BBC Two: Day 16: 13.15-15.35

:01:07. > :01:14.Bicycles are built for speed, durability and comfort, with either

:01:14. > :01:18.full suspension for just front suspension, known as hardtail. In

:01:18. > :01:23.total, 80 athletes will compete for two gold medals. There are 50

:01:23. > :01:29.riders in the men's event and 30 in the women's. Each event begins with

:01:29. > :01:37.a mass start. Starting positions are predetermined by world ranking.

:01:37. > :01:40.The first to cross the line wins the gold medal. Each lap of the

:01:40. > :01:45.course is 4.7 kilometres long. Each race takes a minimum of 90 minutes

:01:45. > :01:52.to complete. During the race, the riders are presented with optional

:01:52. > :01:58.routes. The more direct and dangerous A route or at the safer

:01:58. > :02:06.but considerably slower B route. Into tall riders will climb 1204

:02:06. > :02:10.metres in the men's race. -- in total. It is 1032 metres in the

:02:10. > :02:12.women's race. If you like to get involved in Olympic sports, go to

:02:12. > :02:17.the BBC website for more information.

:02:17. > :02:20.This course is undeniably tough going for the athletes. It is an

:02:20. > :02:26.endurance race but they have to spread. They have to be tactical

:02:26. > :02:31.and gutsy. It is also tough going for the bicycles. Yes, it is. It is

:02:31. > :02:36.a man-made obstacle course and the obstacles are made up of rocks and

:02:36. > :02:39.boulders, literally boulders. It will be costly if they fall. They

:02:39. > :02:42.are carbon-fibre frames and if they hit one of them side on, it could

:02:42. > :02:47.be the end of the race. They get a puncture, they can repair it

:02:47. > :02:53.themselves but if there is something more serious, then there

:02:53. > :02:57.is a technology zone. Yes. If they have another problem then they have

:02:57. > :03:00.to get round to the technical zone. If they are on the other side of

:03:00. > :03:03.the course, they have to run the bicycle around and that is the only

:03:04. > :03:09.place they can do it. By they have to finish on a bicycle that they

:03:09. > :03:15.started on? Yes, at the core bicycle cannot be changed. But you

:03:15. > :03:21.can make minor repairs. I think personally mountain biking is where

:03:21. > :03:24.marginal gains started. They are obsessed with equipment. Large

:03:24. > :03:28.wheels, weight, because the weight is everything in mountain-biking.

:03:28. > :03:36.The frames that we are seeing are arriving without paint to lose 60

:03:36. > :03:44.grams. I have lost out of a number of people that think that red paint

:03:44. > :03:47.is the heaviest. I suffer from terminal sarcasm. Red paint is not

:03:47. > :03:52.the heaviest. That could be a complete fake but one thing he is

:03:52. > :04:02.not lying about is that if you fall off, it really hurts. I can vouch

:04:02. > :04:23.

:04:23. > :04:33.Posh! -- push. Can you see that rock? That is unbelievable.

:04:33. > :04:37.have that, which is horrendous. think that I am hard Benali but

:04:37. > :04:44.this is not helping. The fear factor is that you start to shake.

:04:44. > :04:50.The really scary obstacles. It is a tough sport. I imagine that is why

:04:50. > :04:54.it is addictive. The buzz you get is really good and that is why

:04:54. > :05:04.people come back to it. Come to the middle and end for the outside of

:05:04. > :05:05.

:05:05. > :05:09.this turn. You are shaking! The feeling you have got now is no

:05:09. > :05:13.different to what the athletes experience. Nervous, the first day

:05:13. > :05:17.on an Olympic course, they want to get it right. You need to let the

:05:17. > :05:27.bike ride. It is like a roller- coaster, it never quite stops,

:05:27. > :05:32.

:05:32. > :05:42.always flowing. OK, let's do this! Nice and slow. Let it roll. Are you

:05:42. > :05:52.all right? Yes. We got over it! I want to do it again. Really? I want

:05:52. > :06:29.

:06:29. > :06:39.to get it right. Where my own worst times and I done similar things to

:06:39. > :06:44.

:06:44. > :06:48.Obviously, I make that looks spectacularly difficult. Remember,

:06:48. > :06:55.as yesterday proved, the nation is hanging on your every word. Is

:06:55. > :06:58.there something you would do? a really nasty course. I generally

:06:58. > :07:01.deal with crashes by closing my eyes and hasn't worked out too well

:07:01. > :07:08.for me in the past so I would be a danger to myself and everybody else

:07:09. > :07:14.for supper how does this course compare? You tend think of mountain

:07:14. > :07:21.biking happening here. The boulders and rocks have been planted on the

:07:21. > :07:25.course. Not embedded, so we can see the difficulty, and the open nature

:07:25. > :07:29.has let us see it on television very well. 500 tons of rock have

:07:29. > :07:31.been used on this course and after the Olympics it will be open to the

:07:32. > :07:36.public so anybody at home thinking they could do that, well, you will

:07:36. > :07:42.be able to do that. The women's race was here yesterday and today

:07:42. > :07:48.it's the turn of the men. Liam Killeen is going for Team GB. Sadly

:07:49. > :07:53.he's not one of the hot favourite. No, he isn't. 5th was his best

:07:53. > :07:58.result at the Olympic Games last time. He had a crash. He will have

:07:58. > :08:01.to go some way to recover that type of form. Having said that, he's in

:08:02. > :08:07.really good shape at the moment so fingers crossed for him but I think

:08:07. > :08:14.we are looking at Julian Absolom, why think is the best. That could

:08:14. > :08:18.be his third gold. Yes, he has been beaten this year. For me, I think

:08:18. > :08:22.that experience might shine through today. Whatever happens here this

:08:23. > :08:28.afternoon, this has proved a fantastic place to showcase the

:08:29. > :08:35.sport. Some of the hardest race and you will see is a mountain biking.

:08:35. > :08:41.The riders are lining up. A very, very close field here. A fantastic

:08:41. > :08:47.start. She is going to be very, very happy. This is exactly the

:08:47. > :08:53.start she wanted here. The USA and France pushing. Such a fast ascent

:08:53. > :08:56.are there for some very, very interesting race so far. USA. She

:08:56. > :09:03.is stretching it now and keeps getting more and more comfortable

:09:03. > :09:12.as the race goes on. Along the way on at the moment. She is setting an

:09:12. > :09:17.incredible pace here. She's really struggling it right now. You can

:09:17. > :09:24.see the war of attrition is starting to take its toll. Gritting

:09:24. > :09:28.her teeth, and got stuck in. She is desperate to claim the silver medal.

:09:28. > :09:33.This woman has been emphatic, almost an hour-and-a-half now, she

:09:33. > :09:38.has dominated this race. Don't take any risks now. You have got this

:09:38. > :09:43.one in the bag. She's really starting to thump at the pedals

:09:43. > :09:48.there. She's having the right of her life, the young American. It's

:09:48. > :09:53.not over by any means. Such an incredible pace here. A huge lead

:09:53. > :09:59.now, and she is starting to drive that bite. The battle now is for

:09:59. > :10:05.bronze and silver. -- bike. The perfect race for the USA. She is

:10:05. > :10:11.blowing kisses. The first a British rider since 2002 qualifiers. We'll

:10:11. > :10:16.be hearing a lot more about her. I'm joined by her and the last now,

:10:16. > :10:19.who finished 8th yesterday. People are getting so excited about you

:10:19. > :10:23.because you are the real Olympic event to go here in the first place,

:10:23. > :10:27.the only person chasing points, so to get a place for the nation you

:10:27. > :10:31.had to race so much in the run-up to this, didn't you? For the past

:10:31. > :10:35.two years, every race has had Olympic qualification points, so I

:10:35. > :10:41.spent two years chasing points, doing lots of racing trying to get

:10:41. > :10:49.results to get a place to race here. You came in here in great form. Was

:10:49. > :10:54.Definitely. The crowd yesterday was absolutely incredible. Such an

:10:54. > :10:57.amazing experience. I'm really happy with my race, as well, and I

:10:57. > :11:02.gave it everything and put myself in the race from the start which is

:11:02. > :11:06.what I wanted to do. I died of a bit at the end they did all I could.

:11:06. > :11:10.That's all I could say I'm really happy. I owe you an apology because

:11:10. > :11:14.I stuck his microphone and your nose yesterday and you're desperate

:11:14. > :11:19.for a drink, so thank you for talking to us. Your grandparents

:11:19. > :11:22.live here so were the watching you? Yes, and Dale 10 minutes away from

:11:22. > :11:26.the course and they had been excited. -- they live 10 minutes

:11:26. > :11:31.away from the course. Loads of my family and friends came down and

:11:31. > :11:35.get tickets. It's great to be able to do an Olympic race in front of

:11:36. > :11:40.that many people who support you. All the way through the race

:11:40. > :11:43.yesterday, Chris Boardman said, technically, you're one of the best

:11:43. > :11:48.in the world. You took the hardest and fastest line through the race

:11:48. > :11:53.but physically, you can work on that because it's an endurance race

:11:53. > :12:02.what lends itself to the older riders. Yes, definitely. Especially

:12:02. > :12:06.in the women's race, it is like the older riders, because it's almost

:12:06. > :12:10.like an endurance thing, you have to have the ability to do lots of

:12:10. > :12:17.powerful efforts repeatedly, so the older women definitely seem to be

:12:17. > :12:22.to do it. Yet, a few more years. will watch you in at Rio with our

:12:22. > :12:31.fingers crossed. Liam Killeen is behind us. You have been sharing a

:12:31. > :12:35.house with him, how has he? He's in great shape. A physically, he looks

:12:35. > :12:40.in really good shape, so if it all goes right today, I think he will

:12:40. > :12:48.have a good ride. These big competitions, he always seems to

:12:48. > :12:54.pour out a good result. He looks happy. And in good shape, so yes.

:12:54. > :12:58.Has he given you any words of wisdom? Yes, and he so relaxed and

:12:59. > :13:05.confident and experienced. It's great to be able to learn from

:13:05. > :13:08.somebody who knows what to do. Yes, it's nice to have someone confident.

:13:09. > :13:12.Your race is on the final week of the Olympics for the are you going

:13:12. > :13:18.to get to enjoy the village tonight and the closing ceremony?

:13:18. > :13:23.Absolutely. We're going to the village for a closing ceremony. Get

:13:23. > :13:26.a bit of the atmosphere. Fingers crossed you enjoy that tonight and

:13:26. > :13:31.this course is going to be open to the public after the Olympics but

:13:31. > :13:33.right now it is time for the men's Olympic event. Liam Killeen going

:13:33. > :13:43.Olympic event. Liam Killeen going for Team GB. It's time to hand you

:13:43. > :13:50.

:13:50. > :13:57.up. Three big names we are looking at today. Julian Absolom, reigning

:13:57. > :14:02.Olympic champion. The 2012 world champion, and then a competitor

:14:02. > :14:04.from the Czech Republic. All of them are are very, very close in

:14:04. > :14:09.ability and a lot of people are saying it's going to be incredibly

:14:09. > :14:13.tight. The Allied been speaking to members of the British team to see

:14:13. > :14:17.what they think and the jury seems to be out. It's not a wide-open

:14:17. > :14:21.race but is about 10 people who could take this title. Julian

:14:21. > :14:26.Absolom, four-times world champion, he could make it three gold medals

:14:27. > :14:31.in a row. He has been beaten in the intervening four years, but one of

:14:31. > :14:39.the test event a year ago, and, for me, I think that experience might

:14:39. > :14:44.shine through. He was so young, 23 Uzzell, -- 23 years old when he won

:14:44. > :14:49.his first medal and Ben had pressure heaped on him in Beijing.

