[this thread is about the olympic MTB and only that, other Olympic talk elsewhere please]
Team SA came away with just 3 medals in Tokyo. 2 for Tatjana Schoenmaker (now Smith if you've looked through the teamsheet and wonder where she has gone) and fluke in the surfing in lumpy japan swell. We might have a few fluke performances, but have very few athletes ranked in the top5 of their sports to have realistic medal chances.
EXCEPT.
Cycling. No disrespect to the other cyclists there, but it is all about our two MTB athletes who are currently on HOT streaks. (AMP is there, but it's a bit of a classics looking course).
Ladies. Sunday 28th of July - 14:10pm.
Candice Lill went to London 2012 as a promising youngster, but this season her results have been phenomenal.
2nd in Epic seems to have followed on the same result in Marathon worlds last year. Privateer status at XCO and she has cracked into the top tier somehow.
She did the test event last september and came 26th.
I find this post pinned on her Instagram from the beginning of the year quite incredible in retrospectively looking at where her rise has come from.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C240S27qtzJ/
Men. Monday 29th of July - 14:10pm
Alan Hatherley has been at the pointy end for a few years without really consistently being on the podium. Until this year, he just won his first XCO this past weekend in france. MvDP is not there, Pidcock is at the TdF as a GC/stage hunter. Nino is a ballie. The french armada are all good but all of the place. He has a solid shot at a podium if not overall gold if everything falls into place.
he did the test event last september and came 12th.
wonder if maybe it's the ridiculous 'tache?
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9IROdetSU0/?img_index=1
Here's the course preview from last year
False hope? What say you all?
