in the Euro race scene and how he plans to break into the all conquering Men's Team Pursuit team in Australia.
Thanks once again to our incredible sponsors at the VelodromeShop for their ongoing support of the Pistetake.
For anyone interested in Tom's extensive palmares on the road, click the link below:
https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/thomas-cornish/2026

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On this weeks episode we speak to our first ever coach from an asian nation, Boris Clark. Formerly, of the New Zealand Cycling Team, Boris is now the Head Endurance coach at China Cycling. He took up the role last year, and has quickly had some incredible results, including World Cup gold, and establishing China as a serious contender in endurance for the first time. Join us as we find out more about his past, and a programme we don't know a huge amount about.

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This week on The Piste Take, we pay tribute to one of the greatest track cyclists Britain has ever produced. Katie Archibald, two-time Olympic gold medallist, four-time world champion, has announced her retirement, and we think she deserves her flowers. After 13 years at the very top of the sport, she walks away with 51 major medals, seven world titles and a record 21 European crowns. We reflect on a career that was like no other, and the impact she's had on the sport not just as an athlete, but as a person. 
Then we turn to a story that has the track cycling world furious. Cycling Canada has told its women's team pursuit squad, two years out from the Los Angeles Olympics, that they will not be sent to the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai this October, the first qualifying event for LA 2028, and that the program will not be supported through to the Games. We break down what's happened, why it matters, and what it says about how national teams understand (or don't)  what it's like to be on of their athletes.

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We return to the podcasting world with a blockbuster episode where we're joined by Aussie Track Sprint sensation Alessia McCaig. As the keirin winner at the recent Perth World Cup, we catch up with Alessia. We chat through her journey with the Australian Sprint Programme, her keirin racing identity & the recent impact of Women's Sprint Coach, Kaarle McCulloch. Alessia has went from strength to strength in the last few years, winning World Championship medals & making the keirin final at last years Worlds' in Santiago, Chile. We also learn about her dream training group from riders past and present - it doesn't disappoint!

Tune in to find out all about our thoughts from our listener questions too. Please feel free to ask us any questions you have via our social media channels @thepistetake!