:14:49. > :14:53.He's coming here very, very relaxed. They are heading to the start and

:14:53. > :15:00.this is a very important part of the race. Liam Killeen it is on the

:15:00. > :15:05.4th row. Close enough to the front. They go around the start Look which

:15:05. > :15:10.helps to thin it them out a little bit before they go straight up a

:15:10. > :15:15.climb and on to the first technical section. I think it will be jam-

:15:15. > :15:22.packed full of people. There will certainly be some crashes. It's

:15:22. > :15:25.very important, this first couple commentators in giving his 15

:15:25. > :15:35.seconds to go now. The riders are already putting pressure on the

:15:35. > :15:43.

:15:43. > :15:49.pedal waiting to get away and they And the Swiss just behind him. They

:15:49. > :15:54.are very good. Number 18 has just gone down. That was Max from Canada.

:15:54. > :16:01.He went down and a number of people struggled to get around him. But

:16:01. > :16:04.the Swiss, what the start for Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel. We did

:16:04. > :16:09.not know if his team-mates were coming here, possibly to support

:16:09. > :16:13.him. And there are other factors to take into account. These riders

:16:13. > :16:19.ride as teams together, so there are lots of alliances that could be

:16:19. > :16:22.fought. Nino Schurter was a medallist in the last Olympic Games

:16:22. > :16:26.and he would desperately like to improve on that bronze. Look at the

:16:27. > :16:33.way he is powering through this straight onto the first climb. They

:16:33. > :16:41.are just approaching trouble trouble. This is where one of the

:16:41. > :16:45.favourites failed yesterday. -- Triple Trouble. Nino Schurter is

:16:45. > :16:49.the first man down it. All of the men are opting for the steeper,

:16:49. > :16:53.more technical route. It is faster. The couple are going down the

:16:53. > :16:58.middle and a couple down the easier third route. It keeps them out of

:16:58. > :17:02.traffic as they fly down here. The test event was held and then they

:17:02. > :17:05.made some changes. They found that everybody was using the same track,

:17:05. > :17:08.so now there are three routes on the technical sections, which are

:17:08. > :17:12.made harder, so you benefit more from taking that risk and having

:17:12. > :17:17.greater skill. Sometimes it is better to take one of the longer

:17:17. > :17:21.sections just because of the amount of traffic. You can see why it is

:17:21. > :17:27.so important to get a good start. Deanes Drop out of the way for the

:17:27. > :17:37.leaders. Nino Schurter up in front. Right behind him, his country man,

:17:37. > :17:42.

:17:42. > :17:45.stretch out. It is almost impossible not to if you look at

:17:45. > :17:49.the nature of the course. They have actually widened it to allow

:17:49. > :17:54.passing since the tester bed. I don't think anybody is going to get

:17:54. > :18:04.passed on some of these do sense. Just as I say that, that is exactly

:18:04. > :18:08.

:18:08. > :18:13.what happened! I think that was the of these rocky sections then

:18:13. > :18:17.everybody else can be held up and can lose 10 or 15 seconds. It is

:18:17. > :18:22.hard to recover because there are no flat sections. They either go

:18:22. > :18:27.down or up. One of the biggest talking points coming into the race

:18:27. > :18:34.is the size of the wheels. The three big names that women should,

:18:34. > :18:40.Julien Absalon, Nino Schurter and Harvey, all on different wheel

:18:40. > :18:43.sizes. -- the three big names that we mentioned. They all have

:18:43. > :18:53.hardtail, suspended at the rear, and we can see how important that

:18:53. > :18:53.

:18:54. > :18:56.is. Even in the start look already the pressure is starting to tell.

:18:56. > :19:03.The South African is quite young and people are expecting big things

:19:03. > :19:07.from him. We are certainly expecting big things from him, one

:19:07. > :19:11.of the pre-race favourites, for sure. 29 inch wheels is the new

:19:11. > :19:16.fashion in the sport of mountain biking. They go faster over the

:19:16. > :19:20.rough terrain. They don't go down the rocks, they go over them, but

:19:20. > :19:27.the downside is the extra weight. And that is why you do not want it,

:19:27. > :19:31.right at the edge, rotational weight. Suspension, too. Some

:19:31. > :19:36.riders are still choosing to come with a heavier full suspension

:19:36. > :19:42.bicycles with suspension at the rear as well. One of those is

:19:42. > :19:47.Jaroslav pull Harvey. He is a monster of a man. -- Jaroslav

:19:47. > :19:51.Kulhavy. He had a wonderful year in 2011, crushing everybody with solo

:19:51. > :19:56.victories. Not so dominant this year. The debate around that has

:19:56. > :20:01.been whether he has been saving himself for the Games. Nino

:20:01. > :20:05.Schurter's approach has been dedicating the entire year to

:20:05. > :20:09.getting his bike and his fitness in the right place to get this gold

:20:09. > :20:13.medal. I was just speaking to Annie Last from Great Britain a few

:20:13. > :20:23.moments ago. A lot of these riders, their job is to be very fit for a

:20:23. > :20:26.whole year. In an Olympic year does about peaking at one -- it is about

:20:26. > :20:32.peaking at one specific moment. That is a fantastic shot. You can

:20:32. > :20:42.see how strong at the field is already. Big gaps already. -- how

:20:42. > :20:49.

:20:49. > :20:54.guys at the front are riding flat out now. There is just so much

:20:54. > :20:58.pressure. You talk about the stress and the strain on the bikes. This

:20:58. > :21:04.speed, this terrain, at any moment a puncture can happen. It is very

:21:04. > :21:08.likely. Undoubtedly two or three people will suffer punches

:21:08. > :21:13.throughout this. If it happens in the top group, there is only one

:21:13. > :21:16.place that you can stop, the technical zone. If you are 20

:21:16. > :21:21.metres past it, you have got to go round. You cannot go backwards into

:21:21. > :21:25.it. Yesterday in the women's race, we saw riders walking with bicycles

:21:25. > :21:29.that were punctured. They have to get them round to the other side of

:21:29. > :21:33.the course. I think it is all over if you have a major problem and you

:21:33. > :21:37.cannot fix it yourself. These riders to take small canisters to

:21:37. > :21:43.reinflate their tyres if they punter. They have a substance in it,

:21:43. > :21:47.liquid latex, which seals small punctures, but on a case like this,

:21:47. > :21:57.they will normally be pinched punctures, long as splits, and they

:21:57. > :22:15.

:22:15. > :22:25.Schurter in second. Italy in 5th, Poland in 6th, Julien Absalon in

:22:25. > :22:26.

:22:26. > :22:30.8th place at the moment. Manuel Fumic is an interesting prospect.

:22:30. > :22:34.He is 9th in the rankings but he was really fighting for the bronze

:22:34. > :22:38.medal in Beijing and he just missed out. He knows that he is capable

:22:38. > :22:42.and top 10 in the world rankings says that the 31 year-old German is

:22:42. > :22:48.definitely in the race. He was swapping turns on the front a few

:22:48. > :22:52.moments ago with Nino Schurter. We can expect to see him on good form

:22:52. > :23:00.today with Olympic experience already behind him. They are out on

:23:00. > :23:08.the road, overlooking Canvey Island. That looks like a big move from

:23:08. > :23:13.Jaroslav Kulhavy. He pushed his way out in front. Jaroslav Kulhavy was

:23:13. > :23:17.not sure whether to go for hardtail or full suspension, having the

:23:17. > :23:22.choice of both. Most riders have gone for hardtail despite the rocky

:23:22. > :23:28.course because of the hilly nature, wanting to save some word. The Leap

:23:28. > :23:38.of Faith, the long drop into the flat Derbyshire gritstone that has

:23:38. > :23:39.

:23:39. > :23:42.been imported, 500 tons of it. 3500 tons, crushed. With this weather it

:23:42. > :23:48.is a really difficult course with lots of loose stone on top of it.

:23:48. > :23:52.It would be totally different if it was wet. This is very much about

:23:52. > :23:56.technical skill and the ability to keep the pressure on all the time.

:23:56. > :24:00.You get some riders that are very skilful, not necessarily the best

:24:00. > :24:07.physically. They get to a car on the downhill sections while other

:24:07. > :24:15.people are catching up. -- they get to recover. Here it is non-stop all

:24:15. > :24:20.of the way. You can see how robust the bicycles have got to be. They

:24:20. > :24:25.drive them over those rocks. Some of those Raynesway just 500 grams,

:24:25. > :24:35.less than a bag of sugar, and they can take a pounding like that. --

:24:35. > :24:36.

:24:36. > :24:42.some of those frames away 500 grams. They make it look so smooth. Into

:24:42. > :24:49.the Breath Taker, the biggest climb on the course. Nino Schurter are

:24:49. > :24:54.leaving, Jaroslav Kulhavy in second. -- Nino Schurter leading. You have

:24:54. > :25:00.been looking into the potential for single rings. It looks like a lot

:25:00. > :25:06.of the riders... Hold that thought. You can see the potential damage is

:25:06. > :25:09.horrendous on the rocks. We have seen the view the riders get

:25:09. > :25:14.through the Roock Garden and there is a route but it is less than one

:25:14. > :25:19.foot right. If you get it right, it is straight through but if it is

:25:19. > :25:24.wrong, it is a disaster. It is not falling on to soft pine needles. It

:25:24. > :25:30.is a harsh penalty for making a mistake. Lots of these riders have

:25:30. > :25:39.dropped one chain will on their crack. You have only got 11 years.

:25:39. > :25:45.-- 1 chain wheels on their crank. You have only got 11 peers. Every

:25:45. > :25:53.gram of weight is important. They are going at slow speeds, less than

:25:53. > :26:01.30 mph, so it is about the power- to-weight ratio. They will save

:26:01. > :26:05.every ground they can. Some people have come a cropper. Julien Absalon

:26:05. > :26:10.is a long way down, which is quite a surprise. We have seen him do

:26:10. > :26:20.this before, letting the others fight it out. It was the same in

:26:20. > :26:20.

:26:20. > :26:24.the women's rice with that parade - in the women's race with that

:26:24. > :26:33.courageous start by Annie Last. If you go too fast then it does start

:26:33. > :26:38.to tell. I think it was Manuel Fumic who went down then. No. 7.

:26:38. > :26:43.Difficult over the rocks. You have to get it absolutely right.

:26:43. > :26:52.Otherwise they are struggling over that section. Very interesting. I

:26:52. > :26:57.think some of the Spanish are starting to move. They were

:26:57. > :27:03.critical of the course when it was released but after the changes,

:27:03. > :27:06.they have apologised. Lots of people have said it is one of the

:27:07. > :27:11.best Olympic courses ever constructed. I think it is the best

:27:11. > :27:16.that I have seen. I have witnessed a few and tried some out, but this

:27:16. > :27:20.one from every aspect, it is what they call a short course format,

:27:20. > :27:27.the five kilometres loop. It was introduced to give more value for

:27:27. > :27:31.money to the customer, really, the spectators. The laps. I think they

:27:31. > :27:36.will be 13 minutes long, give or take. They get to see the riders a

:27:36. > :27:40.lot and without the trees, you can stand at one vantage point and the

:27:40. > :27:44.70% of the course, which is very unusual. It has allowed us to bring

:27:44. > :27:53.these fantastic images because we have great camera access. This very

:27:53. > :27:59.short, steep drop into the start arena. Still very close. Not much

:27:59. > :28:09.distance between each rider. Jaroslav Kulhavy makes a little

:28:09. > :28:13.

:28:13. > :28:18.Schurter. It is quite a gap back to the others. We are surprised to see

:28:18. > :28:23.Julien Absalon so far back. Looking at the top of our screens, they are

:28:23. > :28:27.coming in front of us now, probably 20 seconds back. Very much all to

:28:27. > :28:32.play for, but he would not want to be in this position. These three

:28:32. > :28:39.have got clear daylight. When you know just how powerful two of those

:28:39. > :28:49.riders are, as well. The Italian, Marco Fontana, moving very well. A

:28:49. > :29:11.

:29:11. > :29:15.couple of people have talked about Killeen of Great Britain as well.

:29:15. > :29:23.He is known to be a steady start and he works his way back through

:29:23. > :29:27.the field. Just coming in front of us now. He loves the challenge. In

:29:27. > :29:37.24th, 44 seconds off the pace at the moment. I think he will improve

:29:37. > :29:43.

