Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's cross-country

The women's cross-country mountain biking at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place at the Laoshan Mountain Bike Course on August 23, 2008.

Women's cross-country
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
VenueLaoshan Mountain Bike Course
DatesAugust 23, 2008
Competitors30 from 21 nations
Winning time1:45:11
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Sabine Spitz
 Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Maja Włoszczowska
 Poland
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Irina Kalentieva
 Russia
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Germany's Sabine Spitz opened up a commanding, one-minute lead from the rest of the field and then stayed out in front to a spectacular finish with a gold-medal time in 1:45:11.[1][2] Trailing behind the leader by more than forty seconds, Poland's Maja Włoszczowska took home the silver in 1:45:52, while Russian rider Irina Kalentieva held off a tight battle with Canada's Catharine Pendrel down the final lap to grab the bronze in 1:46:28.[3][4] Among the 30 mountain bikers who competed in the cross-country race, only eighteen of them managed to complete the full distance.

Competition format

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The competition began at 10:00 am with a mass-start in which riders are positioned according to their current world ranking so that the higher-ranked riders are near the front. The cross-country race also involved six laps, with 172 m of elevation change for each, around the 4.45 km course at Laoshan Mountain Bike Course.[5] The overall distance of the race was 26.70 km.

Schedule

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All times are China standard time (UTC+8)[6]

Date Time Round
Saturday, 23 August 2008 10:00 Final

Result

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Rank Rider Country Time
  Sabine Spitz   Germany 1:45:11
  Maja Włoszczowska   Poland 1:45:52
  Irina Kalentieva   Russia 1:46:28
4 Catharine Pendrel   Canada 1:46:37
5 Ren Chengyuan   China 1:47:40
6 Petra Henzi   Switzerland 1:48:41
7 Mary McConneloug   United States 1:50:34
8 Georgia Gould   United States 1:50:51
9 Rosara Joseph   New Zealand 1:51:07
10 Aleksandra Dawidowicz   Poland 1:51:21
11 Elisabeth Osl   Austria 1:51:39
12 Liu Ying   China 1:52:01
13 Lene Byberg   Norway 1:53:19
14 Elsbeth van Rooy-Vink   Netherlands 1:53:30
15 Nathalie Schneitter   Switzerland 1:53:42
16 Eva Lechner   Italy 1:58:22
17 Laurence Leboucher   France 2:00:55
18 Adelheid Morath   Germany 2:02:25
19 Jaqueline Mourão   Brazil LAP (1 lap)
20 Rie Katayama   Japan LAP (1 lap)
21 Blaža Klemenčič   Slovenia LAP (1 lap)
22 Yolande Speedy   South Africa LAP (2 laps)
23 Vera Andreeva   Russia LAP (2 laps)
24 Janka Števková   Slovakia LAP (2 laps)
25 Dellys Starr   Australia LAP (2 laps)
26 Francisca Campos   Chile LAP (2 laps)
Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå   Norway DNF
Margarita Fullana   Spain DNF
Marie-Hélène Prémont   Canada DNF
Tereza Huříková   Czech Republic DNF

References

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  1. ^ "Spitz Wins Germany's First Cycling Gold at Beijing Olympics". Xinhua. China Radio International. 23 August 2008. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Germany's Spitz wins women's mountain bike gold". ABC News Australia. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  3. ^ Dreier, Fred (23 August 2008). "Spitz wins scorcher in Beijing". Velo News. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  4. ^ Byers, Jim (23 August 2008). "Catharine Pendrel fourth in women's mountain bike, Premont pulls out". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Mountain Biking Competition Format". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Mountain Biking: Results and Schedules". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.