Liam Battles Back as Absalon Triumphs

 

Men's Cross Country Mountain Bike

23 Aug 2008 Laoshan Cycling Centre, Beijing, China

Report: Eddie Allen | Images: Phil O'Connor

 

Above: Just after the fateful moment, the injured knee telling the tale of the first lap fall

 

Julien Absalon of France underlined his superiority in the discipline by taking his second consecutive Olympic gold, with teammate Peraud taking silver ahead of Swiss rider Schurter.

 

However it was a race with two faces for GB interests, due to an early drama for medal hopeful Liam Killeen. Just 150 metres in, Killeen was nudged to the edge of the course and collided with a course marker, falling heavily, hitting his knee and winding himself badly. But in a sterling show of true grit and determination, Killeen battled back from the back of the field to finish in a stunning seventh position, revealing both the true nature of his form and his solid gold determination. A great showing also for Oli Beckingsale, who powered his way through the field to finish in a creditable 12^th in the 50 strong pack of the world's best cross-country riders.

 

However, the race was totally dominated from mid way through the second lap by France's Julien Absalon, who put on stunning show of athleticism and bike handling, going clear and maintaining a lead of over a minute throughout the latter stages of the race. Absalon was tailed throughout the latter stages by fellow Frenchman Peraud, with Swiss Under 23 Schurter taking bronze after the chasing bunch of five riders, including all the big hitters, were slowly whittled down.  

 

Above: Gold Medal winner Julien Absalon gave a masterclass on how to ride a cross country mountain bike

 

Both the Men's and Women's Cross Country MTB races were held on a specially constructed 4.5km loop in the Laoshan Cycling Centre on the outskirts of Beijing. Here's how the race unfolded on an unrelenting course in strength sapping heat.  

 

The Race as it unfolded

 

And they're off! CRASH! Just metres in, Liam Killeen goes down heavily in the pack, nursing his knee and looked winded. Is he out of it? Meanwhile Oli is mid pack as the Swiss duo of Vogel and Sauser head the pack. Defending champion Julen Absalon also at the head of the field.

 

Midway through the first lap the Swiss pairing, plus Absalon and Belgian Raol Paulissen, World Marathon champ are heading the field. Beckingsale is lying in 24^th. But where's Liam?

 

At the end of the first lap Paulissen leads the pack with a group of around a dozen riders, containing all the major players. Good news is Liam is still in the race, though around 2 minutes down on the leaders. Swiss rider Schurter joins his countrymen at the head of the field.

 

Above: The lead group early in the race - Absalon poised and ready to pounce in third spot

 

Sweden's Fredrik Kessiakoff comes to the head of the field, shadowed by Absalon, Sauser and Schurter, with Italy's Marco Fontana also in touch. Paulissen starts to slip back.

 

1 ½ laps in and Absalon attacks! The reigning champ kicks and strings things out with only Kessiakoff and Schurter being able to keep in touch. Absalon goes clear on the switchback climb and technical descent. Schurter nearly falls on the descent!

 

At the end of lap two Absalon looks imperious, opening up a lead of 18 seconds, with Sauser and Peraud of France heading the chase group of five riders.

 

Above: Vogel looked strong at the start but was forced to retire on lap 5

 

At the end of lap three, Absalon continues his masterclass of technical riding, with a 33 second lead over Peraud, also beginning to break clear from Italy's Fontana and Schurter of Switzerland. Beckinsale is around 1min 35 down with Killeen further back at over 2 minutes adrift after his early fall.

 

At 3 ½ laps the GB riders are making progress with Killeen up to 27^th and Beckingsale up to 16^th. Is fatigue creeping in for Absalon? he almost falls on a descent but manages to keep things 'tyres down'.

 

At the midway point Absalon is at 36 seconds from Peraud, with a group of four, Schurter , Sauser, Fumic of Germany and Fontana, 1min 31 secs behind.

 

Midway around the 4^th lap and the GB riders continue to press, with Beckingsale at 15^th  and Killeen battling back bravely in 21^st. Absalon stretches his lead, looking superhuman, to 49 seconds as his teammate begins to drop away.

 

Above: Killeen on the edge on a descent during his heroic surge through the field

 

At the end of lap 5 Absalon continues to look comfortable with a lead of 54 seconds over Peraud. Is a French 1-2 on the cards? Fontana and Schurter roll across the line over 2 minutes down, frantically gulping down fluids on one of the few parts of the course when they can. Cyclo-cross legend Sven Nys is up to seventh, the 'cross style course clearly suiting him.

 

5 ½ laps and Peraud is 1:08 down, in no man's land between the race leader and the chasing pack. Vogel is out of the race after an earlier problem. Beckingsale is up to 14^th and a storming Killeen has passed his team mate and is up to 13^th! Liam crashed out in Athens and came back to 5^th so Liam's no stranger to the late charge.

