Olympic Games

Germany’s Sabine Spitz owns a closet full of silver and bronze medals from mountain bike racing’s biggest events — the Olympics, world championships and World Cup. The 36-year-old patiently rode in the shadows of ’04 Olympic champ Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå during the four years in which the Norwegian ruled over the sport.

The two BMX gold medalists at the Beijing Olympic Games trained on numerous occasions on the BMX track at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland. Latvia’s Maris Strombergs took the gold medal in the men’s competition, while the French rider Anne-Caroline Chausson claimed Olympic glory in the women’s event. Maris Strombergs and his Olympic team mates trained four times at the WCC this year. Their fourth and final training camp finished on August 15th, when they flew directly to Beijing for the final countdown to the competition.

France’s Anne-Caroline Chausson out-pedaled, out-jumped and out-maneuvered the world’s best female BMX riders to win the inaugural Olympic BMX race at the Laoshan cycling venue. The Frenchwoman, who also owns 16 world titles in gravity mountain bike racing, grabbed the biggest single prize of her storied career ahead of compatriot Laetitia le Corguille. Amerian Jill Kintner crossed the finish line in third to bring the United States its first-ever medal in Olympic BMX.

Maris Strombergs put Latvia on top of the BMX world by taking the inaugural Olympic gold medal in flying fashion. The 21-year-old Latvian, who won the BMX world title earlier this year, earned Latvia its first medal of the 2008 Olympics, crossing the line ahead of Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson. “It didn’t matter if it was the Olympics, the world championships or the European championships, the feeling is the same,” Strombergs said. “I was very cool and concentrated.”

Antipass Kwari is under no illusions about his chances of medal glory ahead of this Saturday's Olympic mountain bike gold race. But his coach Wayne Davidson is getting excited about the opportunity Kwari, the first Zimbabwean to compete in Olympic mountain biking, has to showcase the sport to Africa. "The importance of this cannot be put into words. It is absolutely monstrous for us," said Davidson. "Cycling is very difficult to develop in Africa. With one soccer ball you can have 22 players. To develop a cyclist you need one bicycle. It's beyond the means of most people.

The women's Olympic mountain bike race has been postponed until Saturday because of rain damage to the course, the UCI confirmed on Thursday. The decision follows the postponement of the sem-final rounds of BMX competition earlier in the day. The women's mountain bike race, held on a 4.5km loop to be raced for approximately 1 hour 40 minutes, was due to be held on Friday. [nid:82158]It means that both the women's and men's Olympic races will be held on Saturday, with a scheduled start of 10:00 a.m. for women and 3:00 p.m. for the men.

A year ago, the world’s elite mountain bikers poured into Beijing for a test event on the Olympic course and the results were not encouraging. Riders were gagging on the oppressive heat and thick smog. Some were literally vomiting from the double-whammy sucker punch of heat and pollution. A fast, wide-open course provided few challenges and many were wondering if the Chinese had blown it. Flash-forward a year and things are very different ahead of Friday’s and Saturday’s races on the Laoshan mountain bike course.

The Jill Kintner that will compete in Wednesday’s Olympic BMX finals is not the same woman who took her third world title in four-cross mountain biking just 11 months ago. Sure, she still boasts the same chatty personality, curly ponytail and toothy grin — those qualities aren’t going anywhere. But the Kintner of today is a bigger, badder, stronger version of her former self. Bulging triceps flex from under her shirtsleeves, thick hamstrings and quads fill out her jeans. She’s ripped.

Bicycle Moto Cross — the sport most people know simply as BMX — made its Olympic debut on Wednesday, August 20, as the world’s best riders competed in time-trial seeding and preliminary rounds. Located adjacent to the velodrome and mountain bike course, the Laoshan BMX complex was packed with a full house of riders, media and spectators eager to see the Olympics’ high-flying, crash-filled event. “This is the biggest thing I’ll ever do,” said American Mike Day. “I’ve dreamt of it. The whole experience is overwhelming.”

Chris Hoy, who won his third gold at Beijing on Tuesday to equal a 100-year-old British Olympic record, is to have a new national cycling stadium named after him. The velodrome, which is being built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, will be named in recognition of his Olympic achievements, a Glasgow City Council official said on Tuesday.

