BBC Two: Day 16: 13.15-15.35 Olympics


BBC Two: Day 16: 13.15-15.35

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Bicycles are built for speed, durability and comfort, with either

:01:07.:01:14.

full suspension for just front suspension, known as hardtail. In

:01:14.:01:18.

total, 80 athletes will compete for two gold medals. There are 50

:01:18.:01:23.

riders in the men's event and 30 in the women's. Each event begins with

:01:23.:01:29.

a mass start. Starting positions are predetermined by world ranking.

:01:29.:01:37.

The first to cross the line wins the gold medal. Each lap of the

:01:37.:01:40.

course is 4.7 kilometres long. Each race takes a minimum of 90 minutes

:01:40.:01:45.

to complete. During the race, the riders are presented with optional

:01:45.:01:52.

routes. The more direct and dangerous A route or at the safer

:01:52.:01:58.

but considerably slower B route. Into tall riders will climb 1204

:01:58.:02:06.

metres in the men's race. -- in total. It is 1032 metres in the

:02:06.:02:10.

women's race. If you like to get involved in Olympic sports, go to

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the BBC website for more information.

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This course is undeniably tough going for the athletes. It is an

:02:17.:02:20.

endurance race but they have to spread. They have to be tactical

:02:20.:02:26.

and gutsy. It is also tough going for the bicycles. Yes, it is. It is

:02:26.:02:31.

a man-made obstacle course and the obstacles are made up of rocks and

:02:31.:02:36.

boulders, literally boulders. It will be costly if they fall. They

:02:36.:02:39.

are carbon-fibre frames and if they hit one of them side on, it could

:02:39.:02:42.

be the end of the race. They get a puncture, they can repair it

:02:42.:02:47.

themselves but if there is something more serious, then there

:02:47.:02:53.

is a technology zone. Yes. If they have another problem then they have

:02:53.:02:57.

to get round to the technical zone. If they are on the other side of

:02:57.:03:00.

the course, they have to run the bicycle around and that is the only

:03:00.:03:03.

place they can do it. By they have to finish on a bicycle that they

:03:04.:03:09.

started on? Yes, at the core bicycle cannot be changed. But you

:03:09.:03:15.

can make minor repairs. I think personally mountain biking is where

:03:15.:03:21.

marginal gains started. They are obsessed with equipment. Large

:03:21.:03:24.

wheels, weight, because the weight is everything in mountain-biking.

:03:24.:03:28.

The frames that we are seeing are arriving without paint to lose 60

:03:28.:03:36.

grams. I have lost out of a number of people that think that red paint

:03:36.:03:44.

is the heaviest. I suffer from terminal sarcasm. Red paint is not

:03:44.:03:47.

the heaviest. That could be a complete fake but one thing he is

:03:47.:03:52.

not lying about is that if you fall off, it really hurts. I can vouch

:03:52.:04:02.
:04:02.:04:23.

Posh! -- push. Can you see that rock? That is unbelievable.

:04:23.:04:33.

have that, which is horrendous. think that I am hard Benali but

:04:33.:04:37.

this is not helping. The fear factor is that you start to shake.

:04:37.:04:44.

The really scary obstacles. It is a tough sport. I imagine that is why

:04:44.:04:50.

it is addictive. The buzz you get is really good and that is why

:04:50.:04:54.

people come back to it. Come to the middle and end for the outside of

:04:54.:05:04.
:05:04.:05:05.

this turn. You are shaking! The feeling you have got now is no

:05:05.:05:09.

different to what the athletes experience. Nervous, the first day

:05:09.:05:13.

on an Olympic course, they want to get it right. You need to let the

:05:13.:05:17.

bike ride. It is like a roller- coaster, it never quite stops,

:05:17.:05:27.
:05:27.:05:32.

always flowing. OK, let's do this! Nice and slow. Let it roll. Are you

:05:32.:05:42.

all right? Yes. We got over it! I want to do it again. Really? I want

:05:42.:05:52.
:05:52.:06:29.

to get it right. Where my own worst times and I done similar things to

:06:29.:06:39.
:06:39.:06:44.

Obviously, I make that looks spectacularly difficult. Remember,

:06:44.:06:48.

as yesterday proved, the nation is hanging on your every word. Is

:06:48.:06:55.

there something you would do? a really nasty course. I generally

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deal with crashes by closing my eyes and hasn't worked out too well

:06:58.:07:01.

for me in the past so I would be a danger to myself and everybody else

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for supper how does this course compare? You tend think of mountain

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biking happening here. The boulders and rocks have been planted on the

:07:14.:07:21.

course. Not embedded, so we can see the difficulty, and the open nature

:07:21.:07:25.

has let us see it on television very well. 500 tons of rock have

:07:25.:07:29.

been used on this course and after the Olympics it will be open to the

:07:29.:07:31.

public so anybody at home thinking they could do that, well, you will

:07:32.:07:36.

be able to do that. The women's race was here yesterday and today

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it's the turn of the men. Liam Killeen is going for Team GB. Sadly

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he's not one of the hot favourite. No, he isn't. 5th was his best

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result at the Olympic Games last time. He had a crash. He will have

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to go some way to recover that type of form. Having said that, he's in

:07:58.:08:01.

really good shape at the moment so fingers crossed for him but I think

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we are looking at Julian Absolom, why think is the best. That could

:08:07.:08:14.

be his third gold. Yes, he has been beaten this year. For me, I think

:08:14.:08:18.

that experience might shine through today. Whatever happens here this

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afternoon, this has proved a fantastic place to showcase the

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sport. Some of the hardest race and you will see is a mountain biking.

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The riders are lining up. A very, very close field here. A fantastic

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start. She is going to be very, very happy. This is exactly the

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start she wanted here. The USA and France pushing. Such a fast ascent

:08:47.:08:53.

are there for some very, very interesting race so far. USA. She

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is stretching it now and keeps getting more and more comfortable

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as the race goes on. Along the way on at the moment. She is setting an

:09:03.:09:12.

incredible pace here. She's really struggling it right now. You can

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see the war of attrition is starting to take its toll. Gritting

:09:17.:09:24.

her teeth, and got stuck in. She is desperate to claim the silver medal.

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This woman has been emphatic, almost an hour-and-a-half now, she

:09:28.:09:33.

has dominated this race. Don't take any risks now. You have got this

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one in the bag. She's really starting to thump at the pedals

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there. She's having the right of her life, the young American. It's

:09:43.:09:48.

not over by any means. Such an incredible pace here. A huge lead

:09:48.:09:53.

now, and she is starting to drive that bite. The battle now is for

:09:53.:09:59.

bronze and silver. -- bike. The perfect race for the USA. She is

:09:59.:10:05.

blowing kisses. The first a British rider since 2002 qualifiers. We'll

:10:05.:10:11.

be hearing a lot more about her. I'm joined by her and the last now,

:10:11.:10:16.

who finished 8th yesterday. People are getting so excited about you

:10:16.:10:19.

because you are the real Olympic event to go here in the first place,

:10:19.:10:23.

the only person chasing points, so to get a place for the nation you

:10:23.:10:27.

had to race so much in the run-up to this, didn't you? For the past

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two years, every race has had Olympic qualification points, so I

:10:31.:10:35.

spent two years chasing points, doing lots of racing trying to get

:10:35.:10:41.

results to get a place to race here. You came in here in great form. Was

:10:41.:10:49.

Definitely. The crowd yesterday was absolutely incredible. Such an

:10:49.:10:54.

amazing experience. I'm really happy with my race, as well, and I

:10:54.:10:57.

gave it everything and put myself in the race from the start which is

:10:57.:11:02.

what I wanted to do. I died of a bit at the end they did all I could.

:11:02.:11:06.

That's all I could say I'm really happy. I owe you an apology because

:11:06.:11:10.

I stuck his microphone and your nose yesterday and you're desperate

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for a drink, so thank you for talking to us. Your grandparents

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live here so were the watching you? Yes, and Dale 10 minutes away from

:11:19.:11:22.

the course and they had been excited. -- they live 10 minutes

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away from the course. Loads of my family and friends came down and

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get tickets. It's great to be able to do an Olympic race in front of

:11:31.:11:35.

that many people who support you. All the way through the race

:11:36.:11:40.

yesterday, Chris Boardman said, technically, you're one of the best

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in the world. You took the hardest and fastest line through the race

:11:43.:11:48.

but physically, you can work on that because it's an endurance race

:11:48.:11:53.

what lends itself to the older riders. Yes, definitely. Especially

:11:53.:12:02.

in the women's race, it is like the older riders, because it's almost

:12:02.:12:06.

like an endurance thing, you have to have the ability to do lots of

:12:06.:12:10.

powerful efforts repeatedly, so the older women definitely seem to be

:12:10.:12:17.

to do it. Yet, a few more years. will watch you in at Rio with our

:12:17.:12:22.

fingers crossed. Liam Killeen is behind us. You have been sharing a

:12:22.:12:31.

house with him, how has he? He's in great shape. A physically, he looks

:12:31.:12:35.

in really good shape, so if it all goes right today, I think he will

:12:35.:12:40.

have a good ride. These big competitions, he always seems to

:12:40.:12:48.

pour out a good result. He looks happy. And in good shape, so yes.

:12:48.:12:54.

Has he given you any words of wisdom? Yes, and he so relaxed and

:12:54.:12:58.

confident and experienced. It's great to be able to learn from

:12:59.:13:05.

somebody who knows what to do. Yes, it's nice to have someone confident.

:13:05.:13:08.

Your race is on the final week of the Olympics for the are you going

:13:09.:13:12.

to get to enjoy the village tonight and the closing ceremony?

:13:12.:13:18.

Absolutely. We're going to the village for a closing ceremony. Get

:13:18.:13:23.

a bit of the atmosphere. Fingers crossed you enjoy that tonight and

:13:23.:13:26.

this course is going to be open to the public after the Olympics but

:13:26.:13:31.

right now it is time for the men's Olympic event. Liam Killeen going

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Olympic event. Liam Killeen going for Team GB. It's time to hand you

:13:33.:13:43.
:13:43.:13:50.

up. Three big names we are looking at today. Julian Absolom, reigning

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Olympic champion. The 2012 world champion, and then a competitor

:13:57.:14:02.

from the Czech Republic. All of them are are very, very close in

:14:02.:14:04.

ability and a lot of people are saying it's going to be incredibly

:14:04.:14:09.

tight. The Allied been speaking to members of the British team to see

:14:09.:14:13.

what they think and the jury seems to be out. It's not a wide-open

:14:13.:14:17.

race but is about 10 people who could take this title. Julian

:14:17.:14:21.

Absolom, four-times world champion, he could make it three gold medals

:14:21.:14:26.

in a row. He has been beaten in the intervening four years, but one of

:14:27.:14:31.

the test event a year ago, and, for me, I think that experience might

:14:31.:14:39.

shine through. He was so young, 23 Uzzell, -- 23 years old when he won

:14:39.:14:44.

his first medal and Ben had pressure heaped on him in Beijing.

:14:44.:14:49.

He's coming here very, very relaxed. They are heading to the start and

:14:49.:14:53.

this is a very important part of the race. Liam Killeen it is on the

:14:53.:15:00.

4th row. Close enough to the front. They go around the start Look which

:15:00.:15:05.

helps to thin it them out a little bit before they go straight up a

:15:05.:15:10.

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

:15:10.:15:15.

packed full of people. There will certainly be some crashes. It's

:15:15.:15:22.

very important, this first couple commentators in giving his 15

:15:22.:15:25.

seconds to go now. The riders are already putting pressure on the

:15:25.:15:35.
:15:35.:15:43.

pedal waiting to get away and they And the Swiss just behind him. They

:15:43.:15:49.

are very good. Number 18 has just gone down. That was Max from Canada.

:15:49.:15:54.