:29:43. > :29:53.on that as the race goes on. It is manner we mistook for Julien

:29:53. > :29:53.

:29:53. > :29:58.Absalon is actually Tempier. Julien Absalon is actually in 27th. It

:29:58. > :30:01.looks like there is something up with his bicycle, already. We will

:30:01. > :30:07.have to seize and images of that because he's one of the most

:30:07. > :30:17.consistent guys in the world. There must be because of some kind of

:30:17. > :30:19.

:30:19. > :30:28.misapprehension. Maybe he's a punter. -- At the puncture. He is

:30:28. > :30:38.sitting in second. The Spaniard, just behind him. I think we had a

:30:38. > :30:40.

:30:40. > :30:48.we will see some riders pulled out of this race. They will be

:30:48. > :30:52.enforcing the 80% rule. The first full lap. Take that time. Anybody

:30:52. > :31:02.more than 80% of that behind will be pulled out of the race. They

:31:02. > :31:09.

:31:09. > :31:13.don't want any interference with the bottom of Dean strop. We can

:31:13. > :31:19.hear that over the public announcement system here. Let's see

:31:19. > :31:26.if we can get some replay images of that. He's trying to close the gap

:31:26. > :31:29.on the top three. He looks in control, as well. Jaroslav Kulhavy.

:31:29. > :31:39.The expression on his face is not have some body absolutely on the

:31:39. > :31:40.

:31:40. > :31:45.limit. A bit of puffing and blowing from Fontana. I spoke to the

:31:45. > :31:50.grandfather of European cross- country mountain biking and he said

:31:50. > :31:57.his nasal passages have been drilled earlier in the air so he

:31:57. > :32:01.can get more oxygen into it. It is an extreme sport, really. Mountain

:32:01. > :32:04.bikers are the kings of detail. There's not an answer fat on them

:32:04. > :32:14.because everything they had got to carry, they are weight obsessed

:32:14. > :32:23.

:32:23. > :32:31.its 90-100 mm of travel. A slightly harder than they normally would to

:32:32. > :32:39.cope. Very rocky technical sections. As they come off are those, it's

:32:39. > :32:45.very odd. I have not come across that until recently. Very, very

:32:45. > :32:49.unnerving, I'd imagine, to get used to the feeling. And the idea you

:32:49. > :32:59.only have a bar down one side of the wheel. It doesn't look right at

:32:59. > :33:05.

:33:05. > :33:14.think this is my favourite cycling shot of the Games. Phenomenal.

:33:14. > :33:24.Snake Hole. It gives you a good idea of how the fielders spaced. --

:33:24. > :33:28.

:33:28. > :33:34.the field is spaced. At 20,000 station. A little bit of a gap over

:33:34. > :33:39.Fontana and they will spot that. He just wasn't quite on the wheel.

:33:39. > :33:49.They will look to exploited where they can. The three of them are

:33:49. > :34:05.

:34:05. > :34:08.inch wheel. The 650 be, as it's known. The 29 inch wheel, Jaroslav

:34:09. > :34:18.Kulhavy is riding. They come out of a section for the second time on

:34:19. > :34:28.

:34:28. > :34:36.Barry Stander. They come back towards the rock garden. Barry

:34:36. > :34:40.Stander, just 24, the under 23 world champion in 2009. He came

:34:40. > :34:45.15th in Beijing. That is Liam Killeen and it looks like he's out

:34:45. > :34:51.of the race. He's not getting up in a hurry. Holding his ankle, by the

:34:51. > :34:56.looks of it there. That is the day over for Britain's Liam Killean,

:34:56. > :35:02.such is the hazards of mountain biking. We have seen it broken

:35:02. > :35:06.bones in training, so not for the faint-hearted. It will be open to

:35:06. > :35:10.the public after this but they will be taking out a lot of the Bill did

:35:11. > :35:20.sections. It also will be a challenging course, though. --

:35:21. > :35:27.

:35:27. > :35:34.little bit. They have been pegged at the same distance, so it's not

:35:34. > :35:37.over yet. These three will not walk away with this. Jaroslav Kulhavy

:35:37. > :35:43.knew was going to be a fast start and made reference to it. He said

:35:43. > :35:49.it was going to be so, so hard to keep the pace up. The that was just

:35:50. > :35:58.ridiculous. You can see the way they slide their wheels into the

:35:59. > :36:05.ground. And they're so used to it. Using all of the travel. I can't

:36:05. > :36:13.ride that quick on tarmac. And then straight into driving up the next

:36:13. > :36:16.hole. It's a brutal form of racing, isn't it? We were talking yesterday

:36:16. > :36:20.about the difficult physical characteristics of mountain-bike

:36:20. > :36:26.riders. They have to be super skinny to be able to cope with the

:36:26. > :36:35.climbing they have to do. But they're also very powerful. Their

:36:35. > :36:41.actual top-end power is not massive but in terms of tall, it is equal

:36:41. > :36:45.to track sprinters we see. -- in terms of speed. Then you put it

:36:45. > :36:52.together with the technical skill, the battering their body takes over

:36:52. > :37:02.terrain like this, and you have it. Phenomenal speed carried through

:37:02. > :37:03.

:37:03. > :37:08.the rock garden there. Six or seven bike lengths ahead, Schurter. On

:37:08. > :37:13.Tanner on his tail, at his second Olympics. -- Fontana. You can't

:37:13. > :37:19.afford to give away much distance because they have to drive to catch

:37:19. > :37:23.back up all the time. Making an effort to bridge the gap. Technical

:37:23. > :37:29.excellence really pays off on a course like this also a bunny hop

:37:29. > :37:39.there to get over those big boulders. A slightly quicker line.

:37:39. > :37:54.

:37:54. > :38:00.has drawn up the back wheel of Schurter back in. Fontana doing so

:38:00. > :38:07.well to stay with the pack. You can see how big he is in comparison

:38:07. > :38:12.with Schurter. He's a little bit lighter. You can see the difference

:38:12. > :38:19.in wheel sizes as they come back past us there. We're talking about

:38:19. > :38:25.the diameter of the wheel. Barry Stander, not too far behind here.

:38:25. > :38:27.The left-hand side there, the small pink tassels. The organisers of not

:38:28. > :38:37.Barry at the whole course. They want to make sure it's accessible

:38:38. > :38:46.

:38:46. > :38:51.for the public and there cannot -- You can see just how open it is. It

:38:51. > :38:55.really is great for the spectators. 20,000 tickets sold for the women's

:38:55. > :39:04.race yesterday. Sold out on both occasions and, with at this weather,

:39:04. > :39:09.everybody gets their money's worth. We've seen a couple of people,

:39:09. > :39:14.coming out and doing the Tour de France. Some road cycling. How

:39:14. > :39:21.difficult is it for them to transfer? It's a tough transition.

:39:21. > :39:31.A flat tyre. There's nothing he can do about it. Looks like he has no

:39:31. > :39:34.option but to reinflate. A bit tense to be a split. The self-

:39:34. > :39:40.sealing fluid in the small canister they carry, just can't cope with

:39:40. > :39:45.the size of it, so he will have to run his bicycle back to the

:39:45. > :39:54.technical area to get assistance. He was at the bottom of the hole.

:39:54. > :39:59.He's got some work to do. I think, on a race like this, it's only an

:39:59. > :40:02.hour-and-a-half long, he might want to get around to say he's finished

:40:02. > :40:07.the Olympic mountain bike race and see if he can pick up some places

:40:07. > :40:14.but, for him, I think it's all over now. But 80% rule being applied,

:40:14. > :40:20.that's going to be so small on one of these races. He's going to have

:40:20. > :40:28.to run pretty quick. The Spaniard and the South Africa and are

:40:28. > :40:33.starting to push hard to join at this lead group. They come into

:40:33. > :40:43.this last is gentle climate around the Olympic rings. And then they

:40:43. > :40:54.

:40:54. > :41:02.drop down. On to the finish line. de France and then the Olympics a

:41:02. > :41:07.few weeks later. It's quite a change of pace, isn't it? Mountain

:41:07. > :41:13.bikers tend to be the very best athletes, and we can see why.

:41:13. > :41:23.Jaroslav Kulhavy just took a little look back but I think there is a

:41:23. > :41:23.

:41:23. > :41:30.threat from a Barry stand-off. He has gone from 16 seconds on the

:41:30. > :41:35.last lap. He has shaved six seconds off. He is gently applying pressure.

:41:35. > :41:42.He has the experience, doesn't he? You have got to pace yourself like

:41:42. > :41:49.this. You can't go into the red. He has lots of experience. 24 years of

:41:49. > :41:55.age. The champion in 2009. The World Cup this year. Patiently

:41:55. > :42:00.working his way up the ranks. His British coach at him down as his

:42:00. > :42:06.dark horse for the race. He wanted to see what he could do. At the

:42:06. > :42:11.moment, it is two of the three big names who are thrown around which

:42:11. > :42:19.league this race. Jaroslav Kulhavy from the Czech Republic. He is a

:42:19. > :42:29.big man with a lot of power. He is just holding a lead over the Swiss

:42:29. > :42:30.

:42:30. > :42:37.rider, Nino Schurter. He took a bronze in Beijing. Julien Absalon

:42:37. > :42:42.is the man to beat in London 2012. He knew how good he would become.

:42:42. > :42:46.We haven't seen sight of him yet, actually. We will have to keep an

:42:46. > :42:51.eye out for you. He was clearly having problems in the race. It's

:42:51. > :42:57.not physical form, that's for sure. You said he came through the line

:42:57. > :43:01.are looking at his bike. They are using at the flat to quickly take a

:43:01. > :43:06.drink. 90 minutes of racing. They have got to stay on top of their

:43:06. > :43:09.hydration. They will pick up a bottles and a technical zone. They

:43:10. > :43:16.weren't Carrie what they need for the race because it will weigh them

:43:16. > :43:22.down. -- they won't carry what they need. Sometimes they will squeeze

:43:22. > :43:30.it over their heads and legs, as well. Over low speeds, they don't

:43:30. > :43:37.cool down. We've just had confirmation now the that Julien

:43:37. > :43:47.Absalon, we have lost at the reigning Olympic gold medallist.

:43:47. > :43:49.

:43:49. > :43:54.Number 48, didn't start the race, the German, Robert Forstemann. One

:43:54. > :44:04.of the biggest, be fierce to buy cried as you have ever seen. He

:44:04. > :44:23.

:44:23. > :44:31.rides for less than a minute. He disciplines. Hermida driving up.

:44:31. > :44:37.Liam Killean, two ride is unfortunately not finishing. -- two

:44:37. > :44:44.riders. I think that is effectively the end of his Olympic career. Lots

:44:44. > :44:50.of young talent coming up behind. A solid bike rider in the sport for

:44:50. > :45:00.many years now. I'm not sure he will manage to maintain his

:45:00. > :45:02.

:45:03. > :45:12.position as number one through to haven't they? And they have been

:45:13. > :45:25.

:45:25. > :45:30.able to have a breather. Two behind, this is not confirmed, but there is

:45:30. > :45:34.a suspected broken ankle for Liam Killean, so a very sad end to his

:45:34. > :45:38.day. Our thoughts are with him. Not a great way to finish your Olympic

:45:38. > :45:43.career. It's just the nature of the mountain bike race, fast and

:45:43. > :45:47.furious. These things happen, and this course, more than any other

:45:47. > :45:51.Olympic course I have seen, is very, very technically demanding. It's

:45:51. > :45:56.one of the things you find with a lot of sports like this. They make

:45:56. > :46:00.it look so easy that you don't remember how difficult it is. But

:46:01. > :46:10.you only need one injury like that, something very small goes wrong,

:46:11. > :46:13.

:46:13. > :46:17.normally if you make a technical mistake, and it is a natural course,

:46:17. > :46:23.then you run off and hit the ground and maybe there is gravel, grass,

:46:23. > :46:28.pine needles and you have a chance of getting away with it. Because it

:46:28. > :46:33.is completely man-made here, it is all stone. Every obstacle has been

:46:33. > :46:37.brought in. We have said it before already, it is very unforgiving.