Britain confirmed their status as rulers of the Olympic velodrome Tuesday, claiming two of the last three track cycling gold medals on offer to finish with seven out of 10. On a day that Australian blushes were saved in timely fashion by Anna Meares' sprint silver, giving the team that dominated in Athens just one medal, Britain were celebrating a total of 12 out of 30 medals awarded in Beijing. They medalled in eight of the 10 events, only failing to claim a medal in the women's points race and the men's Madison.

Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain grabbed her first Olympic gold after dominating Anna Meares of Australia over two legs of the women's sprint final in Beijing on Tuesday. Meares picked up the silver with China's Guo Shuang winning the bronze. Pendleton's maiden Olympic crown means she has taken Britain's track cycling gold tally to six. The 27-year-old Englishwoman is also the first British woman to win Olympic gold in track cycling's blue ribbon event. It is also Britain's first women's track medal since Yvonne McGregor won pursuit bronze in Sydney eight years ago.

Flying Scotsman Chris Hoy equaled a 100-year-old British Olympic record on his way to winning his third gold medal of the Beijing Games on Tuesday. Hoy, who had already won gold in the team sprint and keirin, claimed his first ever Olympic sprint crown after a dominant display over teammate Jason Kenny. Hoy claimed his third gold medal of the Games, and fourth of his career, after beating England's Kenny in two successive sprints.

Argentina's Juan Curuchet and Walter Perez grabbed Olympic gold in the men's Madison in Beijing on Tuesday when all three medals were decided on the last lap's 10th and final sprint. Spain finished second to take the silver with Russia winning the bronze. Britain's pursuit and team pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins, aiming for a record-breaking third gold medal of the Beijing Games, was never in contention with teammate Mark Cavendish. Argentina's pairing was a constant threat for their rivals in the 50km, 200-lap race where points can be won at intermediate sprints.

The four-man pursuit squad of Ed Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas and individual pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins won Great Britain its fifth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics. Team Great Britain nearly lapped Denmark in the finals of the team pursuit, breaking their own world record from Sunday’s qualifying round with a 3:53.314 finishing time. The Brits led wire-to-wire against Denmark, which eased up on the throttle once the Brits came nipping at their heels on the final lap. The Danes finished with a time of 4:00.040. New Zealand took home the bronze with a 3:57.776.

Michael Blatchford might not own the bulky track sprinter’s physique, but the lean, mean American proved this season he can be competitive on the international circuit. Blatchford came up a hair short in Sunday night’s 1/16 round of the men’s match sprint. The 22-year-old saw his chances at qualifying for the finals dashed by France’s thick sprinter Kevin Sireau, one of the fastest men in the sport. Midway through the bell lap Sireau appeared to commit too early to his sprint, opening the door for Blatchford.

Dutchwoman Marianne Vos erased the demons from her sub-stellar finishes in last week’s road and time-trial events by dominating the Points Race. Vos, 21, earned 30 total points in the 100-lap race, 20 of which came from lapping the field. Yoanka Gonzalez of Cuba finished second with 18 points with Leire Olaberria of Spain grabbing the bronze. “I had a lot of confidence coming into [the points race] — during my training I felt very good,” Vos said. “It wasn’t like I felt bad in the road race or the time trial, of course I was trying to get a medal. I was very disappointed.”

Rebecca Romero pumped her fist and let out a shriek after crossing the finish line to win Olympic gold in the individual pursuit on Monday night. The finishing gesture mimicked that of her compatriot Nicole Cooke, who won last Sunday's women’s road race. “I’m trying to hold it together,” said Romero, who defeated compatriot Wendy Houvenaghel to take the win. “I’ve had to search deep inside and fight for it and do what I know I’m capable of. Olympic gold medals don’t come easy.”

Two-time Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins expects a tough battle on Monday when he leads Britain out in a bid to claim its first Olympic gold in the coveted team pursuit. Britain’s four underlined their credentials as heirs to defending champions Australia by beating their own world record in Beijing on Sunday in a time of 3:55.202 seconds. It allowed the Brits to finish fastest in the first round and book the gold medal match against Denmark. An impressive New Zealand quartet will face Australia in the fight for bronze.

Newly-crowned Olympic keirin champion Chris Hoy is primed for a semi-final clash with three-time world sprint champion Theo Bos as he looks for more gold in the men's sprint. Scottish sprint king Hoy continued his bid for his third Beijing gold medal after coasting into the quarter-finals of the men's sprint Sunday. Hoy, 32, beat a 12-year-old Olympic record for the 200 meters flying start in the qualifying round in a stunning time of 9.815 seconds.