He went down and a number of people struggled to get around him. But

:15:54.:16:01.

the Swiss, what the start for Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel. We did

:16:01.:16:04.

not know if his team-mates were coming here, possibly to support

:16:04.:16:09.

him. And there are other factors to take into account. These riders

:16:09.:16:13.

ride as teams together, so there are lots of alliances that could be

:16:13.:16:19.

fought. Nino Schurter was a medallist in the last Olympic Games

:16:19.:16:22.

and he would desperately like to improve on that bronze. Look at the

:16:22.:16:26.

way he is powering through this straight onto the first climb. They

:16:27.:16:33.

are just approaching trouble trouble. This is where one of the

:16:33.:16:41.

favourites failed yesterday. -- Triple Trouble. Nino Schurter is

:16:41.:16:45.

the first man down it. All of the men are opting for the steeper,

:16:45.:16:49.

more technical route. It is faster. The couple are going down the

:16:49.:16:53.

middle and a couple down the easier third route. It keeps them out of

:16:53.:16:58.

traffic as they fly down here. The test event was held and then they

:16:58.:17:02.

made some changes. They found that everybody was using the same track,

:17:02.:17:05.

so now there are three routes on the technical sections, which are

:17:05.:17:08.

made harder, so you benefit more from taking that risk and having

:17:08.:17:12.

greater skill. Sometimes it is better to take one of the longer

:17:12.:17:17.

sections just because of the amount of traffic. You can see why it is

:17:17.:17:21.

so important to get a good start. Deanes Drop out of the way for the

:17:21.:17:27.

leaders. Nino Schurter up in front. Right behind him, his country man,

:17:27.:17:37.
:17:37.:17:42.

stretch out. It is almost impossible not to if you look at

:17:42.:17:45.

the nature of the course. They have actually widened it to allow

:17:45.:17:49.

passing since the tester bed. I don't think anybody is going to get

:17:49.:17:54.

passed on some of these do sense. Just as I say that, that is exactly

:17:54.:18:04.
:18:04.:18:08.

what happened! I think that was the of these rocky sections then

:18:08.:18:13.

everybody else can be held up and can lose 10 or 15 seconds. It is

:18:13.:18:17.

hard to recover because there are no flat sections. They either go

:18:17.:18:22.

down or up. One of the biggest talking points coming into the race

:18:22.:18:27.

is the size of the wheels. The three big names that women should,

:18:27.:18:34.

Julien Absalon, Nino Schurter and Harvey, all on different wheel

:18:34.:18:40.

sizes. -- the three big names that we mentioned. They all have

:18:40.:18:43.

hardtail, suspended at the rear, and we can see how important that

:18:43.:18:53.
:18:53.:18:53.

is. Even in the start look already the pressure is starting to tell.

:18:54.:18:56.

The South African is quite young and people are expecting big things

:18:56.:19:03.

from him. We are certainly expecting big things from him, one

:19:03.:19:07.

of the pre-race favourites, for sure. 29 inch wheels is the new

:19:07.:19:11.

fashion in the sport of mountain biking. They go faster over the

:19:11.:19:16.

rough terrain. They don't go down the rocks, they go over them, but

:19:16.:19:20.

the downside is the extra weight. And that is why you do not want it,

:19:20.:19:27.

right at the edge, rotational weight. Suspension, too. Some

:19:27.:19:31.

riders are still choosing to come with a heavier full suspension

:19:31.:19:36.

bicycles with suspension at the rear as well. One of those is

:19:36.:19:42.

Jaroslav pull Harvey. He is a monster of a man. -- Jaroslav

:19:42.:19:47.

Kulhavy. He had a wonderful year in 2011, crushing everybody with solo

:19:47.:19:51.

victories. Not so dominant this year. The debate around that has

:19:51.:19:56.

been whether he has been saving himself for the Games. Nino

:19:56.:20:01.

Schurter's approach has been dedicating the entire year to

:20:01.:20:05.

getting his bike and his fitness in the right place to get this gold

:20:05.:20:09.

medal. I was just speaking to Annie Last from Great Britain a few

:20:09.:20:13.

moments ago. A lot of these riders, their job is to be very fit for a

:20:13.:20:23.

whole year. In an Olympic year does about peaking at one -- it is about

:20:23.:20:26.

peaking at one specific moment. That is a fantastic shot. You can

:20:26.:20:32.

see how strong at the field is already. Big gaps already. -- how

:20:32.:20:42.
:20:42.:20:49.

guys at the front are riding flat out now. There is just so much

:20:49.:20:54.

pressure. You talk about the stress and the strain on the bikes. This

:20:54.:20:58.

speed, this terrain, at any moment a puncture can happen. It is very

:20:58.:21:04.

likely. Undoubtedly two or three people will suffer punches

:21:04.:21:08.

throughout this. If it happens in the top group, there is only one

:21:08.:21:13.

place that you can stop, the technical zone. If you are 20

:21:13.:21:16.

metres past it, you have got to go round. You cannot go backwards into

:21:16.:21:21.

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

:21:21.:21:25.

that were punctured. They have to get them round to the other side of

:21:25.:21:29.

the course. I think it is all over if you have a major problem and you

:21:29.:21:33.

cannot fix it yourself. These riders to take small canisters to

:21:33.:21:37.

reinflate their tyres if they punter. They have a substance in it,

:21:37.:21:43.

liquid latex, which seals small punctures, but on a case like this,

:21:43.:21:47.

they will normally be pinched punctures, long as splits, and they

:21:47.:21:57.
:21:57.:22:15.

Schurter in second. Italy in 5th, Poland in 6th, Julien Absalon in

:22:15.:22:25.
:22:25.:22:26.

8th place at the moment. Manuel Fumic is an interesting prospect.

:22:26.:22:30.

He is 9th in the rankings but he was really fighting for the bronze

:22:30.:22:34.

medal in Beijing and he just missed out. He knows that he is capable

:22:34.:22:38.

and top 10 in the world rankings says that the 31 year-old German is

:22:38.:22:42.

definitely in the race. He was swapping turns on the front a few

:22:42.:22:48.

moments ago with Nino Schurter. We can expect to see him on good form

:22:48.:22:52.

today with Olympic experience already behind him. They are out on

:22:52.:23:00.

the road, overlooking Canvey Island. That looks like a big move from

:23:00.:23:08.

Jaroslav Kulhavy. He pushed his way out in front. Jaroslav Kulhavy was

:23:08.:23:13.

not sure whether to go for hardtail or full suspension, having the

:23:13.:23:17.

choice of both. Most riders have gone for hardtail despite the rocky

:23:17.:23:22.

course because of the hilly nature, wanting to save some word. The Leap

:23:22.:23:28.

of Faith, the long drop into the flat Derbyshire gritstone that has

:23:28.:23:38.
:23:38.:23:39.

been imported, 500 tons of it. 3500 tons, crushed. With this weather it

:23:39.:23:42.

is a really difficult course with lots of loose stone on top of it.

:23:42.:23:48.

It would be totally different if it was wet. This is very much about

:23:48.:23:52.

technical skill and the ability to keep the pressure on all the time.

:23:52.:23:56.

You get some riders that are very skilful, not necessarily the best

:23:56.:24:00.

physically. They get to a car on the downhill sections while other

:24:00.:24:07.

people are catching up. -- they get to recover. Here it is non-stop all

:24:07.:24:15.

of the way. You can see how robust the bicycles have got to be. They

:24:15.:24:20.

drive them over those rocks. Some of those Raynesway just 500 grams,

:24:20.:24:25.

less than a bag of sugar, and they can take a pounding like that. --

:24:25.:24:35.
:24:35.:24:36.

some of those frames away 500 grams. They make it look so smooth. Into

:24:36.:24:42.

the Breath Taker, the biggest climb on the course. Nino Schurter are

:24:42.:24:49.

leaving, Jaroslav Kulhavy in second. -- Nino Schurter leading. You have

:24:49.:24:54.

been looking into the potential for single rings. It looks like a lot

:24:54.:25:00.

of the riders... Hold that thought. You can see the potential damage is

:25:00.:25:06.

horrendous on the rocks. We have seen the view the riders get

:25:06.:25:09.

through the Roock Garden and there is a route but it is less than one

:25:09.:25:14.

foot right. If you get it right, it is straight through but if it is

:25:14.:25:19.

wrong, it is a disaster. It is not falling on to soft pine needles. It

:25:19.:25:24.

is a harsh penalty for making a mistake. Lots of these riders have

:25:24.:25:30.

dropped one chain will on their crack. You have only got 11 years.

:25:30.:25:39.

-- 1 chain wheels on their crank. You have only got 11 peers. Every

:25:39.:25:45.

gram of weight is important. They are going at slow speeds, less than

:25:45.:25:53.

30 mph, so it is about the power- to-weight ratio. They will save

:25:53.:26:01.

every ground they can. Some people have come a cropper. Julien Absalon

:26:01.:26:05.

is a long way down, which is quite a surprise. We have seen him do

:26:05.:26:10.

this before, letting the others fight it out. It was the same in

:26:10.:26:20.
:26:20.:26:20.

the women's rice with that parade - in the women's race with that

:26:20.:26:24.

courageous start by Annie Last. If you go too fast then it does start

:26:24.:26:33.

to tell. I think it was Manuel Fumic who went down then. No. 7.

:26:33.:26:38.

Difficult over the rocks. You have to get it absolutely right.

:26:38.:26:43.

Otherwise they are struggling over that section. Very interesting. I

:26:43.:26:52.

think some of the Spanish are starting to move. They were

:26:52.:26:57.

critical of the course when it was released but after the changes,

:26:57.:27:03.

they have apologised. Lots of people have said it is one of the

:27:03.:27:06.

best Olympic courses ever constructed. I think it is the best

:27:07.:27:11.

that I have seen. I have witnessed a few and tried some out, but this

:27:11.:27:16.

one from every aspect, it is what they call a short course format,

:27:16.:27:20.

the five kilometres loop. It was introduced to give more value for

:27:20.:27:27.

money to the customer, really, the spectators. The laps. I think they

:27:27.:27:31.

will be 13 minutes long, give or take. They get to see the riders a

:27:31.:27:36.

lot and without the trees, you can stand at one vantage point and the

:27:36.:27:40.

70% of the course, which is very unusual. It has allowed us to bring

:27:40.:27:44.

these fantastic images because we have great camera access. This very

:27:44.:27:53.

short, steep drop into the start arena. Still very close. Not much

:27:53.:27:59.

distance between each rider. Jaroslav Kulhavy makes a little

:27:59.:28:09.
:28:09.:28:13.

Schurter. It is quite a gap back to the others. We are surprised to see

:28:13.:28:18.

Julien Absalon so far back. Looking at the top of our screens, they are

:28:18.:28:23.

coming in front of us now, probably 20 seconds back. Very much all to

:28:23.:28:27.

play for, but he would not want to be in this position. These three

:28:27.:28:32.

have got clear daylight. When you know just how powerful two of those

:28:32.:28:39.

riders are, as well. The Italian, Marco Fontana, moving very well. A

:28:39.:28:49.
:28:49.:29:11.

couple of people have talked about Killeen of Great Britain as well.

:29:11.:29:15.

He is known to be a steady start and he works his way back through

:29:15.:29:23.

the field. Just coming in front of us now. He loves the challenge. In

:29:23.:29:27.

24th, 44 seconds off the pace at the moment. I think he will improve

:29:27.:29:37.
:29:37.:29:43.

on that as the race goes on. It is manner we mistook for Julien

:29:43.:29:53.
:29:53.:29:53.