:46:37. > :46:44.You get it right, you fly over it, that is why there have been

:46:44. > :46:48.commenting that it is very fast. But people have linked fast with

:46:48. > :46:58.being easy. It is anything but. you said before, absolutely

:46:58. > :46:59.

:46:59. > :47:04.relentless. Jaroslav Kulhavy just making a move on Nino Schurter.

:47:04. > :47:09.Through the Rabbit Hole. Underneath the course, out of the technical

:47:09. > :47:16.zone. You can see Nino Schurter just out of the saddle. A couple

:47:16. > :47:23.more cranks to get his speed up. He is right on Jaroslav Kulhavy's

:47:23. > :47:28.wheel. It is probably the end of Julien Absalon's career now. An

:47:28. > :47:34.incredible record. The four times World Champion, looking for his

:47:34. > :47:38.third Olympic title. It was not to be. His day is over. It is almost

:47:38. > :47:47.certainly the end of an era of French domination in Men's mountain

:47:47. > :47:52.biking at least. They took the gold medal yesterday. I think it was the

:47:52. > :47:58.French Martinez who won in 2000 and then Julien Absalon has had 2004

:47:58. > :48:03.and also 2008, and it was only introduced in 1996. Their new

:48:03. > :48:08.nation will be celebrating almost certainly at the end of today. -- a

:48:08. > :48:10.new nation. He led the French team well. He has said he will race for

:48:10. > :48:15.another two years professionally and he has signed those contracts

:48:15. > :48:22.already but he expects this to be his last Olympic Games. The Leap of

:48:22. > :48:26.Faith for the leading group now. Flying down that. You come off one

:48:26. > :48:30.of the huge drops and you are straight into another climb. Look

:48:30. > :48:34.at the confidence that takes. You can see that slow-motion shot,

:48:34. > :48:39.showing why they have such hard suspension. If they bottom out,

:48:39. > :48:43.they tip the weight forward and it can make you go over the top. Extra

:48:43. > :48:48.hard suspension today. They are all using remote lock out as well,

:48:48. > :48:54.worth mentioning. You can see the suspension systems. There is a

:48:54. > :48:59.button on the handle, it sometimes electronic, normally hydraulic, and

:48:59. > :49:02.it looks it out. You get out of the saddle to drive up the climb so you

:49:02. > :49:11.do not get that bobbing effect and then they can a market for the

:49:11. > :49:21.rocky section. As soon as it starts bobbing it is soaking up energy.

:49:21. > :49:27.

:49:27. > :49:31.they can a market for the rocky seem to be following in each

:49:31. > :49:39.other's tracks. I think it is amazing that you can find these

:49:39. > :49:49.bicycles that take this battering and still way so little. They are

:49:49. > :50:00.

:50:00. > :50:05.about �93 macro in -- 93 pounds in Schurter has focused everything he

:50:05. > :50:15.has got on this Olympics. It is the one thing missing for him. He wants

:50:15. > :50:17.

:50:17. > :50:23.this so desperately. A lot of these riders have said... Well, the World

:50:23. > :50:27.Championships have been compared to to the Pulitzer Prize and the

:50:27. > :50:31.Olympics are like the Oscars. You get the recognition of your peers

:50:31. > :50:36.but the recognition from the wider world for the Olympics. That is

:50:36. > :50:40.what Nino Schurter is chasing today. Two men on his tail are making it

:50:40. > :50:46.very difficult, Jaroslav Kulhavy, pushing him so hard. This is where

:50:46. > :50:51.we are going to see the pain barrier kicking in. Burry Stander

:50:51. > :50:55.is closing that gap, I think. That shot does fall short on the

:50:55. > :50:59.distances but I think those two will get back in touch. Those five

:50:59. > :51:02.are going to make the group from which, barring incident or injury,

:51:02. > :51:11.always a possibility and mountain- bike racing, the winner will come

:51:11. > :51:15.from. Lest we forget, Julien Absalon almost fell on the final

:51:15. > :51:20.lap of the Beijing race. It was very lucky that he recovered from

:51:20. > :51:24.that. He took the gold medal. It can happen to anyone, as we have

:51:24. > :51:28.said. Punctures are very common. We have already seen it with Julien

:51:28. > :51:32.Absalon. There are no guarantees, just because you are riding quickly,

:51:32. > :51:38.and you have clear space at the front, that it will not happen to

:51:38. > :51:42.you. There is that gap between the three leaders and the chasers. It

:51:42. > :51:46.looks bigger because they are going so fast. As soon as they start to

:51:46. > :51:50.go slow, it really condenses down. They come through the technical

:51:50. > :51:53.section and grab another bottle. They grab another bottle every lap

:51:53. > :51:57.to put over their legs and their head to keep cool and to take a

:51:57. > :52:01.couple of sips, but they are straight into that climb so they

:52:01. > :52:07.have to be so quick. Often they will put it in the bottle cage and

:52:07. > :52:12.wait until the top. Nino Schurter is also one of the riders in the

:52:12. > :52:16.vanguard with the single front rim. It is a risky thing to do. You are

:52:16. > :52:20.taking the gears that you need and absolutely no spares at all. If you

:52:20. > :52:25.have got your gear selection wrong, there is a head wind, something

:52:25. > :52:30.that changes the dynamics, then you have nowhere else to go. It is a

:52:30. > :52:35.courageous move. They will save a few grams in weight, for sure, that

:52:35. > :52:39.is the main reason. It also makes the bike simpler. They have right

:52:39. > :52:49.handed gear changing and that is it. What are pm on are looking to

:52:49. > :52:50.

:52:50. > :52:53.sustain? -- revolutions per minute are they looking to sustain?

:52:53. > :53:03.Something very high, so that if they hit a bolder they can get out

:53:03. > :53:07.

:53:07. > :53:12.of it. 70-90 is typical. Fantastic closing of the gap now by far

:53:12. > :53:19.Hamida. I think this gap is closing remarkably as we come into the end

:53:19. > :53:27.of the lap. -- Jose Hermida. Jose Hermida has been working hard to

:53:27. > :53:32.close that gap. Burry Stander is very much his junior, aged 24. He

:53:32. > :53:36.got a silver medal in 2004, and we have to remember that it is his 4th

:53:36. > :53:42.Olympic Games. He has been around at this level of competition for a

:53:42. > :53:46.long time. Burry Stander is the newcomer, forcing his way in. We

:53:46. > :53:49.also have to focus on the fact that he has close that gap. Burry

:53:49. > :53:53.Stander could have been with his group from the start and he could

:53:53. > :53:58.have been pulling away by 16 seconds. It will be interesting to

:53:58. > :54:03.see what happens next. He is trying to get right to the front. Very big

:54:03. > :54:07.move by Burry Stander. Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter recognise

:54:07. > :54:12.that, just closing the door a little bit on him as they start to

:54:12. > :54:16.climb towards Triple Trouble. An interesting race is developing.

:54:16. > :54:26.I think this is the group where we will see the medals contested. The

:54:26. > :54:27.

:54:27. > :54:31.speed that they are going out, with half a lap to go, you would think.

:54:31. > :54:34.Burry Stander will wait for an opportunity. They have changed the

:54:34. > :54:37.course since the test events and they have made more opportunities

:54:37. > :54:45.for passing. I think he will be taking advantage of those, Burry

:54:45. > :54:49.Stander. He is popping up like a baddie in a horror movie. It

:54:49. > :54:53.probably gave Nino Schurter and Jaroslav Kulhavy a fright. Looking

:54:54. > :54:59.at the top 10 as they come through, Jaroslav Kulhavy leading, Nino

:54:59. > :55:07.Schurter in second. Burry Stander I think, actually, in second now.

:55:07. > :55:15.Jaroslav Kulhavy in third. Marco Fontana, Jose Hermida, Stephane

:55:15. > :55:20.Tempier of France, but there is a gap after him. Florian Vogel from

:55:20. > :55:30.Switzerland has dropped right back, 46 seconds off the pace. Carlos

:55:30. > :55:33.

:55:33. > :55:39.Coloma of Spain, one minute back in 13th with Geoff Kabush. I think

:55:39. > :55:49.that Burry Stander is the stand-out in this race. He has been so

:55:49. > :55:49.

:55:49. > :55:59.consistent this year. All of them taking that gap John for the riders

:55:59. > :56:01.

:56:01. > :56:10.left of that truth. -- jump for the riders left of that tree. We saw

:56:10. > :56:14.that slight tailback, a blockage, as somebody went down. That is a

:56:14. > :56:23.reason why it has taken a while to get to this front group and it

:56:23. > :56:27.costs energy. It would have been a different race if he had been here

:56:27. > :56:32.from the start. In the women's race, the start was not very important

:56:32. > :56:37.and the people that drove it of paid the price later. Julie Bresset

:56:37. > :56:42.took some time to come through. But in the men's race it is totally

:56:42. > :56:49.different. They have driven it from the start. Burry Stander has done

:56:49. > :56:54.quite a few long-distance endurance marathon races. The epic through

:56:54. > :56:59.South Africa. He knows what it is to go through pain on a daily basis.

:56:59. > :57:04.Much shorter sprint if you can call it that. We are looking for a time

:57:04. > :57:08.somewhere between an hour and 30 minutes and 45 minutes.

:57:08. > :57:11.Interestingly the races are dictated by time and not distance.

:57:11. > :57:15.They look at what they think the lap time will be and they want to

:57:15. > :57:19.make the race into an hour-and-a- half or as close as. The men are

:57:19. > :57:25.flying round here. When I heard that there would be 30 minutes for

:57:25. > :57:31.each lap, I thought that was pushing it. -- 13 minutes. They

:57:31. > :57:40.have hardly slowed down, they are flying round. Just shy of 39

:57:40. > :57:50.minutes. They are actually under the 13 minute mark now they have

:57:50. > :57:54.

:57:54. > :57:58.why you have to be so careful to place your effort, you cannot just

:57:58. > :58:03.sit back in the pack. You cannot just recover and come back in the

:58:03. > :58:13.Sprint. It is just so physical. If you start to fade, it will be

:58:13. > :58:18.picked up spray to -- straight away. The race has spread out and it is

:58:18. > :58:21.now totally defined by the first five now. You will say at the

:58:21. > :58:25.switchback that they will be able to see the rest of the field below

:58:25. > :58:29.them. I have looked at the split times and positioning, and Burry

:58:29. > :58:33.Stander at the first split, the first half of the first lap, back

:58:33. > :58:37.in 19 position. He has had a courageous fightback from very low

:58:37. > :58:42.down in the field. He has done a fantastic job. The question is how

:58:42. > :58:45.much it has cost him. As we came back to the start and finish area,

:58:45. > :58:54.he tried to drive through to the fore and he was stopped from doing

:58:54. > :58:59.that. I think Nino Schurter cut him out. It has not taken too much out

:58:59. > :59:09.of 10 to get back here. Has he been playing a waiting game and will he

:59:09. > :59:13.just drive back? Alexander Gehbauer is one of the only people in

:59:13. > :59:15.contention with this top group. You have to say halfway through the

:59:15. > :59:20.race that the three medallists are within the top five now and they

:59:20. > :59:23.will know that. He is making an inroad but I don't think it is

:59:23. > :59:29.because of the crash that held them back. I think they just could not

:59:29. > :59:32.cope with the starting place. I think it will come from these five.

:59:32. > :59:37.Two of them will be very disappointed. That man from Spain

:59:37. > :59:40.is possibly going to be one of them. I don't think when the pressure

:59:40. > :59:44.goes on the last lap that he will be able to cope with the pace. He

:59:44. > :59:48.is happy to be here, Jose Hermida, he has done a great job fighting

:59:48. > :59:53.across that gap, but I am not sure how much more he has got to give as

:59:53. > :59:57.they go through the Rabbit Hole. One of the older riders, 33, silver

:59:57. > :00:07.medal in Athens. He was World Champion in 2010, which is no mean

:00:07. > :00:12.