A month before facing the world’s best at the Beijing Olympics, USA Cycling squared off against one of its own, track rider Rebecca Quinn, in a Colorado Springs courtroom. On July 9 Quinn took USA Cycling to arbitration after the governing body’s selection committee did not name her to its Olympic squad. Quinn, who hoped to compete in the Olympic points race, complained that favoritism and a conflict of interest involving team coach Andy Sparks and individual pursuit rider Sarah Hammer — Sparks’ fiancé — kept her from making the team.

Britain's Rebecca Romero made Olympic history in Beijing Sunday when she became just the second woman to claim medals in two different sports at the summer Games. England's Romero dominated the 3km individual-pursuit final to leave Wendy Houvenaghel of Northern Ireland with the silver medal after posting a winning time of three minutes, 28.32 seconds. Lesya Kalitovska of Ukraine defeated New Zealand's Alison Shanks to win the bronze medal.

Joan Llaneras is one of those oddball eccentrics who disappear into the woodwork and barely cause a stir for much of the racing season. That’s not until the big-time events roll around and they sprout out of the background like tulips in spring. Llaneras, 39, won the Olympic points race on Saturday. He plans to compete in the Madison and then hang up the bike for good.

Spaniard Joan Llaneras produced a stunning display of endurance and sprint riding here at the Laoshan velodrome to reclaim his Olympic crown in the men's points race. Germany's Roger Kluge took the silver with Britain's Christopher Newton taking the bronze. Llaneras, 39, reclaimed the title he won at Sydney in 2000 after a stunning ride in the 160-lap race which he finished with 60 points. Kluge, the halfway leader, finished on 58 with Newton on 56.

Wiggins sets new standard in pursuit

Jennie Reed is heading into Sunday’s sprint qualifying rounds with the added air of confidence that comes with owning a world championship gold medal. True, Reed did not take her world title at this year’s worlds in Manchester in the sprint — she won it in the keirin, which is not an Olympic event. But the fast and furious keirin is often a litmus test for how strong a track sprinter’s legs are firing. And this year, Reed’s legs have been firing full blast.

The motorcade of team cars raced through downtown Beijing, the usually congested roads virtually emptied for the Olympics, to the start. In each unbranded white car, the riders were piled in the back, as the directors drove. A small flag on the side was the only thing differentiating each team. On the roof, the bikes were covered in tape and the carbon wheels logo-less to appease the Olympic rules that control which companies can be featured in their event.

While dodging taxis and buses on my morning ride I saw another cyclist spinning his wheels a few hundred meters up the road. There are millions of people on bicycles in Beijing, but cyclists are a novelty, and in the sea of riders on the road he stuck out. He wasn’t hauling a load of junk on the back of an old Flying Pigeon, and he was actually wearing a helmet. I caught up to him at a red light to chat.

American Taylor Phinney held his head high as he rolled off the wooden track at Beijing’s Laoshan velodrome. The American’s quest for an Olympic medal had just fizzled in the semi finals of the men’s Individual Pursuit, as Phinney fell to New Zealander Hayden Roulston. Above the American, his parents — cycling greats Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney — chanted “We love you buddy!” as Phinney stepped off his bike to end his whirlwind 2007-08 season.

Britain's Bradley Wiggins of Britain successfully defended his Olympic crown when he won the individual pursuit track cycling gold in Beijing on Saturday. New Zealand's Hayden Roulston took silver with Britain's Steven Burke winning the bronze medal. American Taylor Phinney missed a spot in the medal rounds, riding 4:26.6 in Round 1. The 27-year-old Wiggins clocked a time of 4:16.5 in Round 1 to secure his place in the final against the New Zealander, who finished in 4:19.2.

Scotland's Chris Hoy anchored Britain to an historic victory in the coveted Olympic team sprint final in Beijing Friday to leave world champions France with the silver. Hoy, who is aiming for a further two gold medals in the five-day, ten final race anchored the team home after stunning rides from England's Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny in a time of 43.128. France took the silver in 43.551 with defending champions Germany beating Australia to the bronze medal.

