Top talent rewarded with gold haul

Jan Ullrich (left) took gold beating Lance Armstrong (right) to bronze

BBC Sport's Simon Brotherton reflects on Olympic cycle events in which the best talent shone to the fore.

The most you can hope for in the Olympic Games is that the best athlete wins, and in both the men's and women's cycling road races Jan Ullrich and Leontien Zijlaard overcame the lottery of that type of racing to triumph.

There seems little doubt that Ullrich is the most naturally gifted of the current crop of riders and when he attacked on the penultimate lap none of his rivals could go with him.

Much has been made of the fact that Alexander Vinokourov and Andreas Kloden, who finished second and third after their three-man breakaway, are team-mates to Ullrich throughout the year at Deutsche Telekom. But cyclists accept the reality of their role in the scheme of things, and the best man won on the day.

Millar's disappointing ride proved that talent is not enough

How nice it was, too, to see Ullrich in pristine condition, with not a hint of his mother's cooking around his waist.

The German has had a constant battle with the scales, which has given the cycling media endless copy for the last couple of years. He indulges in the off-season and spends the first half of the following year trying to get back into shape.

I believe his lack of discipline at the table has cost him more than once in the Tour de France. But to his credit, Ullrich accepts his form, be it excellent or poor, with good grace, and doesn't throw his toys out of the pram.

Ullrich nearly got the double, but was edged out in the time trial by Viacheslav Ekimov. Ninety-nine times out of 100 Ullrich would have beaten Ekimov, so it was unfortunate for him that Ekimov did the ride of his life.

Broken vertebra

I think Lance Armstrong will be very disappointed with his bronze medal because I think he only rode the Olympics to win that race. If he had thought that he was likely to get a bronze, I'm not sure he would have bothered.

He would normally perhaps have ended his season shortly after the Tour de France, which he won for the second time in succession this year. He has had to ride for a lot longer preparing for this and to overcome the injury he sustained in August, when he broke the vertebra in between his shoulder blades.

He would now say he was happy to win the bronze, but I feel that he genuinely believed he had the ability to win that race.

He has suffered a lot of discomfort and extra effort, and I think someone like him would only go through that if he felt he was capable of winning it. Maybe a long season and the efforts in July finally caught up with him on the final lap in Sydney.

Zijlaard has had an amazing comeback

The female star of the Olympics, Leontien Zijlaard, was in the form of her life. Three gold medals and a silver is a remarkable haul.

Her trio of successes illustrates her versatility, winning on the track over 3,000m, on a road in a sprint for the line, and against the watch in the individual time trial.

Ziljaard was a champion nearly 10 years ago, but disappeared for a while, battling eating and weight disorders and her return to the top is to be applauded.

Following on from their successful series on the track, Britain's road squad found life rather less satisfying on the road.

Max Sciandri was in the right place at the right time in the men's race until Ullrich's decisive move and just didn't have the legs to go with it.

Immense talent

In the time trial, Chris Boardman, who can't wait to hang up his wheels next month, went out with a decent ride and 11th place.

He is troubled by an illness similar to osteoporosis, so is stopping at the right time. Health is more important than ringing an extra year or two out of a successful career now on the wane.

David Millar's ride was a disappointment. He wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France this year and is an immense talent. But his 16th place was a timely reminder of what's needed to be successful at the very top. Talent on its own is not enough.

The women rode strongly in the road race but Sara Symington, Ceris Gilfillan and Yvonne McGregor lost out in the sprint for the line so the team could not have expected any more from them.

The key now, after an successful Olympic Games in Sydney, is whether British cycling can for once capitalise on its success and its window of opportunity.