Philip Hindes

Philip Hindes

Hindes during the Glasgow event of the 2012–2013 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics season.
Personal information
Full name Philip Hindes
Born 22 September 1992
Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Weight 83 kg (183 lb; 13.1 st) [1]
Team information
Current team Britain
Discipline Track
Role Rider
Rider type Sprinter
Infobox last updated on
2 August 2012

Philip Hindes MBE (born 22 September 1992) is a British track cyclist, specialising in sprints. He holds dual nationality having been born in Germany to a British father. Having initially competed for Germany at a junior level, in 2010 he switched to the British Cycling programme. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he won the gold medal in the Men's team sprint.

Early life

Hindes was born in Krefeld, Germany.[1] His father served with the British army in Germany where he met Hindes' German mother.[2] He attended Heinrich Heine Gymnasium, a specialist sports school in Kaiserslautern, where he was coached by Frank Zeigler.[3] Hindes represented his region, North Rhine-Westphalia in rowing, following his brother into the sport.[4]

Career

Hindes began cycling in 2008 at the age of 15 in road racing events but switched to sprinting after two seasons.[1] He represented Germany at the Junior World Track Championships in 2010, placing third in the team sprint and fourth in the individual sprint. Later that year Hindes, whose father is British, moved to the United Kingdom and joined British Cycling’s Olympic Academy Programme.[1] He received clearance to ride for Great Britain after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board waived the regulation that would have required him to wait three years before changing his national allegiance on account of his dual nationality.[5]

In 2011 Hindes competed with Dave Daniell and Peter Mitchell in the men's team sprint at the Track Cycling World Cup in Beijing, finishing in sixth position.[6]

Hindes is coached by Jan van Eijden and Iain Dyer.[1]

Hindes was chosen to represent Great Britain at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne, Australia as part of the squad for the men's team sprint alongside Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny.[7] Hindes replaced Ross Edgar in the team, after Edgar elected to focus on gym and road training.[8] The trio were due to race in the bronze medal final but were relegated for an infringement in their qualifying heat.[9]

In July 2012 Hindes was selected to compete for Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's team sprint as part of a squad that also included four-time Olympic gold medalist Hoy, and double Olympic gold medalist Kenny.[10] The event took place at the London Velopark on 2 August.[11] The British trio won the gold medal and set new world records in both the first round and again in the final against France, while Hoy joined Steve Redgrave as the only British athletes to win five Olympic gold medals.[12]

Following the gold medal win, Hindes said that he had deliberately crashed after a slow start to help his team.[13] After winning the race, Hindes told the BBC "We were saying if we have a bad start we need to crash to get a restart. I just crashed, I did it on purpose to get a restart, just to have the fastest ride. I did it. So it was all planned, really."[14][15] Under UCI rules, "races can be re-started if one of the riders suffers a “mishap”, but it must be a mechanical fault or genuine accident."[13] In a post-race press conference, Hindes gave a different account, stating "No. I just went out the gate and just lost control, just fell down...My back wheel slipped and totally lost control and I couldn’t handle the bike any more and just crashed."[16] The British Cycling stated "Hindes had been misunderstood due to English not being his first language."[17] No action is planned by the IOC.[13] For this incident, Hindes was awarded with the fifth placing on Sports Illustrated's "Anti-Sportsman of the year".[18]

Hindes was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to cycling.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Philip Hindes: Team GB". British Olympic Association. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Philip Hindes profile". London 2012: Team GB competitors (London: The Telegraph). 24 July 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "Philip Hindes". London 2012: Meet Team GB. London: The Times. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Philip Hindes". Athletes. Official London 2012 website. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  5. ↑ Magnay, Jacquelin (13 March 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: Aldama cleared for Team GB by IOC". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Welsh teenager Sam Harrison wins gold". BBC Sport. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  7. ↑ Fotheringham, William (3 April 2012). "German-born Philip Hindes gets chance to shine for Great Britain". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  8. ↑ "Philip Hindes replaces Ross Edgar in World Championships squad". BBC Sport. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Track Worlds: Great Britain beat Australia with world record". BBC Sport. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  10. ↑ Fotheringham, William (13 June 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: Philip Hindes makes Great Britain sprint squad". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "Men's Team Sprint". Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  12. ↑ Slater, Matt (2 August 2012). "Sir Chris Hoy leads GB to cycling gold in men's team sprint". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Kelso, Paul (3 August 2012). "Philip Hindes admitting he crashed deliberately will not cost Sir Chris Hoy his fifth Olympic gold, says IOC". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  14. ↑ "Cyclist crashes on purpose to exploit loophole, wins gold. USA Today". Usatoday.com. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Cycling: I crashed on purpose, says victorious Briton". Sports.yahoo.com. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  16. ↑ ""Hindes changes his tune". ''The Irish Times''". Irishtimes.com. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  17. ↑ Chappell, Bill (3 August 2012). "Track Cyclist's Admitting To Intentional Crash Won't Bring Investigation". Npr.org. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  18. ↑ RJ Rico. "Anti-Sportsman of the Year". Sports Illustrated (2012 Time Inc). Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  19. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60367. p. 25. 29 December 2012.