Absalon is actually Tempier. Julien Absalon is actually in 27th. It

:29:53.:29:58.

looks like there is something up with his bicycle, already. We will

:29:58.:30:01.

have to seize and images of that because he's one of the most

:30:01.:30:07.

consistent guys in the world. There must be because of some kind of

:30:07.:30:17.
:30:17.:30:19.

misapprehension. Maybe he's a punter. -- At the puncture. He is

:30:19.:30:28.

sitting in second. The Spaniard, just behind him. I think we had a

:30:28.:30:38.
:30:38.:30:40.

we will see some riders pulled out of this race. They will be

:30:40.:30:48.

enforcing the 80% rule. The first full lap. Take that time. Anybody

:30:48.:30:52.

more than 80% of that behind will be pulled out of the race. They

:30:52.:31:02.
:31:02.:31:09.

don't want any interference with the bottom of Dean strop. We can

:31:09.:31:13.

hear that over the public announcement system here. Let's see

:31:13.:31:19.

if we can get some replay images of that. He's trying to close the gap

:31:19.:31:26.

on the top three. He looks in control, as well. Jaroslav Kulhavy.

:31:26.:31:29.

The expression on his face is not have some body absolutely on the

:31:29.:31:39.
:31:39.:31:40.

limit. A bit of puffing and blowing from Fontana. I spoke to the

:31:40.:31:45.

grandfather of European cross- country mountain biking and he said

:31:45.:31:50.

his nasal passages have been drilled earlier in the air so he

:31:50.:31:57.

can get more oxygen into it. It is an extreme sport, really. Mountain

:31:57.:32:01.

bikers are the kings of detail. There's not an answer fat on them

:32:01.:32:04.

because everything they had got to carry, they are weight obsessed

:32:04.:32:14.
:32:14.:32:23.

its 90-100 mm of travel. A slightly harder than they normally would to

:32:23.:32:31.

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

:32:32.:32:39.

very odd. I have not come across that until recently. Very, very

:32:39.:32:45.

unnerving, I'd imagine, to get used to the feeling. And the idea you

:32:45.:32:49.

only have a bar down one side of the wheel. It doesn't look right at

:32:49.:32:59.
:32:59.:33:05.

think this is my favourite cycling shot of the Games. Phenomenal.

:33:05.:33:14.

Snake Hole. It gives you a good idea of how the fielders spaced. --

:33:14.:33:24.
:33:24.:33:28.

the field is spaced. At 20,000 station. A little bit of a gap over

:33:28.:33:34.

Fontana and they will spot that. He just wasn't quite on the wheel.

:33:34.:33:39.

They will look to exploited where they can. The three of them are

:33:39.:33:49.
:33:49.:34:05.

inch wheel. The 650 be, as it's known. The 29 inch wheel, Jaroslav

:34:05.:34:08.

Kulhavy is riding. They come out of a section for the second time on

:34:09.:34:18.
:34:19.:34:28.

Barry Stander. They come back towards the rock garden. Barry

:34:28.:34:36.

Stander, just 24, the under 23 world champion in 2009. He came

:34:36.:34:40.

15th in Beijing. That is Liam Killeen and it looks like he's out

:34:40.:34:45.

of the race. He's not getting up in a hurry. Holding his ankle, by the

:34:45.:34:51.

looks of it there. That is the day over for Britain's Liam Killean,

:34:51.:34:56.

such is the hazards of mountain biking. We have seen it broken

:34:56.:35:02.

bones in training, so not for the faint-hearted. It will be open to

:35:02.:35:06.

the public after this but they will be taking out a lot of the Bill did

:35:06.:35:10.

sections. It also will be a challenging course, though. --

:35:11.:35:20.
:35:21.:35:27.

little bit. They have been pegged at the same distance, so it's not

:35:27.:35:34.

over yet. These three will not walk away with this. Jaroslav Kulhavy

:35:34.:35:37.

knew was going to be a fast start and made reference to it. He said

:35:37.:35:43.

it was going to be so, so hard to keep the pace up. The that was just

:35:43.:35:49.

ridiculous. You can see the way they slide their wheels into the

:35:50.:35:58.

ground. And they're so used to it. Using all of the travel. I can't

:35:59.:36:05.

ride that quick on tarmac. And then straight into driving up the next

:36:05.:36:13.

hole. It's a brutal form of racing, isn't it? We were talking yesterday

:36:13.:36:16.

about the difficult physical characteristics of mountain-bike

:36:16.:36:20.

riders. They have to be super skinny to be able to cope with the

:36:20.:36:26.

climbing they have to do. But they're also very powerful. Their

:36:26.:36:35.

actual top-end power is not massive but in terms of tall, it is equal

:36:35.:36:41.

to track sprinters we see. -- in terms of speed. Then you put it

:36:41.:36:45.

together with the technical skill, the battering their body takes over

:36:45.:36:52.

terrain like this, and you have it. Phenomenal speed carried through

:36:52.:37:02.
:37:02.:37:03.

the rock garden there. Six or seven bike lengths ahead, Schurter. On

:37:03.:37:08.

Tanner on his tail, at his second Olympics. -- Fontana. You can't

:37:08.:37:13.

afford to give away much distance because they have to drive to catch

:37:13.:37:19.

back up all the time. Making an effort to bridge the gap. Technical

:37:19.:37:23.

excellence really pays off on a course like this also a bunny hop

:37:23.:37:29.

there to get over those big boulders. A slightly quicker line.

:37:29.:37:39.
:37:39.:37:54.

has drawn up the back wheel of Schurter back in. Fontana doing so

:37:54.:38:00.

well to stay with the pack. You can see how big he is in comparison

:38:00.:38:07.

with Schurter. He's a little bit lighter. You can see the difference

:38:07.:38:12.

in wheel sizes as they come back past us there. We're talking about

:38:12.:38:19.

the diameter of the wheel. Barry Stander, not too far behind here.

:38:19.:38:25.

The left-hand side there, the small pink tassels. The organisers of not

:38:25.:38:27.

Barry at the whole course. They want to make sure it's accessible

:38:28.:38:37.
:38:38.:38:46.

for the public and there cannot -- You can see just how open it is. It

:38:46.:38:51.

really is great for the spectators. 20,000 tickets sold for the women's

:38:51.:38:55.

race yesterday. Sold out on both occasions and, with at this weather,

:38:55.:39:04.

everybody gets their money's worth. We've seen a couple of people,

:39:04.:39:09.

coming out and doing the Tour de France. Some road cycling. How

:39:09.:39:14.

difficult is it for them to transfer? It's a tough transition.

:39:14.:39:21.

A flat tyre. There's nothing he can do about it. Looks like he has no

:39:21.:39:31.

option but to reinflate. A bit tense to be a split. The self-

:39:31.:39:34.

sealing fluid in the small canister they carry, just can't cope with

:39:34.:39:40.

the size of it, so he will have to run his bicycle back to the

:39:40.:39:45.

technical area to get assistance. He was at the bottom of the hole.

:39:45.:39:54.

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

:39:54.:39:59.

hour-and-a-half long, he might want to get around to say he's finished

:39:59.:40:02.

the Olympic mountain bike race and see if he can pick up some places

:40:02.:40:07.

but, for him, I think it's all over now. But 80% rule being applied,

:40:07.:40:14.

that's going to be so small on one of these races. He's going to have

:40:14.:40:20.

to run pretty quick. The Spaniard and the South Africa and are

:40:20.:40:28.

starting to push hard to join at this lead group. They come into

:40:28.:40:33.

this last is gentle climate around the Olympic rings. And then they

:40:33.:40:43.
:40:43.:40:54.

drop down. On to the finish line. de France and then the Olympics a

:40:54.:41:02.

few weeks later. It's quite a change of pace, isn't it? Mountain

:41:02.:41:07.

bikers tend to be the very best athletes, and we can see why.

:41:07.:41:13.

Jaroslav Kulhavy just took a little look back but I think there is a

:41:13.:41:23.
:41:23.:41:23.

threat from a Barry stand-off. He has gone from 16 seconds on the

:41:23.:41:30.

last lap. He has shaved six seconds off. He is gently applying pressure.

:41:30.:41:35.

He has the experience, doesn't he? You have got to pace yourself like

:41:35.:41:42.

this. You can't go into the red. He has lots of experience. 24 years of

:41:42.:41:49.

age. The champion in 2009. The World Cup this year. Patiently

:41:49.:41:55.

working his way up the ranks. His British coach at him down as his

:41:55.:42:00.

dark horse for the race. He wanted to see what he could do. At the

:42:00.:42:06.

moment, it is two of the three big names who are thrown around which

:42:06.:42:11.

league this race. Jaroslav Kulhavy from the Czech Republic. He is a

:42:11.:42:19.

big man with a lot of power. He is just holding a lead over the Swiss

:42:19.:42:29.
:42:29.:42:30.

rider, Nino Schurter. He took a bronze in Beijing. Julien Absalon

:42:30.:42:37.

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

:42:37.:42:42.

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

:42:42.:42:46.

eye out for you. He was clearly having problems in the race. It's

:42:46.:42:51.

not physical form, that's for sure. You said he came through the line

:42:51.:42:57.

are looking at his bike. They are using at the flat to quickly take a

:42:57.:43:01.

drink. 90 minutes of racing. They have got to stay on top of their

:43:01.:43:06.

hydration. They will pick up a bottles and a technical zone. They

:43:06.:43:09.

weren't Carrie what they need for the race because it will weigh them

:43:10.:43:16.

down. -- they won't carry what they need. Sometimes they will squeeze

:43:16.:43:22.

it over their heads and legs, as well. Over low speeds, they don't

:43:22.:43:30.

cool down. We've just had confirmation now the that Julien

:43:30.:43:37.

Absalon, we have lost at the reigning Olympic gold medallist.

:43:37.:43:47.
:43:47.:43:49.

Number 48, didn't start the race, the German, Robert Forstemann. One

:43:49.:43:54.

of the biggest, be fierce to buy cried as you have ever seen. He

:43:54.:44:04.
:44:04.:44:23.

rides for less than a minute. He disciplines. Hermida driving up.

:44:23.:44:31.

Liam Killean, two ride is unfortunately not finishing. -- two

:44:31.:44:37.

riders. I think that is effectively the end of his Olympic career. Lots

:44:37.:44:44.

of young talent coming up behind. A solid bike rider in the sport for

:44:44.:44:50.

many years now. I'm not sure he will manage to maintain his

:44:50.:45:00.
:45:00.:45:02.

position as number one through to haven't they? And they have been

:45:03.:45:12.
:45:13.:45:25.

able to have a breather. Two behind, this is not confirmed, but there is

:45:25.:45:30.

a suspected broken ankle for Liam Killean, so a very sad end to his

:45:30.:45:34.

day. Our thoughts are with him. Not a great way to finish your Olympic

:45:34.:45:38.

career. It's just the nature of the mountain bike race, fast and

:45:38.:45:43.

furious. These things happen, and this course, more than any other

:45:43.:45:47.

Olympic course I have seen, is very, very technically demanding. It's

:45:47.:45:51.

one of the things you find with a lot of sports like this. They make

:45:51.:45:56.

it look so easy that you don't remember how difficult it is. But

:45:56.:46:00.

you only need one injury like that, something very small goes wrong,

:46:01.:46:10.
:46:11.:46:13.

normally if you make a technical mistake, and it is a natural course,

:46:13.:46:17.

then you run off and hit the ground and maybe there is gravel, grass,

:46:17.:46:23.

pine needles and you have a chance of getting away with it. Because it

:46:23.:46:28.

is completely man-made here, it is all stone. Every obstacle has been

:46:28.:46:33.

brought in. We have said it before already, it is very unforgiving.

:46:33.:46:37.

You get it right, you fly over it, that is why there have been

:46:37.:46:44.

commenting that it is very fast. But people have linked fast with

:46:44.:46:48.

being easy. It is anything but. you said before, absolutely

:46:48.:46:58.
:46:58.:46:59.

relentless. Jaroslav Kulhavy just making a move on Nino Schurter.

:46:59.:47:04.

