Russia holds narrow lead over USA in the Global Cup
For the third month in succession, news indeed, the USA aren’t top of the Global Cup 2014 table.
Sochi Winter Olympics winners Russia hold on to a narrow lead (21 points, or 0.2%) over the Stars and Stripes in the ranking of the best sporting nations in the planet.
The month of March was again contested mainly on the snow and ice, with 80% of GSN points awarded coming from winter sports.
Thanks to a strong performance in the Short Track and Freestyle Skiing World Championships, Canada (1,052 points) narrowly lead the USA (1,050 points) in the Winter Sports aggregate ranking. Russia is third with 1,035 points, so the race is tight and still on.
The decisive event for the attribution of the 2014 Winter crown will be the Ice Hockey World Championships in May. They will be held in Minsk (Belarus), and one hopes Russia will stick to displaying their strength on the ice alone…
The Track Cycling World Championships was the other main event in the sporting month. It was won, for the second consecutive year, by Germany over Australia and Great Britain. While the Germans have risen to a dominant position in Track Cycling after their 4th place in 2012, and Australia have confirmed their second place, Great Britain have not managed to raise their game (they were second in 2012). The surprise is that while Germany was consistent across genders (3rd in the Men and 2nd in the Women), Team GB won the Ladies’ ranking but were only 10th in the Men’s!
And the fact that GB Cycling Performance Director Sir Dave Brailsford, the mastermind behind the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic successes, and much more, has left his post a few days ago, adds an extra challenge for British elite cyclists.