:00:12. > :00:22.feat. But two years is a long time June. His form is there around the

:00:22. > :00:22.

:00:22. > :00:28.right time. Only had the one win this year. In Andalusia. Wasn't one

:00:28. > :00:36.of the mountain world bike Cup, where he was one of the top 10 all

:00:36. > :00:46.season. You can see an almost full 100 metres there. The lead group

:00:46. > :00:46.

:00:46. > :00:53.come on to the outside ridge. 15-20 seconds, the gap between them.

:00:53. > :01:03.Interestingly, you can see Fontana and Jose Hermida starting to drop

:01:03. > :01:03.

:01:03. > :01:13.away a little bit. Burry Stander. Finally dropped back a bit as they

:01:13. > :01:17.

:01:17. > :01:22.come down the leap of faith, mountain bike racing, how hard is

:01:22. > :01:27.it to keep pace? Well, they have a lot of confidence in each other.

:01:27. > :01:33.They are racing against each other. It the through various other

:01:33. > :01:37.competitions, as well. They know who are good, physically, and they

:01:37. > :01:41.trust each other. If so there is a mistake made in front of you,

:01:41. > :01:48.riding disclose over such terrain, everybody is going down, so there's

:01:48. > :01:58.a lot of respect between these riders. Another one of those short

:01:58. > :02:01.

:02:01. > :02:06.fiery Klein's. -- climbs. Nino Schurter seems to have the

:02:06. > :02:11.advantage. He likes to be in front. He's going neck-and-neck through

:02:12. > :02:17.the rock garden with Burry Stander. He accelerated through there and a

:02:17. > :02:21.lot of the riders have been taking this left-hand line. Burry Stander

:02:21. > :02:28.leading Stephane Tempier in a bunny hop over the last couple of

:02:28. > :02:35.boulders. A little bit of daylight between Jaroslav Kulhavy and Burry

:02:35. > :02:39.Stander at the front. He was keen to go straight to the front but

:02:39. > :02:45.probably thought better of it. OK, I'm going to take a breather.

:02:45. > :02:50.There's plenty of racing to do. Nino Schurter is better on the

:02:50. > :02:59.climbing, but not great, technically. He can control the

:02:59. > :03:05.pace. People have commented on the fact Nino Schurter has been coached

:03:05. > :03:12.and has inherited the brains and the tactics of the great master.

:03:12. > :03:16.is playing to his strengths. I think this is the man who could be

:03:17. > :03:23.his undoing today. Just what it cost him to close the gap, really,

:03:23. > :03:26.isn't it? Nino Schurter driving up the hill now pushing so hard.

:03:26. > :03:33.physically, the better, and is using that ability to control the

:03:33. > :03:42.race. Three-and a-half laps and we are exactly halfway through this

:03:42. > :03:51.race. He is being blocked by Jaroslav Kulhavy. Jose Hermida. No,

:03:51. > :03:54.I want to be in second position and control the way this goes. This is

:03:54. > :04:00.like a lightning fast extremely dangerous game of chess on two

:04:00. > :04:05.wheels. These guys battling for position, trying to find a way past.

:04:05. > :04:10.Work out how their energy reserves are going to play, try to measure

:04:10. > :04:19.when to make their breaks. Burry Stander paid a price for that

:04:19. > :04:25.little move. An entire group past him and he's now in last position.

:04:25. > :04:30.Jose Hermida has come off. He's come to an almost complete halt.

:04:30. > :04:35.it was indecisive, I'm afraid. That is the experience we were talking

:04:35. > :04:42.about. He committed, he's too close on the wheel and jumped straight

:04:42. > :04:48.off. Hardly lost any momentum. Again, Burry Stander, having done

:04:48. > :04:54.so well to get to the front, drops away in a matter of metres. That is

:04:54. > :04:59.so demoralising for him. He's got to start another sprint. There we

:04:59. > :05:04.can see Jose Hermida picking up his bicycle. Then stalling in those

:05:04. > :05:08.rocks. You have got to make a decision. It's a horrible feeling,

:05:08. > :05:17.isn't it, when you break that rhythm, and suddenly, that lovely

:05:17. > :05:22.motion you are in his cut-out. Your brain stalls, the bicycle stalls,

:05:22. > :05:27.but Burry Stander has done the sprint to get back up there but,

:05:27. > :05:32.like you said before, he is going to struggle. You can't sprint like

:05:32. > :05:36.that without facing consequences later in the race. Yes, the 20

:05:36. > :05:45.four-year-old. This is the lesson you will have to learn. They will

:05:45. > :05:51.review this late race, later on. He is in a fantastic company,

:05:51. > :05:54.physically in great shape, technically, good. Just the lack of

:05:54. > :06:01.experience there. He's up again some of the most experienced by

:06:01. > :06:07.cried as in the world. If this was a transport service, we've had some

:06:07. > :06:12.disruption on the Burry Stander liner but normal service has

:06:12. > :06:18.resumed for to Nino Schurter. two years the senior, the South

:06:18. > :06:27.African. Burry Stander again making the move. Fontana didn't want him

:06:27. > :06:32.there and closed the door. Nino Schurter taking a quick look back.

:06:32. > :06:37.Just smooths everything out. Not to important in mountain biking,

:06:37. > :06:44.controlling the pace. Once you get to the back, you have a concertina

:06:44. > :06:50.effect, as everybody breaks into it. It was a traffic jam, really. Then

:06:50. > :06:56.the gap has to be closed up, as you hit the climb ups. He's having

:06:56. > :07:00.another go. He has been waiting for this section. He made his move at

:07:00. > :07:06.the end of the third lap and has done it again at the end of the 4th,

:07:06. > :07:16.Burry Stander. 20 seconds back to those two. They are not out of it

:07:16. > :07:17.

:07:17. > :07:25.but will have to work hard as we approach an Isle of racing. Bash --

:07:25. > :07:29.an hour of racing. He's trying to stay with the lead group. Down

:07:29. > :07:39.through triple trouble as we start to see some of the back markers now

:07:39. > :07:56.

:07:56. > :08:01.making their way over the line. right-hand side is more technical,

:08:01. > :08:05.and more quicker line. The left- hand side, I don't think there is

:08:05. > :08:12.much of a penalty as they should be, so they're going on the left-hand

:08:12. > :08:19.line almost as quickly as they did the technical section. That first

:08:19. > :08:29.five still battling it out and then we have got Stephane Tempier and

:08:29. > :08:58.

:08:58. > :09:01.eight kgs. -- some of these bikes are under 80 kgs. Do you think

:09:01. > :09:06.there is a weight you can get it down to where it actually starts to

:09:06. > :09:13.become to light? Current technology, we are about their for mountain-

:09:13. > :09:18.biking now. If they could go light, you would, but you would then fail

:09:18. > :09:23.over this testing terrain and start to get failures. They are duelling

:09:23. > :09:29.at the front. Jaroslav Kulhavy trying to pull away, putting his

:09:29. > :09:35.foot down. A first at proper attack of the race, I think. Everybody's

:09:35. > :09:41.chasing so hard. Burry Stander has been pushed so hard to catch up

:09:41. > :09:48.with this group, came back from 19th place, closed the gap with

:09:48. > :09:53.Jose Hermida to create this opening five. Fontana and Jose Hermida

:09:53. > :09:56.starting to feel the pace now. That's what we thought would happen.

:09:56. > :10:01.The 20 seven-year-old has decided this is the moment in the race

:10:01. > :10:07.where he's going to see who has got what left and has taken it down to

:10:07. > :10:14.three, but he, himself, is now paying for that. There is a little

:10:14. > :10:20.bit of wind on this course and its possible to get some shelter. It's

:10:20. > :10:26.not insignificant. There is nothing to choose between these riders.

:10:26. > :10:31.They are all doing here. Throwing anything they can to try to test

:10:31. > :10:37.the others. Are we going to see a counter-attack from a Nino

:10:37. > :10:41.Schurter? Getting a drink is so important. You have got to take

:10:42. > :10:46.every opportunity to get some fluids on board. Of forget that one,

:10:47. > :10:51.and it will hit your performance so quick. All of the bottles are

:10:51. > :11:00.picked up by spectators as souvenirs. They are not littering.

:11:00. > :11:06.What a fantastic thing to get from your day out. Burry Stander, up

:11:06. > :11:11.such a threat. Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter looking so

:11:11. > :11:16.comfortable at the front. It could be telling that Nino Schurter is

:11:16. > :11:20.not counter-attacking or pacemaking. Under pressure there. We are

:11:20. > :11:28.starting to see some daylight climbing as they go back up Snape

:11:28. > :11:32.Hill. It really has stretched out. More distance into the chase is now.

:11:32. > :11:38.I think we could count out the Spaniard, as well. Looking further

:11:38. > :11:43.down, coming around the middle corner there, the third corner, we

:11:43. > :11:53.have got Stephane Tempier from France, followed by a Alexander

:11:53. > :12:03.Gehbauer. Closing the gap, the German, Fumic. But back to the

:12:03. > :12:04.

:12:04. > :12:08.front, Jose Hermida rounding out this leaders Group. It could be the

:12:08. > :12:14.first time Nino Schurter has not led in this section, actually.

:12:14. > :12:22.There was a big debate raging, having dominated so convincingly in

:12:22. > :12:27.at 2011, was he saving himself for this event or off form? A lot of

:12:27. > :12:33.people think... We do you stand on this? Is it better to peak in the

:12:33. > :12:42.right spot or like Nino Schurter has, build your form and then

:12:42. > :12:47.plateau? It's so difficult, actually. We have just watch them

:12:47. > :12:51.breeze over at the front. It's not so easy at the back. Imagine riding

:12:51. > :12:59.down there with a flat tyre. A lot of running to do if you haven't had

:12:59. > :13:05.an issue on this course. Number 44, there. The flag-bearer for Rwanda,

:13:05. > :13:13.one of only seven athletes here from Rwanda. He was part of the

:13:13. > :13:20.genocide back in 1994. He was one of seven brothers. His other six

:13:20. > :13:29.brothers were killed. It's a phenomenal achievement. Just for

:13:29. > :13:35.him to be here. A historic day here at Hadleigh Farm. Looking at these

:13:35. > :13:43.intermediate times, Jaroslav Kulhavy, one second ahead of Nino

:13:43. > :13:47.Schurter. Two seconds ahead of Burry Stander and four seconds

:13:47. > :13:52.ahead of Jose Hermida. It gives you an idea of how close those first

:13:52. > :13:58.five are. We can say, together, they are giving each other some

:13:58. > :14:03.space in the technical sections. I would say Jose Hermida is looking a

:14:03. > :14:09.bit better now than in the latter part of the race. He had a bad

:14:09. > :14:13.section about 40 minutes ago, when he was really hanging. He has got

:14:13. > :14:18.endurance and that will be a factor in the last part of this race.

:14:18. > :14:24.section before this was the leap of faith. We saw them carrying so much

:14:24. > :14:28.speed on to that rock landing, but then they will pull it in instantly.

:14:28. > :14:35.They have a 110 degree turn. Sorry, 100 made degree turn, just to get

:14:35. > :14:41.there. -- 180 degree turn, just to get there. We haven't been talking

:14:41. > :14:45.too much about Fontana, actually. He has overhauled Burry Stander.

:14:45. > :14:52.Burry Stander is really slowing and he has fallen back again, Crow

:14:52. > :14:57.drink, as they come to the rock garden. -- Jaroslav Kulhavy.