Through the Rabbit Hole. Underneath the course, out of the technical

:47:04.:47:09.

zone. You can see Nino Schurter just out of the saddle. A couple

:47:09.:47:16.

more cranks to get his speed up. He is right on Jaroslav Kulhavy's

:47:16.:47:23.

wheel. It is probably the end of Julien Absalon's career now. An

:47:23.:47:28.

incredible record. The four times World Champion, looking for his

:47:28.:47:34.

third Olympic title. It was not to be. His day is over. It is almost

:47:34.:47:38.

certainly the end of an era of French domination in Men's mountain

:47:38.:47:47.

biking at least. They took the gold medal yesterday. I think it was the

:47:47.:47:52.

French Martinez who won in 2000 and then Julien Absalon has had 2004

:47:52.:47:58.

and also 2008, and it was only introduced in 1996. Their new

:47:58.:48:03.

nation will be celebrating almost certainly at the end of today. -- a

:48:03.:48:08.

new nation. He led the French team well. He has said he will race for

:48:08.:48:10.

another two years professionally and he has signed those contracts

:48:10.:48:15.

already but he expects this to be his last Olympic Games. The Leap of

:48:15.:48:22.

Faith for the leading group now. Flying down that. You come off one

:48:22.:48:26.

of the huge drops and you are straight into another climb. Look

:48:26.:48:30.

at the confidence that takes. You can see that slow-motion shot,

:48:30.:48:34.

showing why they have such hard suspension. If they bottom out,

:48:34.:48:39.

they tip the weight forward and it can make you go over the top. Extra

:48:39.:48:43.

hard suspension today. They are all using remote lock out as well,

:48:43.:48:48.

worth mentioning. You can see the suspension systems. There is a

:48:48.:48:54.

button on the handle, it sometimes electronic, normally hydraulic, and

:48:54.:48:59.

it looks it out. You get out of the saddle to drive up the climb so you

:48:59.:49:02.

do not get that bobbing effect and then they can a market for the

:49:02.:49:11.

rocky section. As soon as it starts bobbing it is soaking up energy.

:49:11.:49:21.
:49:21.:49:27.

they can a market for the rocky seem to be following in each

:49:27.:49:31.

other's tracks. I think it is amazing that you can find these

:49:31.:49:39.

bicycles that take this battering and still way so little. They are

:49:39.:49:49.
:49:49.:50:00.

about �93 macro in -- 93 pounds in Schurter has focused everything he

:50:00.:50:05.

has got on this Olympics. It is the one thing missing for him. He wants

:50:05.:50:15.
:50:15.:50:17.

this so desperately. A lot of these riders have said... Well, the World

:50:17.:50:23.

Championships have been compared to to the Pulitzer Prize and the

:50:23.:50:27.

Olympics are like the Oscars. You get the recognition of your peers

:50:27.:50:31.

but the recognition from the wider world for the Olympics. That is

:50:31.:50:36.

what Nino Schurter is chasing today. Two men on his tail are making it

:50:36.:50:40.

very difficult, Jaroslav Kulhavy, pushing him so hard. This is where

:50:40.:50:46.

we are going to see the pain barrier kicking in. Burry Stander

:50:46.:50:51.

is closing that gap, I think. That shot does fall short on the

:50:51.:50:55.

distances but I think those two will get back in touch. Those five

:50:55.:50:59.

are going to make the group from which, barring incident or injury,

:50:59.:51:02.

always a possibility and mountain- bike racing, the winner will come

:51:02.:51:11.

from. Lest we forget, Julien Absalon almost fell on the final

:51:11.:51:15.

lap of the Beijing race. It was very lucky that he recovered from

:51:15.:51:20.

that. He took the gold medal. It can happen to anyone, as we have

:51:20.:51:24.

said. Punctures are very common. We have already seen it with Julien

:51:24.:51:28.

Absalon. There are no guarantees, just because you are riding quickly,

:51:28.:51:32.

and you have clear space at the front, that it will not happen to

:51:32.:51:38.

you. There is that gap between the three leaders and the chasers. It

:51:38.:51:42.

looks bigger because they are going so fast. As soon as they start to

:51:42.:51:46.

go slow, it really condenses down. They come through the technical

:51:46.:51:50.

section and grab another bottle. They grab another bottle every lap

:51:50.:51:53.

to put over their legs and their head to keep cool and to take a

:51:53.:51:57.

couple of sips, but they are straight into that climb so they

:51:57.:52:01.

have to be so quick. Often they will put it in the bottle cage and

:52:01.:52:07.

wait until the top. Nino Schurter is also one of the riders in the

:52:07.:52:12.

vanguard with the single front rim. It is a risky thing to do. You are

:52:12.:52:16.

taking the gears that you need and absolutely no spares at all. If you

:52:16.:52:20.

have got your gear selection wrong, there is a head wind, something

:52:20.:52:25.

that changes the dynamics, then you have nowhere else to go. It is a

:52:25.:52:30.

courageous move. They will save a few grams in weight, for sure, that

:52:30.:52:35.

is the main reason. It also makes the bike simpler. They have right

:52:35.:52:39.

handed gear changing and that is it. What are pm on are looking to

:52:39.:52:49.
:52:49.:52:50.

sustain? -- revolutions per minute are they looking to sustain?

:52:50.:52:53.

Something very high, so that if they hit a bolder they can get out

:52:53.:53:03.
:53:03.:53:07.

of it. 70-90 is typical. Fantastic closing of the gap now by far

:53:07.:53:12.

Hamida. I think this gap is closing remarkably as we come into the end

:53:12.:53:19.

of the lap. -- Jose Hermida. Jose Hermida has been working hard to

:53:19.:53:27.

close that gap. Burry Stander is very much his junior, aged 24. He

:53:27.:53:32.

got a silver medal in 2004, and we have to remember that it is his 4th

:53:32.:53:36.

Olympic Games. He has been around at this level of competition for a

:53:36.:53:42.

long time. Burry Stander is the newcomer, forcing his way in. We

:53:42.:53:46.

also have to focus on the fact that he has close that gap. Burry

:53:46.:53:49.

Stander could have been with his group from the start and he could

:53:49.:53:53.

have been pulling away by 16 seconds. It will be interesting to

:53:53.:53:58.

see what happens next. He is trying to get right to the front. Very big

:53:58.:54:03.

move by Burry Stander. Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter recognise

:54:03.:54:07.

that, just closing the door a little bit on him as they start to

:54:07.:54:12.

climb towards Triple Trouble. An interesting race is developing.

:54:12.:54:16.

I think this is the group where we will see the medals contested. The

:54:16.:54:26.
:54:26.:54:27.

speed that they are going out, with half a lap to go, you would think.

:54:27.:54:31.

Burry Stander will wait for an opportunity. They have changed the

:54:31.:54:34.

course since the test events and they have made more opportunities

:54:34.:54:37.

for passing. I think he will be taking advantage of those, Burry

:54:37.:54:45.

Stander. He is popping up like a baddie in a horror movie. It

:54:45.:54:49.

probably gave Nino Schurter and Jaroslav Kulhavy a fright. Looking

:54:49.:54:53.

at the top 10 as they come through, Jaroslav Kulhavy leading, Nino

:54:54.:54:59.

Schurter in second. Burry Stander I think, actually, in second now.

:54:59.:55:07.

Jaroslav Kulhavy in third. Marco Fontana, Jose Hermida, Stephane

:55:07.:55:15.

Tempier of France, but there is a gap after him. Florian Vogel from

:55:15.:55:20.

Switzerland has dropped right back, 46 seconds off the pace. Carlos

:55:20.:55:30.
:55:30.:55:33.

Coloma of Spain, one minute back in 13th with Geoff Kabush. I think

:55:33.:55:39.

that Burry Stander is the stand-out in this race. He has been so

:55:39.:55:49.
:55:49.:55:49.

consistent this year. All of them taking that gap John for the riders

:55:49.:55:59.
:55:59.:56:01.

left of that truth. -- jump for the riders left of that tree. We saw

:56:01.:56:10.

that slight tailback, a blockage, as somebody went down. That is a

:56:10.:56:14.

reason why it has taken a while to get to this front group and it

:56:14.:56:23.

costs energy. It would have been a different race if he had been here

:56:23.:56:27.

from the start. In the women's race, the start was not very important

:56:27.:56:32.

and the people that drove it of paid the price later. Julie Bresset

:56:32.:56:37.

took some time to come through. But in the men's race it is totally

:56:37.:56:42.

different. They have driven it from the start. Burry Stander has done

:56:42.:56:49.

quite a few long-distance endurance marathon races. The epic through

:56:49.:56:54.

South Africa. He knows what it is to go through pain on a daily basis.

:56:54.:56:59.

Much shorter sprint if you can call it that. We are looking for a time

:56:59.:57:04.

somewhere between an hour and 30 minutes and 45 minutes.

:57:04.:57:08.

Interestingly the races are dictated by time and not distance.

:57:08.:57:11.

They look at what they think the lap time will be and they want to

:57:11.:57:15.

make the race into an hour-and-a- half or as close as. The men are

:57:15.:57:19.

flying round here. When I heard that there would be 30 minutes for

:57:19.:57:25.

each lap, I thought that was pushing it. -- 13 minutes. They

:57:25.:57:31.

have hardly slowed down, they are flying round. Just shy of 39

:57:31.:57:40.

minutes. They are actually under the 13 minute mark now they have

:57:40.:57:50.
:57:50.:57:54.

why you have to be so careful to place your effort, you cannot just

:57:54.:57:58.

sit back in the pack. You cannot just recover and come back in the

:57:58.:58:03.

Sprint. It is just so physical. If you start to fade, it will be

:58:03.:58:13.

picked up spray to -- straight away. The race has spread out and it is

:58:13.:58:18.

now totally defined by the first five now. You will say at the

:58:18.:58:21.

switchback that they will be able to see the rest of the field below

:58:21.:58:25.

them. I have looked at the split times and positioning, and Burry

:58:25.:58:29.

Stander at the first split, the first half of the first lap, back

:58:29.:58:33.

in 19 position. He has had a courageous fightback from very low

:58:33.:58:37.

down in the field. He has done a fantastic job. The question is how

:58:37.:58:42.

much it has cost him. As we came back to the start and finish area,

:58:42.:58:45.

he tried to drive through to the fore and he was stopped from doing

:58:45.:58:54.

that. I think Nino Schurter cut him out. It has not taken too much out

:58:54.:58:59.

of 10 to get back here. Has he been playing a waiting game and will he

:58:59.:59:09.

just drive back? Alexander Gehbauer is one of the only people in

:59:09.:59:13.

contention with this top group. You have to say halfway through the

:59:13.:59:15.

race that the three medallists are within the top five now and they

:59:15.:59:20.

will know that. He is making an inroad but I don't think it is

:59:20.:59:23.

because of the crash that held them back. I think they just could not

:59:23.:59:29.

cope with the starting place. I think it will come from these five.

:59:29.:59:32.

Two of them will be very disappointed. That man from Spain

:59:32.:59:37.

is possibly going to be one of them. I don't think when the pressure

:59:37.:59:40.

goes on the last lap that he will be able to cope with the pace. He

:59:40.:59:44.

is happy to be here, Jose Hermida, he has done a great job fighting

:59:44.:59:48.

across that gap, but I am not sure how much more he has got to give as

:59:48.:59:53.

they go through the Rabbit Hole. One of the older riders, 33, silver

:59:53.:59:57.

medal in Athens. He was World Champion in 2010, which is no mean

:59:57.:00:07.
:00:07.:00:12.

feat. But two years is a long time June. His form is there around the

:00:12.:00:22.
:00:22.:00:22.

right time. Only had the one win this year. In Andalusia. Wasn't one

:00:22.:00:28.

of the mountain world bike Cup, where he was one of the top 10 all

:00:28.:00:36.

season. You can see an almost full 100 metres there. The lead group

:00:36.:00:46.
:00:46.:00:46.

come on to the outside ridge. 15-20 seconds, the gap between them.

