Rio 2016: Killing it, cyclically!

Jason Kenny exults after winning the men’s keirin cycling final. Above: Laura Trott kisses fiance Kenny. (Photo: AP)

Germany’s Olympic sprint gold winner Kristina Vogel has complained that her dominant British rivals have an unfair advantage though she is not sure what it is.

Several riders in Rio have grumbled about Britain’s cycling hegemony for the past three Olympics.

Britain has won 20 of the 30 golds disputed going back to Beijing 2008. Although they won only six this time — one less than the previous two Games — Britain only had entrants in nine of the 10 events as the women’s sprint team didn’t qualify.

Just to highlight the level of Britain’s control, in the three events they did not win, they took silver.

Yet at the world championships between each Olympics, Britain never enjoys anything like the same dominance, leading some, such as Vogel, to ask questions.

“Of course I'm not saying that they took drugs or had an engine in the bikes,” said the 25-year-old, who won the team sprint gold in London.

“It’s just that it seems that they don't train for three years, and then they start and at every Olympic Games they kill every nation!

“I just want to know what they're riding and I’m not!”

British sprint star Jason Kenny, who won his sixth Olympic gold on Tuesday in the keirin, admitted that he feels “frustrated” at the single-minded Games focus.

His fiancee Laura Trott won the omnium to earn her fourth Games gold, making her Britain’s most successful female Olympian, while Kenny joined former track sprint king Chris Hoy as the number one of all time. Trott said the Brits simply do not have the same equipment outside of the Olympics.

“You come back and you go to the world championships, and you don’t have the same Olympic equipment, the same skin-suits, the same wheels,” she moaned.

Follow the leader Vogel, who beat Britain’s Becky James into silver in the sprint, suggested other countries should follow Britain’s lead.

“That’s what they’re working for, just working for the Olympics. Maybe that’s our fault, or our nations’ fault,” she said.

British coach Iain Dyer insisted it was a fallacy to suggest his team is not successful at the worlds.

“We set ourselves up to be successful every four years. If you are to peak every four years, it needs to be a bloody good peak, otherwise it’s just a pimple,” said Dyer.

Yet when it comes to the last three Games put together, Germany have managed two gold, Australia one and France none, compared to Britain's 20.