:14:57. > :15:05.Fontana, we haven't spoken too much about him. He is quietly following

:15:05. > :15:10.in the slipstream. He has had some good rides this year. The Italian

:15:10. > :15:15.national mountain bike champion, of course. He could, be peaking just

:15:15. > :15:23.the right time. So much great physical and psychological

:15:23. > :15:26.exchanges in the front of this group are now. Nino Schurter and

:15:26. > :15:30.Jaroslav Kulhavy have not let him get away with anything and now

:15:31. > :15:36.Jaroslav Kulhavy is at the front, desperate to make sure Nino

:15:36. > :15:40.Schurter knows how strong he is. They have sensed some weakness and

:15:40. > :15:45.hope to bring this group then further. Burry Stander has had to

:15:45. > :15:54.fight for would to get there. He looks so good, just two laps to go,

:15:54. > :16:00.closing the gap, but to it will cost him. Making their way up the

:16:00. > :16:10.hill, named by local kids, the better take care. -- breathtaking.

:16:10. > :16:21.

:16:21. > :16:26.between Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter. And Marco Fontana just

:16:26. > :16:31.came out of the track! Look how fast he recovered that. He was just

:16:31. > :16:34.out of sight when he slid. We were just talking about keeping

:16:34. > :16:39.attention on the course. An hour- and-a-half of intense concentration.

:16:39. > :16:44.He just overlapped his will but look how fast he recovered. That is

:16:44. > :16:52.mountain-bike racing. They used to having issues all the time and they

:16:52. > :16:56.get very good at managing them. -- they are used to having issues.

:16:56. > :17:06.Just before that, we saw Nino Schurter's will almost touching

:17:06. > :17:13.

:17:13. > :17:23.Jaroslav pull Harvey. -- wheel almost touching Jaroslav Kulhavy's.

:17:23. > :17:23.

:17:23. > :17:31.He pushed his bike backwards and that is what did for Marco Fontana.

:17:31. > :17:37.They are coming up the back of the Breath Taker. There are probably

:17:37. > :17:41.less than 60m before they hit the climb. So if you feel that you have

:17:41. > :17:44.time to take a couple of mouthfuls of water, you have to carry the

:17:44. > :17:50.bottle to the top of the climb before you can do anything

:17:50. > :17:56.meaningful. Jaroslav Kulhavy leads Nino Schurter with Marco Fontana

:17:56. > :18:00.just behind. A big gap now between those leading 3 and Burry Stander.

:18:00. > :18:04.I think Jose Hermida has fallen right off the pace. He is pushing

:18:04. > :18:08.it and I think he has been pushing to stay with the group so well. He

:18:08. > :18:13.is still not out of it. We are seeing a shake-up as we move into

:18:13. > :18:21.the last half an hour of racing. These three are starting to emerge

:18:21. > :18:26.as the medal favourites. Burry Stander got caught behind that

:18:26. > :18:31.crash earlier on and I think that has done for him. The start is

:18:31. > :18:38.proving so important in the men's race. At the moment there is no

:18:38. > :18:44.sign of Jose Hermida. There is almost a 100m gap. Jaroslav Kulhavy

:18:44. > :18:47.has the biggest gap that he has had so far. It is maybe 1.5 or two

:18:47. > :18:52.seconds. If he can keep the pressure on now, then he seems to

:18:52. > :18:56.have Nino Schurter in a spot of bother. He is the only ride on a

:18:56. > :19:00.full suspension bike. It is a choice. The suspension does not

:19:01. > :19:04.really help them over the big, rocky, technical sections. It is

:19:04. > :19:08.actually the rough sections where they are able to sit down. On the

:19:08. > :19:12.big sections they are out of the saddle, on their legs. When it is

:19:12. > :19:18.rocky, you have to be out of your saddle more and you get a pounding.

:19:18. > :19:24.Full suspension can give you a bit of arrest. Jaroslav Kulhavy is

:19:24. > :19:32.getting a bit of a lewd, two seconds, but nothing to speak of. -

:19:32. > :19:41.- a bit of a lead. They ary Stander cannot come back from that. He has

:19:41. > :19:50.the face of our man who is setting in. I think that third lap probably

:19:50. > :19:55.cost him everything and there is no way he is doing that twice.

:19:55. > :19:59.toll this has taken on Jose Hermida. He is 25 seconds back. And Marco

:19:59. > :20:03.Fontana has done very well. He has almost turned himself into the grey

:20:03. > :20:13.man of the group. He was almost invisible. He did not try anything

:20:13. > :20:13.

:20:13. > :20:23.drastic. Just watching and waiting. Just knowing his limits. Staying in

:20:23. > :20:23.

:20:23. > :20:27.the Wales, not using any extra energy, -- the wheels. He is ranked

:20:27. > :20:32.10th in the world at the moment and he is playing a waiting game. I

:20:32. > :20:41.think he has pitched it well. He has been their or thereabouts in

:20:41. > :20:45.the season. We mentioned him on Snake Hill at the start of lap four.

:20:45. > :20:55.Sorry, the start of lap five. And now he is just behind the Frenchman

:20:55. > :20:56.

:20:56. > :21:05.Christophe and it will be interesting to see if he can

:21:05. > :21:11.overtake Jose Hermida. Those three have just gone. Only Burry Stander

:21:11. > :21:16.is left from that leading group. One hour into the race, this is

:21:16. > :21:20.always the point where it starts to tell who has gone off too soon and

:21:20. > :21:24.who is doing more than they can sustain. The third rider back, a

:21:24. > :21:31.little bit of style from Marco Fontana, kicking the back of the

:21:31. > :21:36.bike. He cannot help it! Fantastic. Not only is he going to get a medal

:21:36. > :21:40.but he is doing it in style. It is hard to believe that these three

:21:40. > :21:46.will be caught now. They have been at the front, pushing away, pushing

:21:46. > :21:51.away. Two riders have been able to stay with them but nobody has

:21:51. > :22:01.challenged Marco Fontana. He is happy to sit in third place. He

:22:01. > :22:02.

:22:02. > :22:06.gets some distance on the physical sections. He looks in control. Nino

:22:06. > :22:15.Schurter has been working hard and he has been tested but I wonder if

:22:15. > :22:25.those efforts will pay off. This is a fantastic battle. Jaroslav

:22:25. > :22:26.

:22:26. > :22:30.Kulhavy and Nino Schurter. Nino Schurter doing some pacemaking.

:22:31. > :22:35.Jaroslav Kulhavy happy to let him go through. Burry Stander's body

:22:35. > :22:43.language is saying it all. He is settling in for the long haul to

:22:43. > :22:47.the finish. Well, the short all now. He may have some company shortly.

:22:47. > :22:57.It will be interesting to see if we get a glimpse of Manuel Fumic at

:22:57. > :23:04.

:23:04. > :23:12.Houts. I cannot see what the problem was. I think it might have

:23:12. > :23:22.been a puncture. His day is over. Manuel Fumic started number seven

:23:22. > :23:23.

:23:23. > :23:30.and he is now number six. This race spread out so fast. Phenomenal

:23:30. > :23:40.speed they took off that. There was talk of the two maids working

:23:40. > :23:42.

:23:42. > :23:50.together outside of their country. -- the team mates. And that is

:23:50. > :23:55.Marco Fontana! Having been so quiet, look at him go. Jaroslav Kulhavy

:23:55. > :24:05.just letting them drift away a little bit. You can see brilliantly,

:24:05. > :24:10.

:24:10. > :24:15.a full switchback between Burry Stander and Jaroslav Kulhavy.

:24:15. > :24:19.Jaroslav Kulhavy is struggling to get back on. There was talk of some

:24:19. > :24:26.two maids working together, some collusion in this race, but there

:24:26. > :24:32.has been no opportunity. -- team- mates. It blew apart instantly but

:24:32. > :24:35.there was nothing that anybody could do about these three.

:24:35. > :24:45.Plaxton, the unfortunate Canadian who crashed on the start loop,

:24:45. > :24:46.

:24:46. > :24:49.finally calling it a day on his race. They have let Marco Fontana

:24:49. > :24:53.have that little foray up front and now Nino Schurter and Jaroslav

:24:53. > :25:01.Kulhavy are back where they want to be. That his experience, waiting

:25:01. > :25:04.for the last minutes of the race. - - that is experience. Now is the

:25:04. > :25:13.time to start pushing on. Me as the confidence to drink on the move. He

:25:13. > :25:18.did not get rid of the bottle as quickly as he could have. It will

:25:18. > :25:27.be interesting to see how many races have actually finished.

:25:27. > :25:33.the split times, there is nothing between bronze, silver and gold.

:25:33. > :25:36.Jose Hermida is second behind Burry Stander. The bikes really take a

:25:36. > :25:43.battering. They do not soften the tyres because that would increase

:25:43. > :25:47.rolling resistance. If the tyres go too soft to get extra traction,

:25:47. > :25:51.which is something that might happen in the rain, they will get

:25:51. > :25:58.more impact punctures. All of the suspension is being done by the

:25:58. > :26:02.forks. We talked about this yesterday, some of the climbs are

:26:02. > :26:06.littered with tree routes, which becomes so treacherous in the rain.

:26:06. > :26:16.Given the nature of the course, some of them will be so pleased

:26:16. > :26:17.

:26:17. > :26:22.that it is dry. It would change the race completely. The rocks of

:26:22. > :26:27.smooth boulders so there is hardly any traction on them. That changes

:26:27. > :26:34.the way that they ride and we could see more crashers, so better for

:26:34. > :26:39.spectators and riders that we have the weather that we have got.

:26:39. > :26:43.is probably the closest thing to coasting, a little breather. There

:26:43. > :26:49.is a strong breeze and it is an Open course. We are in that natural

:26:49. > :26:53.amphitheatre. There are sections of the course where it is possible to

:26:53. > :26:58.slip through the riders. You can see the muscle definition here.

:26:58. > :27:02.They take such a battering. It takes them days to recover. They

:27:02. > :27:08.have got suspension forks but most of it is done by their muscles.

:27:08. > :27:13.Even when they are burning down hill, they are working really hard.

:27:13. > :27:16.Elbows and shoulders working, swinging side to side as they work

:27:16. > :27:21.up the hill. You think about it being about the legs but there is

:27:21. > :27:24.so much done by the upper body. Mountain bikers are like swimmers.

:27:24. > :27:30.They used pretty much every muscle that there is to control the bike

:27:30. > :27:39.and go up the hills, the suspension for the body over the technical

:27:39. > :27:49.sections. Rounding the hairpin and down into the garden where we saw

:27:49. > :27:50.

:27:50. > :27:56.Burry Stander make his move on Nino Schurter. Jaroslav Kulhavy second.

:27:56. > :28:06.Marco Fontana in third behind Nino Schurter. Looking very comfortable

:28:06. > :28:13.

:28:14. > :28:19.again. They have all had their turns to put the pressure on. Nino

:28:19. > :28:24.Schurter is driving on. They are going to get the bell at the end of

:28:24. > :28:28.this lap. We are into the last third of lap six. It is not

:28:28. > :28:34.impossible that this will come down to a sprint finish, you know.

:28:34. > :28:39.an incredible prospect. After this long, what will be almost an hour-

:28:39. > :28:47.and-a-half of racing, to then spread! I don't know who my money

:28:47. > :28:57.would be on if this came down to a sprint finish. You have got the big

:28:57. > :29:02.powerful frame of Jaroslav Kulhavy. Then the rangy, wily Nino Schurter.

:29:02. > :29:06.Marco Fontana sitting somewhere between the two. Just as powerful

:29:06. > :29:12.as Jaroslav Kulhavy. With his build, he should not be able to climb like

:29:12. > :29:17.this, but somehow he does. He has got the speed and the power that a

:29:17. > :29:23.big man just should not have on the big climbs. These two are resigned.

:29:23. > :29:27.They are going for the minor places. It is about honour, seeing how high

:29:27. > :29:35.up they can get in the Olympic mountain bike race. They are stuck.

:29:35. > :29:42.I think it will be decided between these two. Jose Hermida is back in

:29:42. > :29:46.touch with the South African. is very son -- Burry Stander's

:29:46. > :29:53.second Olympics even though he is only 24, Sony has a great platform

:29:53. > :29:57.to build on for the Rio Games. -- so he has. All of them have had a

:29:57. > :30:01.go at putting the pressure on but none of them have succeeded. Surely

:30:01. > :30:11.it will come down to a close finish? But can somebody get any

:30:11. > :30:17.