:00:46.:00:53.

Interestingly, you can see Fontana and Jose Hermida starting to drop

:00:53.:01:03.
:01:03.:01:03.

away a little bit. Burry Stander. Finally dropped back a bit as they

:01:03.:01:13.
:01:13.:01:17.

come down the leap of faith, mountain bike racing, how hard is

:01:17.:01:22.

it to keep pace? Well, they have a lot of confidence in each other.

:01:22.:01:27.

They are racing against each other. It the through various other

:01:27.:01:33.

competitions, as well. They know who are good, physically, and they

:01:33.:01:37.

trust each other. If so there is a mistake made in front of you,

:01:37.:01:41.

riding disclose over such terrain, everybody is going down, so there's

:01:41.:01:48.

a lot of respect between these riders. Another one of those short

:01:48.:01:58.
:01:58.:02:01.

fiery Klein's. -- climbs. Nino Schurter seems to have the

:02:01.:02:06.

advantage. He likes to be in front. He's going neck-and-neck through

:02:06.:02:11.

the rock garden with Burry Stander. He accelerated through there and a

:02:12.:02:17.

lot of the riders have been taking this left-hand line. Burry Stander

:02:17.:02:21.

leading Stephane Tempier in a bunny hop over the last couple of

:02:21.:02:28.

boulders. A little bit of daylight between Jaroslav Kulhavy and Burry

:02:28.:02:35.

Stander at the front. He was keen to go straight to the front but

:02:35.:02:39.

probably thought better of it. OK, I'm going to take a breather.

:02:39.:02:45.

There's plenty of racing to do. Nino Schurter is better on the

:02:45.:02:50.

climbing, but not great, technically. He can control the

:02:50.:02:59.

pace. People have commented on the fact Nino Schurter has been coached

:02:59.:03:05.

and has inherited the brains and the tactics of the great master.

:03:05.:03:12.

is playing to his strengths. I think this is the man who could be

:03:12.:03:16.

his undoing today. Just what it cost him to close the gap, really,

:03:17.:03:23.

isn't it? Nino Schurter driving up the hill now pushing so hard.

:03:23.:03:26.

physically, the better, and is using that ability to control the

:03:26.:03:33.

race. Three-and a-half laps and we are exactly halfway through this

:03:33.:03:42.

race. He is being blocked by Jaroslav Kulhavy. Jose Hermida. No,

:03:42.:03:51.

I want to be in second position and control the way this goes. This is

:03:51.:03:54.

like a lightning fast extremely dangerous game of chess on two

:03:54.:04:00.

wheels. These guys battling for position, trying to find a way past.

:04:00.:04:05.

Work out how their energy reserves are going to play, try to measure

:04:05.:04:10.

when to make their breaks. Burry Stander paid a price for that

:04:10.:04:19.

little move. An entire group past him and he's now in last position.

:04:19.:04:25.

Jose Hermida has come off. He's come to an almost complete halt.

:04:25.:04:30.

it was indecisive, I'm afraid. That is the experience we were talking

:04:30.:04:35.

about. He committed, he's too close on the wheel and jumped straight

:04:35.:04:42.

off. Hardly lost any momentum. Again, Burry Stander, having done

:04:42.:04:48.

so well to get to the front, drops away in a matter of metres. That is

:04:48.:04:54.

so demoralising for him. He's got to start another sprint. There we

:04:54.:04:59.

can see Jose Hermida picking up his bicycle. Then stalling in those

:04:59.:05:04.

rocks. You have got to make a decision. It's a horrible feeling,

:05:04.:05:08.

isn't it, when you break that rhythm, and suddenly, that lovely

:05:08.:05:17.

motion you are in his cut-out. Your brain stalls, the bicycle stalls,

:05:17.:05:22.

but Burry Stander has done the sprint to get back up there but,

:05:22.:05:27.

like you said before, he is going to struggle. You can't sprint like

:05:27.:05:32.

that without facing consequences later in the race. Yes, the 20

:05:32.:05:36.

four-year-old. This is the lesson you will have to learn. They will

:05:36.:05:45.

review this late race, later on. He is in a fantastic company,

:05:45.:05:51.

physically in great shape, technically, good. Just the lack of

:05:51.:05:54.

experience there. He's up again some of the most experienced by

:05:54.:06:01.

cried as in the world. If this was a transport service, we've had some

:06:01.:06:07.

disruption on the Burry Stander liner but normal service has

:06:07.:06:12.

resumed for to Nino Schurter. two years the senior, the South

:06:12.:06:18.

African. Burry Stander again making the move. Fontana didn't want him

:06:18.:06:27.

there and closed the door. Nino Schurter taking a quick look back.

:06:27.:06:32.

Just smooths everything out. Not to important in mountain biking,

:06:32.:06:37.

controlling the pace. Once you get to the back, you have a concertina

:06:37.:06:44.

effect, as everybody breaks into it. It was a traffic jam, really. Then

:06:44.:06:50.

the gap has to be closed up, as you hit the climb ups. He's having

:06:50.:06:56.

another go. He has been waiting for this section. He made his move at

:06:56.:07:00.

the end of the third lap and has done it again at the end of the 4th,

:07:00.:07:06.

Burry Stander. 20 seconds back to those two. They are not out of it

:07:06.:07:16.
:07:16.:07:17.

but will have to work hard as we approach an Isle of racing. Bash --

:07:17.:07:25.

an hour of racing. He's trying to stay with the lead group. Down

:07:25.:07:29.

through triple trouble as we start to see some of the back markers now

:07:29.:07:39.
:07:39.:07:56.

making their way over the line. right-hand side is more technical,

:07:56.:08:01.

and more quicker line. The left- hand side, I don't think there is

:08:01.:08:05.

much of a penalty as they should be, so they're going on the left-hand

:08:05.:08:12.

line almost as quickly as they did the technical section. That first

:08:12.:08:19.

five still battling it out and then we have got Stephane Tempier and

:08:19.:08:29.
:08:29.:08:58.

eight kgs. -- some of these bikes are under 80 kgs. Do you think

:08:58.:09:01.

there is a weight you can get it down to where it actually starts to

:09:01.:09:06.

become to light? Current technology, we are about their for mountain-

:09:06.:09:13.

biking now. If they could go light, you would, but you would then fail

:09:13.:09:18.

over this testing terrain and start to get failures. They are duelling

:09:18.:09:23.

at the front. Jaroslav Kulhavy trying to pull away, putting his

:09:23.:09:29.

foot down. A first at proper attack of the race, I think. Everybody's

:09:29.:09:35.

chasing so hard. Burry Stander has been pushed so hard to catch up

:09:35.:09:41.

with this group, came back from 19th place, closed the gap with

:09:41.:09:48.

Jose Hermida to create this opening five. Fontana and Jose Hermida

:09:48.:09:53.

starting to feel the pace now. That's what we thought would happen.

:09:53.:09:56.

The 20 seven-year-old has decided this is the moment in the race

:09:56.:10:01.

where he's going to see who has got what left and has taken it down to

:10:01.:10:07.

three, but he, himself, is now paying for that. There is a little

:10:07.:10:14.

bit of wind on this course and its possible to get some shelter. It's

:10:14.:10:20.

not insignificant. There is nothing to choose between these riders.

:10:20.:10:26.

They are all doing here. Throwing anything they can to try to test

:10:26.:10:31.

the others. Are we going to see a counter-attack from a Nino

:10:31.:10:37.

Schurter? Getting a drink is so important. You have got to take

:10:37.:10:41.

every opportunity to get some fluids on board. Of forget that one,

:10:42.:10:46.

and it will hit your performance so quick. All of the bottles are

:10:47.:10:51.

picked up by spectators as souvenirs. They are not littering.

:10:51.:11:00.

What a fantastic thing to get from your day out. Burry Stander, up

:11:00.:11:06.

such a threat. Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter looking so

:11:06.:11:11.

comfortable at the front. It could be telling that Nino Schurter is

:11:11.:11:16.

not counter-attacking or pacemaking. Under pressure there. We are

:11:16.:11:20.

starting to see some daylight climbing as they go back up Snape

:11:20.:11:28.

Hill. It really has stretched out. More distance into the chase is now.

:11:28.:11:32.

I think we could count out the Spaniard, as well. Looking further

:11:32.:11:38.

down, coming around the middle corner there, the third corner, we

:11:38.:11:43.

have got Stephane Tempier from France, followed by a Alexander

:11:43.:11:53.

Gehbauer. Closing the gap, the German, Fumic. But back to the

:11:53.:12:03.
:12:03.:12:04.

front, Jose Hermida rounding out this leaders Group. It could be the

:12:04.:12:08.

first time Nino Schurter has not led in this section, actually.

:12:08.:12:14.

There was a big debate raging, having dominated so convincingly in

:12:14.:12:22.

at 2011, was he saving himself for this event or off form? A lot of

:12:22.:12:27.

people think... We do you stand on this? Is it better to peak in the

:12:27.:12:33.

right spot or like Nino Schurter has, build your form and then

:12:33.:12:42.

plateau? It's so difficult, actually. We have just watch them

:12:42.:12:47.

breeze over at the front. It's not so easy at the back. Imagine riding

:12:47.:12:51.

down there with a flat tyre. A lot of running to do if you haven't had

:12:51.:12:59.

an issue on this course. Number 44, there. The flag-bearer for Rwanda,

:12:59.:13:05.

one of only seven athletes here from Rwanda. He was part of the

:13:05.:13:13.

genocide back in 1994. He was one of seven brothers. His other six

:13:13.:13:20.

brothers were killed. It's a phenomenal achievement. Just for

:13:20.:13:29.

him to be here. A historic day here at Hadleigh Farm. Looking at these

:13:29.:13:35.

intermediate times, Jaroslav Kulhavy, one second ahead of Nino

:13:35.:13:43.

Schurter. Two seconds ahead of Burry Stander and four seconds

:13:43.:13:47.

ahead of Jose Hermida. It gives you an idea of how close those first

:13:47.:13:52.

five are. We can say, together, they are giving each other some

:13:52.:13:58.

space in the technical sections. I would say Jose Hermida is looking a

:13:58.:14:03.

bit better now than in the latter part of the race. He had a bad

:14:03.:14:09.

section about 40 minutes ago, when he was really hanging. He has got

:14:09.:14:13.

endurance and that will be a factor in the last part of this race.

:14:13.:14:18.

section before this was the leap of faith. We saw them carrying so much

:14:18.:14:24.

speed on to that rock landing, but then they will pull it in instantly.

:14:24.:14:28.

They have a 110 degree turn. Sorry, 100 made degree turn, just to get

:14:28.:14:35.

there. -- 180 degree turn, just to get there. We haven't been talking

:14:35.:14:41.

too much about Fontana, actually. He has overhauled Burry Stander.

:14:41.:14:45.

Burry Stander is really slowing and he has fallen back again, Crow

:14:45.:14:52.

drink, as they come to the rock garden. -- Jaroslav Kulhavy.

:14:52.:14:57.

Fontana, we haven't spoken too much about him. He is quietly following

:14:57.:15:05.

in the slipstream. He has had some good rides this year. The Italian

:15:05.:15:10.

national mountain bike champion, of course. He could, be peaking just

:15:10.:15:15.

the right time. So much great physical and psychological

:15:15.:15:23.

exchanges in the front of this group are now. Nino Schurter and

:15:23.:15:26.

Jaroslav Kulhavy have not let him get away with anything and now

:15:26.:15:30.

Jaroslav Kulhavy is at the front, desperate to make sure Nino

:15:31.:15:36.

Schurter knows how strong he is. They have sensed some weakness and

:15:36.:15:40.

hope to bring this group then further. Burry Stander has had to

:15:40.:15:45.

fight for would to get there. He looks so good, just two laps to go,

:15:45.:15:54.

closing the gap, but to it will cost him. Making their way up the

:15:54.:16:00.

hill, named by local kids, the better take care. -- breathtaking.