In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, American track pursuit cyclist Sarah Hammer graced the pages of both Sports Illustrated and ESPN magazines. As her sport’s world champion in both 2005 and 2006, Hammer was touted in print as America’s best shot at grabbing a medal in track racing.

“Lean and mean” is the mantra at USA Cycling ahead of the debut of five days of track cycling competition Friday at the Laoshan Velodrome. The eight-athlete team hits the boards in nine events with realistic hopes of striking gold on the women’s side and ambitions of playing the spoiler on the men’s side. “Overall, we’re saying, let’s hold the bar very high, but let’s aim for something that’s realistic,” said USA Cycling team leader Pat McDonough before the team’s final training session Thursday at the velodrome.

Call it MaskGate.

Four world-class track cyclists land in one of the most polluted cities in the world and want nothing more than to protect the one organ – their lungs – that most determines whether or not they’ll win an Olympic medal.

They don masks, given to them by their Olympic governing body, and an international scandal erupts.

Sarah Hammer, Jennie Reed, Michael Friedman and Bobby Lea unintentionally created a furor on August 5 when they walked into Beijing’s international airport wearing USOC-issued masks to cover their nose and mouths.

What a way to

Here are some interesting factoids and other non-essential, but mildly entertaining, factlets from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games data base: DOUBLE TIME: Fabian Cancellara (Swi) did more than win gold in the time trial and bronze in the road race. “Spartacus” became only the fifth rider to win a medal in both road events in the same Olympic Games.

Neal Henderson is the Sport Science Manager at Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. He is a USA Cycling certified coach and works with a diverse clientele at BCSM. He has been Taylor Phinney’s personal coach since 2006 and will is traveling with Phinney and his family in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics.

World Anti Doping Agency president John Fahey said earlier this week that the Olympic movement should consider banishing cycling and weight lifting from the Games because they are sports that have doping problems. UCI president Pat McQuaid immediately shot back that no other sport is doing as much as cycling to fight the cheats, and that several major sports have been dragging their heels on anti-doping issues for years.

A few days ago I was chatting with American Christine Thorburn about Wednesday’s individual time trial. The Californian went through a laundry list of meticulous technical and training specifications she had nailed down in preparation for the race against the clock — an event that historically rewards a rider’s attention to detail. I said something like, “wow, that sounds really Type-A.” Dr. Thorburn, the rheumatologist, cracked a smile.

Cadel Evans said he is unlikely to compete at the world championships this year after revealing the extent of his knee injury following the Olympic cycling time trial on Wednesday. After finishing 15th in the road race last Saturday, the Australian battled through the pain to finish a commendable fifth in the 47.3km race at 1min 23sec behind unstoppable Swiss winner Fabian Cancellara. The 31-year-old Australian admitted he was happy with the result as he had spent the run-up to the Games trying to recover from a damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee.

Fabian Cancellara’s finish-line salute at the end of Wednesday’s Olympic time trial erased any concerns that the big Swiss rider has lost his edge in the race against the clock. He rolled into the finishing straight with 33 seconds in his pocket over Swede Gustav Larsson, stopped pedaling, lifted his arm in a very un-aero fist and punched the air.

Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo has been banned for two years after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the UCI, the Lausanne-based court said on Tuesday. Mayo tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO on July 24 during last year's Tour. However, the Spanish national federation refused to discipline Mayo, saying the testing process at laboratories in Paris and Ghent, Belgium, was flawed. The UCI appealed, and a CAS panel of three lawyers decided EPO was present in Mayo’s urine.

The Olympic peloton returns to the Juyongguan Pass sector of the Great Wall on Wednesday for a 23.5km individual time trial that has its ups and downs. The circuit, which features a climb and descent just beneath the wall, proved the pivotal point in the weekend's road races and will decide the victors once again on Wednesday. It begins with the gradual 12.5km climb up Badaling Pass, which averages just 4 percent as it winds to the summit. The ensuing descent, on a wide-open highway and into a headwind, is for power riders. Men race two laps, women one.

It’s easy to spot recently arrived journalists in Beijing. They’re the ones haunting the hotel lobby at 3 a.m., emailing like mad to fill the jet-lag time after a 12-hour trans-Pacific flight. By mid day, there is a crowd of new arrivals milling around the information desk at the Main Press Center (MPC), all clutching tattered maps and Chinese-English translation cards as if their lives depended on it. Around 4 p.m., the new recruits make a run on the coffee machines. Or they simply slouch in their chairs and nap. Many drool.