:30:17. > :30:22.daylight between them before they their temporary team mates here?

:30:22. > :30:27.would be a phenomenal prospect if, having pushed so hard, having set

:30:27. > :30:33.such an incredible pace, this front group now starts to slow down and

:30:33. > :30:40.do we get a third rally for them to be caught. Somebody has got to

:30:40. > :30:46.drive for home on the final lap. We saw on the start, crashes at the

:30:46. > :30:52.start, so coming around this final bend, it's could be who gets there

:30:52. > :30:59.first on the descent. Tempting not to go wide. Nino Schurter was

:30:59. > :31:09.popping his front wheel up. Jose Hermida, right on the back of Burry

:31:09. > :31:13.

:31:13. > :31:18.Stander. A second wind, I think. Burry Stander. The last climb, a

:31:18. > :31:26.steep little drop into the arena. They roll over the top and down,

:31:26. > :31:30.carrying plenty of speed. Probably about 15 seconds I would say, the

:31:30. > :31:34.two chasers now. And they are trying to get back on terms.

:31:34. > :31:41.think they know the gap is shortening and the front group is

:31:41. > :31:46.starting to coast a little. Certainly, he has slumped in his

:31:46. > :31:53.shoulders, his head down a touch, Jaroslav Kulhavy, but he is still

:31:53. > :31:58.pushing Nino Schurter. There is nothing between them. Burry Stander

:31:58. > :32:04.and Jose Hermida, not too far behind at all now. They start

:32:04. > :32:12.driving up the hill. You can see this little dissent here. Whoever

:32:12. > :32:17.comes around here, is likely to win the Olympic title, so that smaller

:32:17. > :32:24.climber right here on this finishing a loop could decide

:32:24. > :32:30.Olympic title. Starting the 7th and final lap with a Nino Schurter

:32:30. > :32:34.first, Fontana, third. Let's have a look at the split time, 13 seconds.

:32:34. > :32:42.And they have closed the gap convincingly, taking six seconds

:32:42. > :32:49.off it, from the halfway point. they are coming back. It's

:32:49. > :32:55.unbelievable. I think it's because of the three at the front are

:32:55. > :32:59.thinking about tactics, rather than an driving harder. They have got

:32:59. > :33:05.just a handful of minutes left before the Olympic title is decided

:33:05. > :33:11.and they are trying to work out how they can get rid of the other two.

:33:11. > :33:18.A Jose Hermida makes his move down the steep section. Again, Burry

:33:18. > :33:22.Stander gets a slap in the face. He's got to drag himself back up.

:33:23. > :33:27.He has impressed me the most in the sense that his race plan went to

:33:27. > :33:34.custard, the moment they started, but he has been drawing on his

:33:34. > :33:44.reserves and somehow kept himself in contention. Nino Schurter really

:33:44. > :33:45.

:33:45. > :33:55.pushing hard now. I still think Jaroslav Kulhavy looks the best,

:33:55. > :33:55.

:33:55. > :34:00.physically, from the three. They are so evenly matched. We saw a

:34:00. > :34:06.mistake made yesterday in that exact spot. Nino Schurter has got

:34:06. > :34:14.himself a second and a half lead here. He's coming into this longer,

:34:14. > :34:20.slower sections. Straight back on top of it, isn't he? A little table

:34:20. > :34:26.top again from Nino Schurter. And Burry Stander. Both having a little

:34:26. > :34:32.bit of fun. Just checking over her shoulder, is anybody going to join

:34:32. > :34:36.me? I don't think so. I think you three will have to fight it out.

:34:36. > :34:46.Fontana is the dark horse. We don't know what else he has had in

:34:46. > :34:50.reserves. Jose Hermida, with that past, might have had one last whiff

:34:50. > :35:00.of a medal and managed to draw on the last of his energy to try to

:35:00. > :35:15.

:35:15. > :35:19.Fontana leaving a little bit of space there. You can see why. He

:35:19. > :35:25.left himself some room to manoeuvre through that centre technical

:35:25. > :35:31.section. Driving away. Jaroslav Kulhavy, no expression on his face

:35:31. > :35:37.at all, not giving anything away. I think he's waiting for a sprinter.

:35:37. > :35:43.He has a heavy a bike with full suspension. These two, can they

:35:43. > :35:47.come back into it? Burry Stander has come back and even if he

:35:47. > :35:52.doesn't get a medal, he is the hero of the race. The amount of

:35:52. > :36:00.comebacks he has had. He is certainly fought hard. Everybody

:36:00. > :36:06.has had a typical day out. We have just seen, Fontana making the move

:36:06. > :36:14.on Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter. In 6th place making his

:36:14. > :36:20.move there as well, Fumic. The Italian is now pushing very, very

:36:20. > :36:25.hard. He's not the strongest here. He wants to try to make some

:36:25. > :36:29.daylight. I think Nino Schurter is going to appreciated, actually, so

:36:29. > :36:35.it's not him having to make the pace all the time, which he has for

:36:35. > :36:43.the majority of this race. They start off at the kind of pace

:36:43. > :36:53.resort on the first lap. A furious amount of energy. Technical skill

:36:53. > :36:58.

:36:59. > :37:06.through these corners, also giving wheels. You could power a town for

:37:06. > :37:12.a week on the amount of power these guys are making here. It's an awful

:37:12. > :37:18.lot of power to be generating. They will use about 3,000 calories in a

:37:18. > :37:27.single race. He is in trouble. Jaroslav Kulhavy, I think he can

:37:27. > :37:31.get back, but if it does come down to this final little bit here.

:37:31. > :37:35.Burry Stander and Jose Hermida will have seen it a little bit of a gap

:37:35. > :37:41.and that will have spurred them on. The three seconds, and meaning for

:37:41. > :37:49.gap. The is somebody going to be making a mistake on the technical

:37:49. > :37:54.section? Fontana is driving away. A he's offered a bottle with six

:37:54. > :38:00.minutes to go but I don't think he will stop for a drink, will he?

:38:00. > :38:06.Jaroslav Kulhavy looked disgusted. Are you joking? The now, we're just

:38:06. > :38:13.watching Burry Stander and Jose Hermida try to catch up but back

:38:13. > :38:20.through the section, Nino Schurter is reeling in Fontana. He's making

:38:20. > :38:25.this last big push. They have one more. The halfway stage of this lap

:38:25. > :38:30.and has nothing to choose between the top three. Jaroslav Kulhavy has

:38:30. > :38:37.clawed his way back on terms there after the attack from up on Tanner,

:38:37. > :38:45.and it was an attack, as well. -- from Fontana. He's very consistent,

:38:45. > :38:49.isn't he? And still, these three are all together. I'm sure now,

:38:49. > :38:54.unless there is a technical section which is possible, this is going to

:38:54. > :38:57.come down to a sprint finish. Not for the line, perhaps, but the

:38:58. > :39:03.small climate with 30 seconds of racing to go because whoever gets

:39:03. > :39:09.to the top will have a clear run on the final two bends, which is no

:39:09. > :39:13.place to pass. Fontana again on the outside of Nino Schurter. That is

:39:13. > :39:17.so tied through there, they are endangering themselves also be

:39:17. > :39:24.wants to get himself in front for the next technical section and be

:39:24. > :39:29.in control. They come through for the final time. Jaroslav Kulhavy,

:39:29. > :39:34.in third, is the saving themselves for the sprint? I'm not sure. I

:39:34. > :39:40.think he drove very hard through there. Fontana has been saving it

:39:40. > :39:47.all and wants to get back. He feels he can make some daylight but has

:39:47. > :39:53.not done it. Stretching each other out. Absolutely phenomenal racing.

:39:53. > :39:58.So, so exciting to see a race come down to this. And they have come

:39:58. > :40:02.through the halfway stage of this final lap. It's a different ability,

:40:03. > :40:07.this finish. If it comes down to this last few minutes of this final

:40:07. > :40:13.climb, it's not the same as climbing up there. It is more about

:40:13. > :40:19.who can sprint. It won't come for the finish but for the final climb,

:40:19. > :40:23.and is paying for those efforts, Fontana. That first sprinter

:40:23. > :40:28.leaving Fontana down a little bit and are all of them are looking

:40:28. > :40:35.very, very careful. Not quite as quick. Berry good work from Nino

:40:35. > :40:39.Schurter. Very tidy as well. -- a very good work. Coming to the end

:40:39. > :40:46.of a rock garden and Nino Schurter has gone five or six bike lengths

:40:46. > :40:52.here. They will come around into the big climate before the

:40:52. > :40:57.technical zone for the second time. I was wondering whether somebody

:40:57. > :41:03.was going to make a mistake under pressure. All of them choosing to

:41:03. > :41:06.take the same line on this occasion. He has stretched run out. Can he

:41:06. > :41:13.make the advantage stick? I think they will end up coming back

:41:13. > :41:20.together again. Well, we are back on the breath taker, this big

:41:20. > :41:24.climate to the top of Hadleigh Farm. These two are breaking away now.

:41:24. > :41:32.Fontana, I think his day is done and he would get the bronze medal

:41:32. > :41:37.but this could be it. It is. Jaroslav Kulhavy just pushing up.

:41:37. > :41:41.He's such a big man. Somehow, he shouldn't be able to climb but

:41:41. > :41:46.somehow he manages to get up the hill. He's driving up it. He

:41:46. > :41:51.doesn't want to wait for the sprint but has not managed to get that of

:41:51. > :42:01.Nino Schurter. Both of them are so equally matched. I think it's going

:42:01. > :42:04.

:42:04. > :42:09.to come down to this last 100-metre blowing their. He takes a quick

:42:09. > :42:15.look back and knows he's got a bronze medal, but this is the

:42:15. > :42:19.battle for a gold. Jaroslav Kulhavy trying to desperately held off Nino

:42:19. > :42:24.Schurter but he makes a move, pushing so hard. That could be

:42:24. > :42:29.decisive now. A few minutes left to see who is going to be the Olympic

:42:29. > :42:32.champion. They will soon be right in front of us here. A horrible

:42:32. > :42:38.section which took out Burry Stander and knocked him out of the

:42:38. > :42:42.lead group. They are coming through very nicely, though. You can hear

:42:42. > :42:48.the noise of the crowd as they come back towards us now. Through the

:42:48. > :42:53.technical zone. We can see them in the distance coming down. Less than

:42:53. > :42:59.one, two to go as they come into their last piece of the race. Can

:42:59. > :43:03.he overcome a Nino Schurter one last time? A very big effort. Nino

:43:03. > :43:07.Schurter feels, this could be his best chance to take the

:43:07. > :43:12.Czechoslovakia and. Fontana almost sitting at the end of a technical

:43:12. > :43:17.zone. The he has fought so hard to stay with these two but it's all

:43:17. > :43:22.over now. Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter are racing away now in

:43:22. > :43:30.their own battles. 500 metres remaining in this race. It's been

:43:30. > :43:35.so hard. These three have just driven this race along. Fontana now

:43:35. > :43:42.paying the price but he clade valiantly. Starting to get some

:43:42. > :43:48.distance now. There's nothing between them, is there? I can't say

:43:49. > :43:53.who's going to win the here? this is so close. They wanted so

:43:53. > :44:03.badly and have invested so much in this race. They are coming into the

:44:03. > :44:07.finish. One gentle climb, almost a single line. This is it. Nino

:44:07. > :44:12.Schurter has laid off, the winner, and has come onto the climb of.

:44:12. > :44:16.Whoever comes around here now will decide the title. They are

:44:16. > :44:23.sprinting for the top of the hill. Jaroslav Kulhavy has slowed right

:44:23. > :44:27.down. And he has got the inside line and can close it. A big

:44:27. > :44:32.mistake. 50 metres to go now as they come through the chicane. Nino

:44:32. > :44:42.Schurter trying to get it up. It can't come down to the last 10

:44:42. > :44:47.

