2008 Olympic Mountain Biking in Beijing
August 13, 2008 by Carl Martens
Filed under Events
It is said that right now all eyes are on Beijing. If this is the case then that means those of us who are fans of mountain biking should have our eyes turned to China as well. However many mountain bike enthusiasts may not realize that there is actually a reason for us to pay any attention to the 2008 Olympic Games.
While it is true that there is not much coverage of it, there is a mountain bike section to the Olympics. More correctly titled cross country cycling, this is the event where the best mountain bike riders in the world get to strut their stuff. So what exactly is this race all about?
The race will take place at Laoshan Mountain Bike Course located in Laoshan, Shijingshan District. The course includes two competition service buildings, remedy for 4.6 kilometer course and fixture for the starting and finishing areas.
The construction of the course makes use of the natural landscape of Laoshan Mountain and does not even use concrete and steel for consolidation but instead uses weaving bags with soil in them.
Olympic mountain bike races are held on courses consisting primarily of forest roads, fields and earth or gravel paths; paved and tarred roads cannot exceed 15 percent of the total course. A cross-country course includes technical descents, steep climbs, single track and river crossings. Competitors may negotiate sections of the course while riding their bike or walking alongside it. No support crews are allowed on the course, meaning riders are required to make all necessary repairs by themselves. The fields for the men’s and women’s mountain bike races will be 50 and 30, respectively. For each race, a country can have no more than three competitors; allocation is based on where nations were ranked in the world at the end of 2007.
While little other information is available I am sure that the race will go through some of the beautiful landscape that surrounds Beijing and will be worth watching. If you want to set your DVR the best schedule I could find for when the races will actually be televised is the following.
Women’s Mountain Bike
FRIDAY, AUG. 22 – DAY 14
MSNBC
5:00am – 5:00pm
Men’s Mountain Bike
SATURDAY, AUG. 23 – DAY 15
NBC and NBC HD
12:30am – 5:00pm
Find out who the U.S.A. has racing in the event
View video footage of the trail
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This post was written by:
Carl Martens - who has written 25 posts on Mountain bike product reviews, trail reviews, forum, tips, and classifieds.
Carl H. Martens is founder of Made to Order Bikes, Inc. Originally from the burbs of Chicago, IL he now resides in the city of Roswell which is located just north of Atlanta. He enjoys riding Big Creek which is just down the road from where he lives.
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Awesome….thanks for sharing guys!
Mistys last blog post..Fool’s Gold….
Looks like a great course. I rode the Olympic course here in Conyers, GA right after they opened it to the public. It was very technical, fast and a lot of climbing. Unfortunately, the way they built the trail made it not sustainable, so certain sections had to be rerouted. It still keeps the overall feel.
thanks for posting this…once again reminds me how small the world is getting that I can learn about this so easily through your site…keep info coming!
I dig this review of the event. I can’t wiat to watch it live. Thanks for putting this up!
Thanks for the info. Olympic mountain biking details have been hard to come by.
Traceys last blog post..Mountain Biking in Atlanta…and Other Places
[...] 2008 Olympic Mountain Biking in Beijing - Made to Order Bikes -… [...]
Great pics! It looks like I could rally that course on a sweet Trek 820. When is XC racing going to get more technical? Bikes are lighter, suspension is better, even technology like gravity dropper seat posts is progressing. Then why are XC trails buffed out and not rewarding riders with technical skills? But what do I know? I’m a DH racer. Have fun, you XC racer dorks.
I wonder if any presidents from other countries have ridden this course. This is really something to be proud of!
Is it just me, or does the course look kind of wimpy for Olympic level?
[...] Fumic who during one of his traning sessions attached a camera to his helmet and while riding Laoshan Mountain capturing the footage that is split into two [...]
[...] over at MTOBikes.com shot me an email last week sharing his post on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Mountain biking doesn’t get the national coverage that most of the [...]
Pics are great, but I have to agree the course looks pretty weak. Raced virtually every course in New England and technical skill was as important as physical shape every time.
Even the ‘rocky tech’ sections look so man-made it’s almost embarrassing.
Yes, the course has killer ups and some downs…but they need to throw in rocks gardens to keep people honest. It’s a roadie course, with the winner riding a cycle cross bike. It’s wide open fire road (every where) that’s been raked smooth…even the rock gardens. There should be rock strewn, bone jarring stuff to rattle the competition into submission. This is an Olympic?! The course should be for Pro level riders only!
[...] France finished one-two in the men’s mountain biking event at the Beijing Olympic games at Laoshan Mountain. [...]
[...] racer Sabine Spitz of Germany dominated Laoshan Mountain at the Olympic women’s mountain bike race Saturday, winning the gold medal by 41 seconds [...]