:16:00.:16:10.
:16:10.:16:21.

between Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter. And Marco Fontana just

:16:21.:16:26.

came out of the track! Look how fast he recovered that. He was just

:16:26.:16:31.

out of sight when he slid. We were just talking about keeping

:16:31.:16:34.

attention on the course. An hour- and-a-half of intense concentration.

:16:34.:16:39.

He just overlapped his will but look how fast he recovered. That is

:16:39.:16:44.

mountain-bike racing. They used to having issues all the time and they

:16:44.:16:52.

get very good at managing them. -- they are used to having issues.

:16:52.:16:56.

Just before that, we saw Nino Schurter's will almost touching

:16:56.:17:06.
:17:06.:17:13.

Jaroslav pull Harvey. -- wheel almost touching Jaroslav Kulhavy's.

:17:13.:17:23.
:17:23.:17:23.

He pushed his bike backwards and that is what did for Marco Fontana.

:17:23.:17:31.

They are coming up the back of the Breath Taker. There are probably

:17:31.:17:37.

less than 60m before they hit the climb. So if you feel that you have

:17:37.:17:41.

time to take a couple of mouthfuls of water, you have to carry the

:17:41.:17:44.

bottle to the top of the climb before you can do anything

:17:44.:17:50.

meaningful. Jaroslav Kulhavy leads Nino Schurter with Marco Fontana

:17:50.:17:56.

just behind. A big gap now between those leading 3 and Burry Stander.

:17:56.:18:00.

I think Jose Hermida has fallen right off the pace. He is pushing

:18:00.:18:04.

it and I think he has been pushing to stay with the group so well. He

:18:04.:18:08.

is still not out of it. We are seeing a shake-up as we move into

:18:08.:18:13.

the last half an hour of racing. These three are starting to emerge

:18:13.:18:21.

as the medal favourites. Burry Stander got caught behind that

:18:21.:18:26.

crash earlier on and I think that has done for him. The start is

:18:26.:18:31.

proving so important in the men's race. At the moment there is no

:18:31.:18:38.

sign of Jose Hermida. There is almost a 100m gap. Jaroslav Kulhavy

:18:38.:18:44.

has the biggest gap that he has had so far. It is maybe 1.5 or two

:18:44.:18:47.

seconds. If he can keep the pressure on now, then he seems to

:18:47.:18:52.

have Nino Schurter in a spot of bother. He is the only ride on a

:18:52.:18:56.

full suspension bike. It is a choice. The suspension does not

:18:56.:19:00.

really help them over the big, rocky, technical sections. It is

:19:01.:19:04.

actually the rough sections where they are able to sit down. On the

:19:04.:19:08.

big sections they are out of the saddle, on their legs. When it is

:19:08.:19:12.

rocky, you have to be out of your saddle more and you get a pounding.

:19:12.:19:18.

Full suspension can give you a bit of arrest. Jaroslav Kulhavy is

:19:18.:19:24.

getting a bit of a lewd, two seconds, but nothing to speak of. -

:19:24.:19:32.

- a bit of a lead. They ary Stander cannot come back from that. He has

:19:32.:19:41.

the face of our man who is setting in. I think that third lap probably

:19:41.:19:50.

cost him everything and there is no way he is doing that twice.

:19:50.:19:55.

toll this has taken on Jose Hermida. He is 25 seconds back. And Marco

:19:55.:19:59.

Fontana has done very well. He has almost turned himself into the grey

:19:59.:20:03.

man of the group. He was almost invisible. He did not try anything

:20:03.:20:13.
:20:13.:20:13.

drastic. Just watching and waiting. Just knowing his limits. Staying in

:20:13.:20:23.
:20:23.:20:23.

the Wales, not using any extra energy, -- the wheels. He is ranked

:20:23.:20:27.

10th in the world at the moment and he is playing a waiting game. I

:20:27.:20:32.

think he has pitched it well. He has been their or thereabouts in

:20:32.:20:41.

the season. We mentioned him on Snake Hill at the start of lap four.

:20:41.:20:45.

Sorry, the start of lap five. And now he is just behind the Frenchman

:20:45.:20:55.
:20:55.:20:56.

Christophe and it will be interesting to see if he can

:20:56.:21:05.

overtake Jose Hermida. Those three have just gone. Only Burry Stander

:21:05.:21:11.

is left from that leading group. One hour into the race, this is

:21:11.:21:16.

always the point where it starts to tell who has gone off too soon and

:21:16.:21:20.

who is doing more than they can sustain. The third rider back, a

:21:20.:21:24.

little bit of style from Marco Fontana, kicking the back of the

:21:24.:21:31.

bike. He cannot help it! Fantastic. Not only is he going to get a medal

:21:31.:21:36.

but he is doing it in style. It is hard to believe that these three

:21:36.:21:40.

will be caught now. They have been at the front, pushing away, pushing

:21:40.:21:46.

away. Two riders have been able to stay with them but nobody has

:21:46.:21:51.

challenged Marco Fontana. He is happy to sit in third place. He

:21:51.:22:01.
:22:01.:22:02.

gets some distance on the physical sections. He looks in control. Nino

:22:02.:22:06.

Schurter has been working hard and he has been tested but I wonder if

:22:06.:22:15.

those efforts will pay off. This is a fantastic battle. Jaroslav

:22:15.:22:25.
:22:25.:22:26.

Kulhavy and Nino Schurter. Nino Schurter doing some pacemaking.

:22:26.:22:30.

Jaroslav Kulhavy happy to let him go through. Burry Stander's body

:22:31.:22:35.

language is saying it all. He is settling in for the long haul to

:22:35.:22:43.

the finish. Well, the short all now. He may have some company shortly.

:22:43.:22:47.

It will be interesting to see if we get a glimpse of Manuel Fumic at

:22:47.:22:57.
:22:57.:23:04.

Houts. I cannot see what the problem was. I think it might have

:23:04.:23:12.

been a puncture. His day is over. Manuel Fumic started number seven

:23:12.:23:22.
:23:22.:23:23.

and he is now number six. This race spread out so fast. Phenomenal

:23:23.:23:30.

speed they took off that. There was talk of the two maids working

:23:30.:23:40.
:23:40.:23:42.

together outside of their country. -- the team mates. And that is

:23:42.:23:50.

Marco Fontana! Having been so quiet, look at him go. Jaroslav Kulhavy

:23:50.:23:55.

just letting them drift away a little bit. You can see brilliantly,

:23:55.:24:05.
:24:05.:24:10.

a full switchback between Burry Stander and Jaroslav Kulhavy.

:24:10.:24:15.

Jaroslav Kulhavy is struggling to get back on. There was talk of some

:24:15.:24:19.

two maids working together, some collusion in this race, but there

:24:19.:24:26.

has been no opportunity. -- team- mates. It blew apart instantly but

:24:26.:24:32.

there was nothing that anybody could do about these three.

:24:32.:24:35.

Plaxton, the unfortunate Canadian who crashed on the start loop,

:24:35.:24:45.
:24:45.:24:46.

finally calling it a day on his race. They have let Marco Fontana

:24:46.:24:49.

have that little foray up front and now Nino Schurter and Jaroslav

:24:49.:24:53.

Kulhavy are back where they want to be. That his experience, waiting

:24:53.:25:01.

for the last minutes of the race. - - that is experience. Now is the

:25:01.:25:04.

time to start pushing on. Me as the confidence to drink on the move. He

:25:04.:25:13.

did not get rid of the bottle as quickly as he could have. It will

:25:13.:25:18.

be interesting to see how many races have actually finished.

:25:18.:25:27.

the split times, there is nothing between bronze, silver and gold.

:25:27.:25:33.

Jose Hermida is second behind Burry Stander. The bikes really take a

:25:33.:25:36.

battering. They do not soften the tyres because that would increase

:25:36.:25:43.

rolling resistance. If the tyres go too soft to get extra traction,

:25:43.:25:47.

which is something that might happen in the rain, they will get

:25:47.:25:51.

more impact punctures. All of the suspension is being done by the

:25:51.:25:58.

forks. We talked about this yesterday, some of the climbs are

:25:58.:26:02.

littered with tree routes, which becomes so treacherous in the rain.

:26:02.:26:06.

Given the nature of the course, some of them will be so pleased

:26:06.:26:16.
:26:16.:26:17.

that it is dry. It would change the race completely. The rocks of

:26:17.:26:22.

smooth boulders so there is hardly any traction on them. That changes

:26:22.:26:27.

the way that they ride and we could see more crashers, so better for

:26:27.:26:34.

spectators and riders that we have the weather that we have got.

:26:34.:26:39.

is probably the closest thing to coasting, a little breather. There

:26:39.:26:43.

is a strong breeze and it is an Open course. We are in that natural

:26:43.:26:49.

amphitheatre. There are sections of the course where it is possible to

:26:49.:26:53.

slip through the riders. You can see the muscle definition here.

:26:53.:26:58.

They take such a battering. It takes them days to recover. They

:26:58.:27:02.

have got suspension forks but most of it is done by their muscles.

:27:02.:27:08.

Even when they are burning down hill, they are working really hard.

:27:08.:27:13.

Elbows and shoulders working, swinging side to side as they work

:27:13.:27:16.

up the hill. You think about it being about the legs but there is

:27:16.:27:21.

so much done by the upper body. Mountain bikers are like swimmers.

:27:21.:27:24.

They used pretty much every muscle that there is to control the bike

:27:24.:27:30.

and go up the hills, the suspension for the body over the technical

:27:30.:27:39.

sections. Rounding the hairpin and down into the garden where we saw

:27:39.:27:49.
:27:49.:27:50.

Burry Stander make his move on Nino Schurter. Jaroslav Kulhavy second.

:27:50.:27:56.

Marco Fontana in third behind Nino Schurter. Looking very comfortable

:27:56.:28:06.
:28:06.:28:13.

again. They have all had their turns to put the pressure on. Nino

:28:14.:28:19.

Schurter is driving on. They are going to get the bell at the end of

:28:19.:28:24.

this lap. We are into the last third of lap six. It is not

:28:24.:28:28.

impossible that this will come down to a sprint finish, you know.

:28:28.:28:34.

an incredible prospect. After this long, what will be almost an hour-

:28:34.:28:39.

and-a-half of racing, to then spread! I don't know who my money

:28:39.:28:47.

would be on if this came down to a sprint finish. You have got the big

:28:47.:28:57.

powerful frame of Jaroslav Kulhavy. Then the rangy, wily Nino Schurter.

:28:57.:29:02.

Marco Fontana sitting somewhere between the two. Just as powerful

:29:02.:29:06.

as Jaroslav Kulhavy. With his build, he should not be able to climb like

:29:06.:29:12.

this, but somehow he does. He has got the speed and the power that a

:29:12.:29:17.

big man just should not have on the big climbs. These two are resigned.

:29:17.:29:23.

They are going for the minor places. It is about honour, seeing how high

:29:23.:29:27.

up they can get in the Olympic mountain bike race. They are stuck.

:29:27.:29:35.

I think it will be decided between these two. Jose Hermida is back in

:29:35.:29:42.

touch with the South African. is very son -- Burry Stander's

:29:42.:29:46.

second Olympics even though he is only 24, Sony has a great platform

:29:46.:29:53.

to build on for the Rio Games. -- so he has. All of them have had a

:29:53.:29:57.

go at putting the pressure on but none of them have succeeded. Surely

:29:57.:30:01.

it will come down to a close finish? But can somebody get any

:30:01.:30:11.
:30:11.:30:17.

daylight between them before they their temporary team mates here?

