Julien Absalon (France) rode flawlessly at the Laoshan Mountain Bike Course on Saturday to defend
the Olympic title he won at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The four-time world champion pulled away
from his rivals on the second of eight laps to win in 1:55.59.
It was France's third consecutive gold medal in Men's racing; Miguel Martinez won at the Sydney 2000
Olympic Games.
Compatriot Jean-Christophe Peraud rode to silver in 1:57.06, with two-time Under-23 world champion Nino Schurter of Switzerland taking bronze in 1:57.52.
Schurter and teammate Christoph Sauser battled for the bronze medal over the last two laps, with
Sauser, a bronze medalist in Sydney, missing the podium by two seconds.
Harsh course conditions and high temperatures created problems for the 50 starters. Only 28 riders finished the race; two
failed to finish the race and 20 were lapped.
Women's Race
In the Women's race, Sabine Spitz powered away from the field on the first of six laps to become Germany's
first gold medalist in Mountain Biking since it became an Olympic sport in 1996.
A world champion in 2003 and bronze medalist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the 36-year-old crossed the line in 1:45.11.
With Spitz facing nothing but an open trail for gold, the battle for the remaining medals was intense.
Maja Wloszczowska chugged away from a chase group in the second lap and settled into Poland's first
Mountain Bike Olympic medal, taking silver at 41 seconds off the pace in 1:45.52.
Russia's Irina Kalentyeva battled against Catharine Pendrel of Canada in the final lap for third,
with the Russian edging her Canadian rival by just nine seconds to claim bronze in 1:46.28.
The 30-rider Women's field struggled against the heat and the challenging course that caused scores of riders to crash.
Only 18 riders of 30 starters finished; eight riders were lapped and four did not finish.
Three pre-race favorites struggled early on.
Marie-Helene Premont of Canada, silver medalist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, defending Olympic champion Gunn-Rita
Dahle Flesjaa of Norway and Margarita Fullana of Spain,
three-time world champion and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games bronze medalist, all did not finish.