UCI president Pat McQuaid has called for more support from the World Anti-Doping Agency following comments by WADA president John Fahey which placed doubt on cycling's future at the Olympics. WADA chief Fahey said Monday that cycling was among several sports, including weightlifting, that risked their Olympic futures if they continue to be plagued by doping. McQuaid, speaking a day after it was announced that Spanish cyclist Maria Isobel Moreno had tested positive for EPO (erythropoietin), admitted that cycling has been left with an unwelcome legacy.

When they call Swiss time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara “Spartacus,” it hits the mark. The 27-year-old battled uphill to a well-deserved Olympic bronze in the road race on Saturday, and is ready to fight off the specialist climbers to stand two steps higher on the podium of the time trial on Wednesday. "I've been building towards the Games for a long time and I've showed with this bronze medal that I'm on great form," said Cancellara, who has a list of victories that would make any professional proud.

Spanish cyclist Maria Isobel Moreno became the first athlete to fail a doping test here at the Olympic Games, the IOC revealed on Monday. The 27-year-old tested positive for EPO having undergone the test on July 31. She left the athletes' village on the evening of the 31st before she knew of the results of the test. Giselle Davies, IOC spokeswoman, announced Moreno's positive test.

Moments after finishing her seventh Olympic Games, Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli was asked the inevitable question. Would she be back for an eighth Olympics in 2012 in London? “Well, it rains a lot in London, just like today,” the 49-year-old coyly said after finishing a solid 24th at 33 seconds back in the women’s road race under torrential rain Sunday in Beijing. With that non-denial denial, she left the door firmly wide open for a London appearance. The idea that French cycling legend might be back for an eighth Olympic Games isn’t poppycock.

Our man, Casey B. Gibson, braved a very soggy day in the Juyongguan Pass area of the Great Wall to bring you some great photos of the women's road race.

It took about 14 months for Nicole Cooke and the British cycling team to concoct a plan that would give her the best possible chance of winning an historic gold medal. But some would argue the 25-year-old Welshwoman has been preparing for an Olympic triumph all her life. Cooke on Sunday handed Britain its first gold of the Games and became the first Briton to win an Olympic road race when she beat Sweden's Emma Johansson to the finish line of the women's event here on Sunday.

Great Britain’s Nicole Cooke didn’t raise her arms in glory after uncorking a winning sprint at the end of Sunday’s rain soaked Olympic road race. The blonde Welshwoman, 25, instead let fly with an ear piercing shriek that echoed throughout the Juyongguan Pass area of China’s Great Wall.

George Hincapie is one cool character, but before starting his fifth Olympic Games on Saturday in Beijing, the veteran American broke into a sweat ahead of what’s being hailed as the hardest Olympic race ever. Why? Torrid is one word to describe conditions for what was, at 245km, the longest road race in Olympic Games history. Some were quickly calling it the most demanding as well.

On a sweltering day that saw many riders succumb to Beijing’s heat and humidity, Samuel Sanchez timed a last-minute acceleration to perfection to win the 2008 Olympic men’s road race. The Spanish climber crossed the finish line beneath China’s Great Wall just inches ahead of Italian Davide Rebellin. Swiss world time-trial champ Fabian Cancellara, who was riding without any teammates, collected the bronze.

On the eve of the women’s Olympic road race, the best female riders in the world are wondering just how the event will play out. “There’s only two circuits, so that should be enough to break it up. But it really depends on if people are willing to set a good tempo on the climb,” said American Amber Neben. “It comes down to whether people choose to actually ride. A lot of times you get the selection over the top but people aren’t willing to ride afterward so it comes back together.”

American Kristin Armstrong is making only her second appearance at the Olympic Games, but she already has a few ideas about how to improve things — particularly when it comes to the women’s road race. Although road cycling is a team sport, the Olympic format makes it more of an individual event, says the 35-year-old from Boise, Idaho.

Chris Horner believes he should be gearing up to ride in support of Levi Leipheimer in Saturday’s Olympic road race, not sitting at home with a broken collarbone. Speaking from his home in Bend, Oregon, the 36-year-old Astana rider lambasted USA Cycling for not selecting him as part of its five-man team for Beijing.

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