:30:17.:30:22.

would be a phenomenal prospect if, having pushed so hard, having set

:30:22.:30:27.

such an incredible pace, this front group now starts to slow down and

:30:27.:30:33.

do we get a third rally for them to be caught. Somebody has got to

:30:33.:30:40.

drive for home on the final lap. We saw on the start, crashes at the

:30:40.:30:46.

start, so coming around this final bend, it's could be who gets there

:30:46.:30:52.

first on the descent. Tempting not to go wide. Nino Schurter was

:30:52.:30:59.

popping his front wheel up. Jose Hermida, right on the back of Burry

:30:59.:31:09.
:31:09.:31:13.

Stander. A second wind, I think. Burry Stander. The last climb, a

:31:13.:31:18.

steep little drop into the arena. They roll over the top and down,

:31:18.:31:26.

carrying plenty of speed. Probably about 15 seconds I would say, the

:31:26.:31:30.

two chasers now. And they are trying to get back on terms.

:31:30.:31:34.

think they know the gap is shortening and the front group is

:31:34.:31:41.

starting to coast a little. Certainly, he has slumped in his

:31:41.:31:46.

shoulders, his head down a touch, Jaroslav Kulhavy, but he is still

:31:46.:31:53.

pushing Nino Schurter. There is nothing between them. Burry Stander

:31:53.:31:58.

and Jose Hermida, not too far behind at all now. They start

:31:58.:32:04.

driving up the hill. You can see this little dissent here. Whoever

:32:04.:32:12.

comes around here, is likely to win the Olympic title, so that smaller

:32:12.:32:17.

climber right here on this finishing a loop could decide

:32:17.:32:24.

Olympic title. Starting the 7th and final lap with a Nino Schurter

:32:24.:32:30.

first, Fontana, third. Let's have a look at the split time, 13 seconds.

:32:30.:32:34.

And they have closed the gap convincingly, taking six seconds

:32:34.:32:42.

off it, from the halfway point. they are coming back. It's

:32:42.:32:49.

unbelievable. I think it's because of the three at the front are

:32:49.:32:55.

thinking about tactics, rather than an driving harder. They have got

:32:55.:32:59.

just a handful of minutes left before the Olympic title is decided

:32:59.:33:05.

and they are trying to work out how they can get rid of the other two.

:33:05.:33:11.

A Jose Hermida makes his move down the steep section. Again, Burry

:33:11.:33:18.

Stander gets a slap in the face. He's got to drag himself back up.

:33:18.:33:22.

He has impressed me the most in the sense that his race plan went to

:33:23.:33:27.

custard, the moment they started, but he has been drawing on his

:33:27.:33:34.

reserves and somehow kept himself in contention. Nino Schurter really

:33:34.:33:44.
:33:44.:33:45.

pushing hard now. I still think Jaroslav Kulhavy looks the best,

:33:45.:33:55.
:33:55.:33:55.

physically, from the three. They are so evenly matched. We saw a

:33:55.:34:00.

mistake made yesterday in that exact spot. Nino Schurter has got

:34:00.:34:06.

himself a second and a half lead here. He's coming into this longer,

:34:06.:34:14.

slower sections. Straight back on top of it, isn't he? A little table

:34:14.:34:20.

top again from Nino Schurter. And Burry Stander. Both having a little

:34:20.:34:26.

bit of fun. Just checking over her shoulder, is anybody going to join

:34:26.:34:32.

me? I don't think so. I think you three will have to fight it out.

:34:32.:34:36.

Fontana is the dark horse. We don't know what else he has had in

:34:36.:34:46.

reserves. Jose Hermida, with that past, might have had one last whiff

:34:46.:34:50.

of a medal and managed to draw on the last of his energy to try to

:34:50.:35:00.
:35:00.:35:15.

Fontana leaving a little bit of space there. You can see why. He

:35:15.:35:19.

left himself some room to manoeuvre through that centre technical

:35:19.:35:25.

section. Driving away. Jaroslav Kulhavy, no expression on his face

:35:25.:35:31.

at all, not giving anything away. I think he's waiting for a sprinter.

:35:31.:35:37.

He has a heavy a bike with full suspension. These two, can they

:35:37.:35:43.

come back into it? Burry Stander has come back and even if he

:35:43.:35:47.

doesn't get a medal, he is the hero of the race. The amount of

:35:47.:35:52.

comebacks he has had. He is certainly fought hard. Everybody

:35:52.:36:00.

has had a typical day out. We have just seen, Fontana making the move

:36:00.:36:06.

on Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter. In 6th place making his

:36:06.:36:14.

move there as well, Fumic. The Italian is now pushing very, very

:36:14.:36:20.

hard. He's not the strongest here. He wants to try to make some

:36:20.:36:25.

daylight. I think Nino Schurter is going to appreciated, actually, so

:36:25.:36:29.

it's not him having to make the pace all the time, which he has for

:36:29.:36:35.

the majority of this race. They start off at the kind of pace

:36:35.:36:43.

resort on the first lap. A furious amount of energy. Technical skill

:36:43.:36:53.
:36:53.:36:58.

through these corners, also giving wheels. You could power a town for

:36:59.:37:06.

a week on the amount of power these guys are making here. It's an awful

:37:06.:37:12.

lot of power to be generating. They will use about 3,000 calories in a

:37:12.:37:18.

single race. He is in trouble. Jaroslav Kulhavy, I think he can

:37:18.:37:27.

get back, but if it does come down to this final little bit here.

:37:27.:37:31.

Burry Stander and Jose Hermida will have seen it a little bit of a gap

:37:31.:37:35.

and that will have spurred them on. The three seconds, and meaning for

:37:35.:37:41.

gap. The is somebody going to be making a mistake on the technical

:37:41.:37:49.

section? Fontana is driving away. A he's offered a bottle with six

:37:49.:37:54.

minutes to go but I don't think he will stop for a drink, will he?

:37:54.:38:00.

Jaroslav Kulhavy looked disgusted. Are you joking? The now, we're just

:38:00.:38:06.

watching Burry Stander and Jose Hermida try to catch up but back

:38:06.:38:13.

through the section, Nino Schurter is reeling in Fontana. He's making

:38:13.:38:20.

this last big push. They have one more. The halfway stage of this lap

:38:20.:38:25.

and has nothing to choose between the top three. Jaroslav Kulhavy has

:38:25.:38:30.

clawed his way back on terms there after the attack from up on Tanner,

:38:30.:38:37.

and it was an attack, as well. -- from Fontana. He's very consistent,

:38:37.:38:45.

isn't he? And still, these three are all together. I'm sure now,

:38:45.:38:49.

unless there is a technical section which is possible, this is going to

:38:49.:38:54.

come down to a sprint finish. Not for the line, perhaps, but the

:38:54.:38:57.

small climate with 30 seconds of racing to go because whoever gets

:38:58.:39:03.

to the top will have a clear run on the final two bends, which is no

:39:03.:39:09.

place to pass. Fontana again on the outside of Nino Schurter. That is

:39:09.:39:13.

so tied through there, they are endangering themselves also be

:39:13.:39:17.

wants to get himself in front for the next technical section and be

:39:17.:39:24.

in control. They come through for the final time. Jaroslav Kulhavy,

:39:24.:39:29.

in third, is the saving themselves for the sprint? I'm not sure. I

:39:29.:39:34.

think he drove very hard through there. Fontana has been saving it

:39:34.:39:40.

all and wants to get back. He feels he can make some daylight but has

:39:40.:39:47.

not done it. Stretching each other out. Absolutely phenomenal racing.

:39:47.:39:53.

So, so exciting to see a race come down to this. And they have come

:39:53.:39:58.

through the halfway stage of this final lap. It's a different ability,

:39:58.:40:02.

this finish. If it comes down to this last few minutes of this final

:40:03.:40:07.

climb, it's not the same as climbing up there. It is more about

:40:07.:40:13.

who can sprint. It won't come for the finish but for the final climb,

:40:13.:40:19.

and is paying for those efforts, Fontana. That first sprinter

:40:19.:40:23.

leaving Fontana down a little bit and are all of them are looking

:40:23.:40:28.

very, very careful. Not quite as quick. Berry good work from Nino

:40:28.:40:35.

Schurter. Very tidy as well. -- a very good work. Coming to the end

:40:35.:40:39.

of a rock garden and Nino Schurter has gone five or six bike lengths

:40:39.:40:46.

here. They will come around into the big climate before the

:40:46.:40:52.

technical zone for the second time. I was wondering whether somebody

:40:52.:40:57.

was going to make a mistake under pressure. All of them choosing to

:40:57.:41:03.

take the same line on this occasion. He has stretched run out. Can he

:41:03.:41:06.

make the advantage stick? I think they will end up coming back

:41:06.:41:13.

together again. Well, we are back on the breath taker, this big

:41:13.:41:20.

climate to the top of Hadleigh Farm. These two are breaking away now.

:41:20.:41:24.

Fontana, I think his day is done and he would get the bronze medal

:41:24.:41:32.

but this could be it. It is. Jaroslav Kulhavy just pushing up.

:41:32.:41:37.

He's such a big man. Somehow, he shouldn't be able to climb but

:41:37.:41:41.

somehow he manages to get up the hill. He's driving up it. He

:41:41.:41:46.

doesn't want to wait for the sprint but has not managed to get that of

:41:46.:41:51.

Nino Schurter. Both of them are so equally matched. I think it's going

:41:51.:42:01.
:42:01.:42:04.

to come down to this last 100-metre blowing their. He takes a quick

:42:04.:42:09.

look back and knows he's got a bronze medal, but this is the

:42:09.:42:15.

battle for a gold. Jaroslav Kulhavy trying to desperately held off Nino

:42:15.:42:19.

Schurter but he makes a move, pushing so hard. That could be

:42:19.:42:24.

decisive now. A few minutes left to see who is going to be the Olympic

:42:24.:42:29.

champion. They will soon be right in front of us here. A horrible

:42:29.:42:32.

section which took out Burry Stander and knocked him out of the

:42:32.:42:38.

lead group. They are coming through very nicely, though. You can hear

:42:38.:42:42.

the noise of the crowd as they come back towards us now. Through the

:42:42.:42:48.

technical zone. We can see them in the distance coming down. Less than

:42:48.:42:53.

one, two to go as they come into their last piece of the race. Can

:42:53.:42:59.

he overcome a Nino Schurter one last time? A very big effort. Nino

:42:59.:43:03.

Schurter feels, this could be his best chance to take the

:43:03.:43:07.

Czechoslovakia and. Fontana almost sitting at the end of a technical

:43:07.:43:12.

zone. The he has fought so hard to stay with these two but it's all

:43:12.:43:17.

over now. Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter are racing away now in

:43:17.:43:22.

their own battles. 500 metres remaining in this race. It's been

:43:22.:43:30.

so hard. These three have just driven this race along. Fontana now

:43:30.:43:35.

paying the price but he clade valiantly. Starting to get some

:43:35.:43:42.

distance now. There's nothing between them, is there? I can't say

:43:42.:43:48.

who's going to win the here? this is so close. They wanted so

:43:49.:43:53.

badly and have invested so much in this race. They are coming into the

:43:53.:44:03.

finish. One gentle climb, almost a single line. This is it. Nino

:44:03.:44:07.

Schurter has laid off, the winner, and has come onto the climb of.

:44:07.:44:12.

Whoever comes around here now will decide the title. They are

:44:12.:44:16.

sprinting for the top of the hill. Jaroslav Kulhavy has slowed right

:44:16.:44:23.

down. And he has got the inside line and can close it. A big

:44:23.:44:27.

mistake. 50 metres to go now as they come through the chicane. Nino

:44:27.:44:32.

Schurter trying to get it up. It can't come down to the last 10

:44:32.:44:42.
:44:42.:44:47.