:44:47. > :44:53.Less than one bike's length ahead of Nino Schurter. It was going to

:44:53. > :44:57.be for that last time the moment but ended up. A small optical

:44:57. > :45:03.decide at the Olympic title. fantastic race for the Men's

:45:03. > :45:11.mountain biking. Bronze medal for form Tanner from Italy. A fantastic

:45:11. > :45:15.performance from him. -- Fontana. Jose Hermida takes off. With the

:45:15. > :45:25.South African, Crow journey in 5th. A truly, truly great race. -- Burry

:45:25. > :45:31.

:45:31. > :45:41.That has driven all of the races to the absolute limit. Jaroslav

:45:41. > :45:47.

:45:47. > :45:57.2012, that now seems clear. He has made it count when it matters for

:45:57. > :46:01.

:46:01. > :46:10.an Olympic gold medal in London. Carlos Coloma of Spain comes in six.

:46:10. > :46:14.-- in 6th place. Manuel Fumic of Germany, a great race from him.

:46:14. > :46:22.Geoff Kabush coming round the corner, a great race from him. He

:46:22. > :46:32.got caught up in traffic early on. What an incredible and to that race.

:46:32. > :46:34.

:46:34. > :46:40.Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter, neck-and-neck. After more than,

:46:40. > :46:49.well, 35 kilometres of incredibly testing racing, there was less than

:46:49. > :46:55.two metres to separate them. So 9th place here for Alexander Gehbauer.

:46:55. > :47:01.Behind them we have a sprint between Stephane Tempier and Todd

:47:01. > :47:11.Wells, who takes it out in front. Top 10 finish for Todd Wells.

:47:11. > :47:18.Stephane Tempier settles for 11th. He was in 6th place for so long. I

:47:18. > :47:22.can't say I am as exhausted as any of the guys racing that course but

:47:22. > :47:32.I feel immensely drained having watched it. Not least because of

:47:32. > :47:45.

:47:45. > :47:55.21 year-old. He smashes his world ranking. 28th coming into this. Now

:47:55. > :47:57.

:47:57. > :48:07.13th. The crowd are cheering in every single one of these riders.

:48:07. > :48:11.Some shots just coming down this finish line. -- Samuel Schultz.

:48:11. > :48:21.can see lots of the riders just laid out. Trying to stand up, get

:48:21. > :48:24.their into their lungs, keep moving to recover. Look at that. Jaroslav

:48:24. > :48:34.Kulhavy, less than one hour 30. A breathtaking time from him, quite

:48:34. > :48:39.literally. Rudi Van Houts managed to recover from that puncture and

:48:39. > :48:48.comes in 17th. Ralph Naef of Switzerland in 18th. Phenomenal to

:48:48. > :48:54.look at it on paper, the Swiss has looked so strong in 2012. But Nino

:48:54. > :48:59.Schurter had to settle for second. There are four Swiss men in the top

:48:59. > :49:09.seven. But because of Olympic Rawlings they cannot have more than

:49:09. > :49:23.

:49:23. > :49:27.three. -- Olympic rules. O'Connell Congratulations. Thank you. An hour

:49:27. > :49:34.and a half of racing, plenty of climbs, how on earth did you find

:49:34. > :49:44.the energy to sprint at the end? was really hard. We went full gas

:49:44. > :49:49.

:49:49. > :49:55.every time. It was amazing. I got everything for this race. All my

:49:55. > :49:59.energy. I know you have tailored or a racing and you're training over

:49:59. > :50:05.the last year for the Olympics, so desperate for gold, and you have

:50:05. > :50:15.got it. What does that mean? That was important this year. Nothing

:50:15. > :50:22.

:50:22. > :50:26.else. Everything, everything. Now I am Olympic champion. If you put on

:50:26. > :50:30.a fantastic show for the crowd and they certainly showed their

:50:30. > :50:34.appreciation as you came round that final corner. Were you aware of the

:50:34. > :50:39.crowd and how much they were cheering? I don't know, I am really

:50:39. > :50:49.dead. You are exhausted. Congratulations. And a bit champion.

:50:49. > :50:50.

:50:50. > :50:54.Well done. the -- Olympic champion. Things are frenetic here. Chris

:50:54. > :51:00.Boardman has just come down from the commentary booth. That phrase

:51:00. > :51:03.had it all. Yes, including tragedy for Liam Killeen, he has had it

:51:03. > :51:07.confirms that he has broken his ankle. And those three in front

:51:07. > :51:12.were really amazing. Marco Fontana was so quiet for a lot of the race.

:51:12. > :51:16.There was nothing between the first two, absolutely nothing between

:51:16. > :51:22.them. It was coming down to that final nothing of the climb. It was

:51:22. > :51:27.not about the finish. It was that switchback which would make

:51:27. > :51:30.somebody win and they knew it. Talk about a photo finish. Towards the

:51:30. > :51:37.end they had to sprint and I don't know where you find the reserve to

:51:37. > :51:41.do it. I don't know. They dug hard. Nino Schurter dark hard to find

:51:41. > :51:46.everything that he could to keep in control but he did not. As soon as

:51:46. > :51:50.they went round the bend with 100m to go, there was no coming back.

:51:50. > :51:54.terms of the crowd, a fantastic show. They sound like they were

:51:54. > :52:03.loving it. Mountain-biking could not ask for more than that.

:52:03. > :52:07.cannot. It has been a wonderful spectacle, with wonderful weather

:52:07. > :52:11.and a marvellous race. Some wonderful moment but not everybody

:52:11. > :52:17.is believing with a smile. Julien Absalon had to pull out early. We

:52:17. > :52:27.caught him as he limped over the finish line. I had a flat tyre in

:52:27. > :52:31.the first lap. It was the worst thing for me. I worked for four

:52:31. > :52:38.years to be at 100% today and to have a technical problem is the

:52:38. > :52:48.worst thing. I'm really disappointed. It is really hard to

:52:48. > :52:52.finish like this. I was in good shape. It is terrible. I can't

:52:52. > :53:02.explain more. You came here as the defending champion. Did you feel

:53:02. > :53:08.the pressure? For sure but my mind was really good. I was thinking, OK,

:53:08. > :53:13.I have two gold medals, so if I win something today it was just a bonus.

:53:13. > :53:19.It was not a bad pressure, and our sport is a mechanical support also

:53:19. > :53:23.so that is the risk of our sport. This is definitely your last

:53:23. > :53:28.Olympics? It is a mechanical fault and not a physical fault so have

:53:28. > :53:34.you got anything more to give? cannot answer now because I am so

:53:34. > :53:38.disappointed. I think it was my last, yes. Julien Absalon,

:53:38. > :53:42.absolutely gutted. Annie Last, you know what it is like when you come

:53:42. > :53:47.over the finish line and everybody wants to talk to. He must have been

:53:47. > :53:53.feeling awful. I was the defending Olympic champion. He wanted to win

:53:53. > :53:59.this race and get another gold medal. But it is bike racing and

:53:59. > :54:02.you have good days and bad days. That is the awful thing. Sadly it

:54:02. > :54:07.is those moments that attract the crowd, the drama that makes people

:54:07. > :54:13.come to watch. What is it like to see this many people here cheering

:54:13. > :54:17.on your sport? It is amazing. The crowds have been incredible. To

:54:17. > :54:21.have this many people there, shouting, really getting behind all

:54:21. > :54:25.the riders and getting into the race is just great. In France and

:54:25. > :54:30.in Switzerland it is just a massive sport and they have these races all

:54:30. > :54:34.the time. It is not quite like that in the UK. You get places in

:54:34. > :54:41.Switzerland and France and America why you get massive crowds at lots

:54:41. > :54:44.of races. But you do not get so many people watching the races here.

:54:44. > :54:50.It is great to see the British public coming and having a bit of a

:54:50. > :54:54.look to see what is going on. People who do not know anything

:54:54. > :54:58.about cycling and sport are really getting behind it. Liam Killeen, an

:54:58. > :55:01.awful day for him. He did not finish the race. He has gone to

:55:01. > :55:06.hospital with a suspected broken ankle and he could even need

:55:06. > :55:10.surgery. Did you see what happened? I did not see the crash but I have

:55:10. > :55:16.heard that it was at the bottom of Deanes Drop. It sounds like he just

:55:16. > :55:21.slipped out. He came away from it really badly. Talk us through

:55:21. > :55:26.Deanes Drop. I have been describing them as staircases made out of

:55:26. > :55:29.boulders. What is it like from your point of view? There is a long,

:55:29. > :55:35.technical feature on the course. Some really tight, rough, rocky

:55:35. > :55:39.section's leading into some little jumps at the bottom. It is all

:55:39. > :55:42.about keeping in control for the whole section. You have to be

:55:42. > :55:45.focused and get down these different elements. It is a

:55:45. > :55:50.difficult day for him. There has been talk about this being his last

:55:50. > :55:57.Olympics. It is probably not fair to ask you the question, but could

:55:57. > :56:02.this be his last? I don't know. You see lots of riders coming through

:56:02. > :56:06.and racing again and again. I don't know. I am gutted for him today,

:56:06. > :56:10.really gutted. The tag-line of the Olympics has been to inspire a

:56:10. > :56:13.generation and after yesterday it was such a great show. I really

:56:13. > :56:20.hope this does not put anybody off. You would not want anybody to be

:56:20. > :56:26.put off? Not at all. The front of the race was just incredible. You

:56:26. > :56:29.see the sprint finish after an hour and a half, so... There are ups and

:56:29. > :56:39.dows to everything and I hope everyone has in the rest of the

:56:39. > :56:41.

:56:41. > :56:44.race and really enjoyed it. I know everybody is looking forward to

:56:44. > :56:49.seeing more from you, Annie Last. What has happened to Liam Killeen?

:56:49. > :56:52.He has had a nasty break to his ankle. He was pushing hard to get

:56:52. > :56:57.into the race. He was coming from the back and moving very quickly

:56:57. > :57:01.and he has just gone down hard. There is a nasty break to the ankle,

:57:01. > :57:05.fortunately. He has spoken about how much he appreciates the home

:57:05. > :57:08.crowd in the past. Like other Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

:57:08. > :57:11.It is awful to think that he feels like he has let people down.

:57:11. > :57:15.last thing he said was that he wanted the crowd to be roaring for

:57:15. > :57:18.him. He was determined to have a good race and to be cheered on by

:57:18. > :57:24.the crowd, so we will be devastated that he has not made it through

:57:24. > :57:33.another few laps. In terms of cycling, the Olympic has been

:57:33. > :57:37.roaring success, hasn't it? Fantastic. The support staff,

:57:37. > :57:41.everybody deserves a pat on the back. We came to put on a good show

:57:41. > :57:46.for the nation and I think we have done that very well. I hope people

:57:46. > :57:50.are taking up cycling, road races, time trialing, mountain biking. I

:57:50. > :57:53.hope people can get on their bicycles. Do not be put off by this

:57:54. > :57:58.because the course will be made easier for the public going forward.

:57:58. > :58:02.In terms of British cycling, can you take a lot from this Olympics?

:58:02. > :58:06.We take a lot from every race that we do. After an Olympic Games like

:58:06. > :58:10.this, we look at where we are going in the next four years, where we

:58:11. > :58:13.want cycling to be, where we want the performances to be. The riders

:58:13. > :58:17.and staff sit down and look and look at the details and put

:58:17. > :58:22.together some new performances. Hopefully by Rio Games we will have

:58:22. > :58:25.pushed up the bar even higher. Every time I think Rio Games, I

:58:25. > :58:34.think Annie Last. I know lots of people will be following your

:58:34. > :58:39.career with aberration and interest. set it -- with admiration. We have

:58:39. > :58:43.said it so many times that Olympic dreams can be made and sadly today

:58:43. > :58:45.they have been broken. But that is sport, and that is why you have to

:58:46. > :58:51.celebrate the great moments and triumphs when they come. You we

:58:51. > :58:56.will all be watching Denise Lewis's to the nation's in an even sweeter