The Australian team of Mike Turtur, Dean Woods, Michael Grenda and kevin Nichols won the gold medal in the Team Pursuit at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The frame was build by Geoff Scott using Columbus Air steel tubing which was aerodynamic in shape but inherently quite flexible when ridden by powerful riders. Gefsco overcame this issue through a compact frame design, making the tube lengths shorter and therefore less prone to flexing.
The radical short frame geometry with lowered handlebar position created a more aerodynamic rider [position and shortened the overall length of the four team bikes riding in a line.
At the '84 Olympics there was a mix of fork crown mounted bars and quill stems. The same bikes competed in the 1986 Commonwealth Games all with the lower crown mounted bars.
Having a fraction of the funding of thier oponents, the Australian Team's bikes were created through the donation of time, materials and creative thinking. The US track bikes alone cost more than 10 times the whole Australian cycling team budget and used handlebars custom made from materials developed for the Space Shuttle - the Australian team simply used 1970s era Cinelli type 66 road bars inverted and chopped. Simple but effective. Truly Aussie.
The Birth of Australian Cycling New Era - 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
The NSW Story behind the 1984 Olympics Team Pursuit Gold Medal.
Australia’s Gold Medal win in the 1984 Team Pursuit Los Angeles Olympics caught the attention & imagination of the people of Australia who would then proudly support our cyclists into the AIS program.
The win came at a time when aerodynamic technology was pulling the bicycle into strange new shapes and sports itself was becoming a business. This podcast investigates a group of NSW administrators and cyclists that played major roles in that Gold Medal win. It describes how their passion for the sport put a system in place to defeat the world biggest budget teams and the countries that believed they owned cycle racing.
Australia was acknowledged as a world cycling trailblazer in 1984 and this podcast looks at the Cycling NSW members behind that Gold Medal.
Guests include – Ray Godkin, Alex Fulcher, Mark Fulcher, Geoff Scott, Kevin Nichols, Gary Sutton, Jock Bullen -- MARK WINDSOR (Cycling NSW Heritage Commission Chairman).
