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
Sabine Spitz
 Germany
Maja Włoszczowska
 Poland
Irina Kalentieva
 Russia
Cycling at the
2008 Summer Olympics
Road cycling
Road racemenwomen
Time trialmenwomen
Track cycling
Individual pursuitmenwomen
Team pursuitmen
Sprintmenwomen
Team sprintmen
Points racemenwomen
Keirinmen
Madisonmen
Mountain biking
Cross-countrymenwomen
BMX
BMXmenwomen

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

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

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

Date Time Round
Saturday, 23 August 200810:00Final

Result
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
  1. "Spitz Wins Germany's First Cycling Gold at Beijing Olympics". Xinhua. China Radio International. 23 August 2008. 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. 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.
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