2012 Olympic Road Race

The best line ever was Shane Sutton's one about the footballer getting the ball on his left peg "oh no, he's right footed". If the blokes are paid £100k per week to play football they should make damn sure they can kick with both feet.

It's not that simple though. You can't just magically decide to play well with the weaker foot, it takes tens of thousands of hours of practice to get the touch and muscle memory required to be able to play well.

Why don't tennis players use both hands so they don't have a (weaker) backhand? Because the investment of time required to get their other hand up to a good standard is best spent on further improving their dominant hand.

Someone who's fucking great with their right foot and vaguely OK (or even vaguely shit) with their left is a better pick for a team that someone who's good (but not great) with both.

Should Wiggins spend his training hours getting better at sprinting at the expense of his climbing? Should Cav spend his training hours doing what's necessary to keep being a good sprinter or should he lose his edge to get a little better in the mountains?

At the top of the pile most people have got a speciality and it is very very rare to get someone who is great at several different disciplines (this is where you get the true greats of the sport).

(As an aside, I taught myself to play tennis with my left hand after breaking my right arm one summer, I'm also both-footed for football/rugby and, if anything, my left foot shot is better as I think about it less than I do when shooting with my right. Still not a pro though...)