 

Lap 6 and Absalon continues to make it look ridiculously easy, with Peraud still 59 seconds back. With two laps to go it looks like a certain French 1-2 but a cluster of riders can still grab bronze. Nys now leads the chasers and looks strong.

 

Above: Despite the huge setback, Killeen finished an incredible 7th, from the back of the pack. Incredibly, he still manages a smile - the mark of a true Olympian?

 

At 6 ½ laps Absalon extends his lead back to 1min 09 while Killeen is up to 11^th. Beckinsale drops a place to 15^th. Killeen is up to 10^th and Beckingsale lies in 12^th as Absalon crosses the line with 1 lap to go? Is there a chance of two GB riders in the top ten? Meanwhile Sauser and Schurter of Switzerland manage to shake off the rest of the chasing group, with Fumic hard on their heels.

 

With less than half a lap to go Absalon still looks supreme with team mate Peraud looking assured in second. However, a sprint for bronze between the Swiss pairing looks on the cards.

 

Above: Beckingsale also surged through the field after lying in 24th on the first lap. He finished a hugely impressive 12th, bettering both of his previous Olympic performances.

 

Absalon climbs the Temple of Heaven climb for the last time, looking totally focussed with Peraud looking equally composed. Absalon hits the finishing straight with arms raised to huge roars from the crowd, winning his second consecutive Olympic gold. Peraud hits the line exhausted but happy with his silver. Meanwhile, Sauser is dropped by Schurter, 10 years his junior, in the final few hundred metres, to take Bronze.

 

Fontana was delighted with his 5^th position and wheelies across the line. Then unbelievably, Killeen crosses the line in 7^th! Yes 7^th in a stunning show of power and mental strength. What would his final position have been if it wasn't for than fateful early fall. Beckingsale comes in 12^th in a hugely impressive performance amid exalted company.

 

Results

 

1  ABSALON Julien  France  1:55:59  
2  PERAUD Jean-Christophe  France  +1:07
3  SCHURTER Nino  Switzerland  +1:53
4  SAUSER Christoph  Switzerland +1:55
5  FONTANA Marco Aurelio  Italy  +4:00
6  SOUKUP Christoph  Austria  +4:12
7  KILLEEN Liam  Great Britain  +4:15
8  LEJARRETA ERRASTI Inaki  Spain  +4:22
9  NYS Sven  Belgium  +5:01
10  HERMIDA RAMOS Jose Antonio  Spain  +5:02
11  FUMIC Manuel  Germany  +5:17
12  BECKINGSALE Oliver Great Britain  +5:26
13  GALINSKI Marek  Poland  +5:30
14  RAVANEL Cedric France  +5:39
15  STANDER Burry  South Africa +5:59
16  MILATZ Moritz  Germany  +7:00
17  KESSIAKOFF Fredrik  Sweden  +7:10
18  KULHAVY Jaroslav Czech Republic  +7:21
19  PAULISSEN Roel  Belgium  +7:31
20  KABUSH Geoff  Canada  +7:56
21  VALERIANO Rubens  Brazil  +9:20
22  JI Jianhua  China  +9:30
23  PARTI Andras  Hungary +10:01
24  LEUCHS Kashi  New Zealand  +10:31
25  FUGLSANG Jakob Diemer  Denmark  +10:42
26  PAEZ Hector Leonardo Colombia  +10:47
27  GASCO Dario Alejandro  Argentina  +11:05
28  COLOMA NICOLAS Carlos  Spain  +13:06
29  CRAIG Adam  United States   -1LAP  
30  ZOLI Yader  Italy   -1LAP  
31  NIELSEN Klaus  Denmark   -1LAP  
32  MEIRHAEGHE Filip  Belgium   -2LAP  
33  KURSCHAT Wolfram  Germany   -2LAP  
34  van HOUTS Rudi  Netherlands   -2LAP  
35  AKGUL Bilal  Turkey   -2LAP  
36  SILVA Cristobal  Chile   -2LAP  
37  BRENTJENS Bart  Netherlands   -2LAP  
38  LINDGREN Emil  Sweden   -2LAP  
39  McCONNELL Daniel  Australia   -2LAP  
40  CHAN Chun Hing  Hong Kong,China  -2LAP  
41  TROFIMOV Yury  Russian Fed.   -2LAP  
42  RYSENKO Sergii  Ukraine   -3LAP  
43  WELLS Todd  United States   -3LAP  
44  McGRATH Seamus  Canada   -3LAP  
45  HEYMANS Mannie  Namibia   -3LAP  
46  YAMAMOTO Kohei  Japan  -3LAP  
47  RAMIREZ Federico  Costa Rica   -5LAP  
48  KWARI Antipass  Zimbabwe   -6LAP  
 

DNF VOGEL Florian  Switzerland Lap 5  
DNF SEYMOUR Robin  Ireland   Lap 2