Browse content similar to BBC Two: Day 16: 13.15-15.35. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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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 | :02:10. | :02:12. | |
the BBC website for more information. | :02:12. | :02:17. | |
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 | :06:55. | :06:58. | |
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 | :07:01. | :07:08. | |
for supper how does this course compare? You tend think of mountain | :07:09. | :07:14. | |
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 | :07:36. | :07:42. | |
it's the turn of the men. Liam Killeen is going for Team GB. Sadly | :07:42. | :07:48. | |
he's not one of the hot favourite. No, he isn't. 5th was his best | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
result at the Olympic Games last time. He had a crash. He will have | :07:53. | :07:58. | |
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 | :08:02. | :08:07. | |
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 | :08:18. | :08:22. | |
afternoon, this has proved a fantastic place to showcase the | :08:23. | :08:28. | |
sport. Some of the hardest race and you will see is a mountain biking. | :08:29. | :08:35. | |
The riders are lining up. A very, very close field here. A fantastic | :08:35. | :08:41. | |
start. She is going to be very, very happy. This is exactly the | :08:41. | :08:47. | |
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 | :08:53. | :08:56. | |
is stretching it now and keeps getting more and more comfortable | :08:56. | :09:03. | |
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 | :09:12. | :09:17. | |
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. | :09:24. | :09:28. | |
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 | :09:33. | :09:38. | |
one in the bag. She's really starting to thump at the pedals | :09:38. | :09:43. | |
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 | :10:27. | :10:31. | |
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 | :11:10. | :11:14. | |
for a drink, so thank you for talking to us. Your grandparents | :11:14. | :11:19. | |
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 | :11:22. | :11:26. | |
away from the course. Loads of my family and friends came down and | :11:26. | :11:31. | |
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 | :11:40. | :11:43. | |
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 | :13:31. | :13:33. | |
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 | :13:50. | :13:57. | |
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. |