Less than one bike's length ahead of Nino Schurter. It was going to

:44:47.:44:53.

be for that last time the moment but ended up. A small optical

:44:53.:44:57.

decide at the Olympic title. fantastic race for the Men's

:44:57.:45:03.

mountain biking. Bronze medal for form Tanner from Italy. A fantastic

:45:03.:45:11.

performance from him. -- Fontana. Jose Hermida takes off. With the

:45:11.:45:15.

South African, Crow journey in 5th. A truly, truly great race. -- Burry

:45:15.:45:25.
:45:25.:45:31.

That has driven all of the races to the absolute limit. Jaroslav

:45:31.:45:41.
:45:41.:45:47.

2012, that now seems clear. He has made it count when it matters for

:45:47.:45:57.
:45:57.:46:01.

an Olympic gold medal in London. Carlos Coloma of Spain comes in six.

:46:01.:46:10.

-- in 6th place. Manuel Fumic of Germany, a great race from him.

:46:10.:46:14.

Geoff Kabush coming round the corner, a great race from him. He

:46:14.:46:22.

got caught up in traffic early on. What an incredible and to that race.

:46:22.:46:32.
:46:32.:46:34.

Jaroslav Kulhavy and Nino Schurter, neck-and-neck. After more than,

:46:34.:46:40.

well, 35 kilometres of incredibly testing racing, there was less than

:46:40.:46:49.

two metres to separate them. So 9th place here for Alexander Gehbauer.

:46:49.:46:55.

Behind them we have a sprint between Stephane Tempier and Todd

:46:55.:47:01.

Wells, who takes it out in front. Top 10 finish for Todd Wells.

:47:01.:47:11.

Stephane Tempier settles for 11th. He was in 6th place for so long. I

:47:11.:47:18.

can't say I am as exhausted as any of the guys racing that course but

:47:18.:47:22.

I feel immensely drained having watched it. Not least because of

:47:22.:47:32.
:47:32.:47:45.

21 year-old. He smashes his world ranking. 28th coming into this. Now

:47:45.:47:55.
:47:55.:47:57.

13th. The crowd are cheering in every single one of these riders.

:47:57.:48:07.

Some shots just coming down this finish line. -- Samuel Schultz.

:48:07.:48:11.

can see lots of the riders just laid out. Trying to stand up, get

:48:11.:48:21.

their into their lungs, keep moving to recover. Look at that. Jaroslav

:48:21.:48:24.

Kulhavy, less than one hour 30. A breathtaking time from him, quite

:48:24.:48:34.

literally. Rudi Van Houts managed to recover from that puncture and

:48:34.:48:39.

comes in 17th. Ralph Naef of Switzerland in 18th. Phenomenal to

:48:39.:48:48.

look at it on paper, the Swiss has looked so strong in 2012. But Nino

:48:48.:48:54.

Schurter had to settle for second. There are four Swiss men in the top

:48:54.:48:59.

seven. But because of Olympic Rawlings they cannot have more than

:48:59.:49:09.
:49:09.:49:23.

three. -- Olympic rules. O'Connell Congratulations. Thank you. An hour

:49:23.:49:27.

and a half of racing, plenty of climbs, how on earth did you find

:49:27.:49:34.

the energy to sprint at the end? was really hard. We went full gas

:49:34.:49:44.
:49:44.:49:49.

every time. It was amazing. I got everything for this race. All my

:49:49.:49:55.

energy. I know you have tailored or a racing and you're training over

:49:55.:49:59.

the last year for the Olympics, so desperate for gold, and you have

:49:59.:50:05.

got it. What does that mean? That was important this year. Nothing

:50:05.:50:15.
:50:15.:50:22.

else. Everything, everything. Now I am Olympic champion. If you put on

:50:22.:50:26.

a fantastic show for the crowd and they certainly showed their

:50:26.:50:30.

appreciation as you came round that final corner. Were you aware of the

:50:30.:50:34.

crowd and how much they were cheering? I don't know, I am really

:50:34.:50:39.

dead. You are exhausted. Congratulations. And a bit champion.

:50:39.:50:49.
:50:49.:50:50.

Well done. the -- Olympic champion. Things are frenetic here. Chris

:50:50.:50:54.

Boardman has just come down from the commentary booth. That phrase

:50:54.:51:00.

had it all. Yes, including tragedy for Liam Killeen, he has had it

:51:00.:51:03.

confirms that he has broken his ankle. And those three in front

:51:03.:51:07.

were really amazing. Marco Fontana was so quiet for a lot of the race.

:51:07.:51:12.

There was nothing between the first two, absolutely nothing between

:51:12.:51:16.

them. It was coming down to that final nothing of the climb. It was

:51:16.:51:22.

not about the finish. It was that switchback which would make

:51:22.:51:27.

somebody win and they knew it. Talk about a photo finish. Towards the

:51:27.:51:30.

end they had to sprint and I don't know where you find the reserve to

:51:30.:51:37.

do it. I don't know. They dug hard. Nino Schurter dark hard to find

:51:37.:51:41.

everything that he could to keep in control but he did not. As soon as

:51:41.:51:46.

they went round the bend with 100m to go, there was no coming back.

:51:46.:51:50.

terms of the crowd, a fantastic show. They sound like they were

:51:50.:51:54.

loving it. Mountain-biking could not ask for more than that.

:51:54.:52:03.

cannot. It has been a wonderful spectacle, with wonderful weather

:52:03.:52:07.

and a marvellous race. Some wonderful moment but not everybody

:52:07.:52:11.

is believing with a smile. Julien Absalon had to pull out early. We

:52:11.:52:17.

caught him as he limped over the finish line. I had a flat tyre in

:52:17.:52:27.

the first lap. It was the worst thing for me. I worked for four

:52:27.:52:31.

years to be at 100% today and to have a technical problem is the

:52:31.:52:38.

worst thing. I'm really disappointed. It is really hard to

:52:38.:52:48.

finish like this. I was in good shape. It is terrible. I can't

:52:48.:52:52.

explain more. You came here as the defending champion. Did you feel

:52:52.:53:02.

the pressure? For sure but my mind was really good. I was thinking, OK,

:53:02.:53:08.

I have two gold medals, so if I win something today it was just a bonus.

:53:08.:53:13.

It was not a bad pressure, and our sport is a mechanical support also

:53:13.:53:19.

so that is the risk of our sport. This is definitely your last

:53:19.:53:23.

Olympics? It is a mechanical fault and not a physical fault so have

:53:23.:53:28.

you got anything more to give? cannot answer now because I am so

:53:28.:53:34.

disappointed. I think it was my last, yes. Julien Absalon,

:53:34.:53:38.

absolutely gutted. Annie Last, you know what it is like when you come

:53:38.:53:42.

over the finish line and everybody wants to talk to. He must have been

:53:42.:53:47.

feeling awful. I was the defending Olympic champion. He wanted to win

:53:47.:53:53.

this race and get another gold medal. But it is bike racing and

:53:53.:53:59.

you have good days and bad days. That is the awful thing. Sadly it

:53:59.:54:02.

is those moments that attract the crowd, the drama that makes people

:54:02.:54:07.

come to watch. What is it like to see this many people here cheering

:54:07.:54:13.

on your sport? It is amazing. The crowds have been incredible. To

:54:13.:54:17.

have this many people there, shouting, really getting behind all

:54:17.:54:21.

the riders and getting into the race is just great. In France and

:54:21.:54:25.

in Switzerland it is just a massive sport and they have these races all

:54:25.:54:30.

the time. It is not quite like that in the UK. You get places in

:54:30.:54:34.

Switzerland and France and America why you get massive crowds at lots

:54:34.:54:41.

of races. But you do not get so many people watching the races here.

:54:41.:54:44.

It is great to see the British public coming and having a bit of a

:54:44.:54:50.

look to see what is going on. People who do not know anything

:54:50.:54:54.

about cycling and sport are really getting behind it. Liam Killeen, an

:54:54.:54:58.

awful day for him. He did not finish the race. He has gone to

:54:58.:55:01.

hospital with a suspected broken ankle and he could even need

:55:01.:55:06.

surgery. Did you see what happened? I did not see the crash but I have

:55:06.:55:10.

heard that it was at the bottom of Deanes Drop. It sounds like he just

:55:10.:55:16.

slipped out. He came away from it really badly. Talk us through

:55:16.:55:21.

Deanes Drop. I have been describing them as staircases made out of

:55:21.:55:26.

boulders. What is it like from your point of view? There is a long,

:55:26.:55:29.

technical feature on the course. Some really tight, rough, rocky

:55:29.:55:35.

section's leading into some little jumps at the bottom. It is all

:55:35.:55:39.

about keeping in control for the whole section. You have to be

:55:39.:55:42.

focused and get down these different elements. It is a

:55:42.:55:45.

difficult day for him. There has been talk about this being his last

:55:45.:55:50.

Olympics. It is probably not fair to ask you the question, but could

:55:50.:55:57.

this be his last? I don't know. You see lots of riders coming through

:55:57.:56:02.

and racing again and again. I don't know. I am gutted for him today,

:56:02.:56:06.

really gutted. The tag-line of the Olympics has been to inspire a

:56:06.:56:10.

generation and after yesterday it was such a great show. I really

:56:10.:56:13.

hope this does not put anybody off. You would not want anybody to be

:56:13.:56:20.

put off? Not at all. The front of the race was just incredible. You

:56:20.:56:26.

see the sprint finish after an hour and a half, so... There are ups and

:56:26.:56:29.

dows to everything and I hope everyone has in the rest of the

:56:29.:56:39.
:56:39.:56:41.

race and really enjoyed it. I know everybody is looking forward to

:56:41.:56:44.

seeing more from you, Annie Last. What has happened to Liam Killeen?

:56:44.:56:49.

He has had a nasty break to his ankle. He was pushing hard to get

:56:49.:56:52.

into the race. He was coming from the back and moving very quickly

:56:52.:56:57.

and he has just gone down hard. There is a nasty break to the ankle,

:56:57.:57:01.

fortunately. He has spoken about how much he appreciates the home

:57:01.:57:05.

crowd in the past. Like other Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

:57:05.:57:08.

It is awful to think that he feels like he has let people down.

:57:08.:57:11.

last thing he said was that he wanted the crowd to be roaring for

:57:11.:57:15.

him. He was determined to have a good race and to be cheered on by

:57:15.:57:18.

the crowd, so we will be devastated that he has not made it through

:57:18.:57:24.

another few laps. In terms of cycling, the Olympic has been

:57:24.:57:33.

roaring success, hasn't it? Fantastic. The support staff,

:57:33.:57:37.

everybody deserves a pat on the back. We came to put on a good show

:57:37.:57:41.

for the nation and I think we have done that very well. I hope people

:57:41.:57:46.

are taking up cycling, road races, time trialing, mountain biking. I

:57:46.:57:50.

hope people can get on their bicycles. Do not be put off by this

:57:50.:57:53.

because the course will be made easier for the public going forward.

:57:54.:57:58.

In terms of British cycling, can you take a lot from this Olympics?

:57:58.:58:02.

We take a lot from every race that we do. After an Olympic Games like

:58:02.:58:06.

this, we look at where we are going in the next four years, where we

:58:06.:58:10.

want cycling to be, where we want the performances to be. The riders

:58:11.:58:13.

and staff sit down and look and look at the details and put

:58:13.:58:17.

together some new performances. Hopefully by Rio Games we will have

:58:17.:58:22.

pushed up the bar even higher. Every time I think Rio Games, I

:58:22.:58:25.

think Annie Last. I know lots of people will be following your

:58:25.:58:34.

career with aberration and interest. set it -- with admiration. We have

:58:34.:58:39.

said it so many times that Olympic dreams can be made and sadly today

:58:39.:58:43.

they have been broken. But that is sport, and that is why you have to

:58:43.:58:45.

celebrate the great moments and triumphs when they come. You we

:58:46.:58:51.

will all be watching Denise Lewis's to the nation's in an even sweeter

:58:51.:58:56.

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