鹦鹉 - 2008-8-19 17:04:00
Bart Brentjens of the Netherlands was optimistic about his fourth consecutive Olympic Games appearance until he crashed in training four weeks ago and injured his left wrist.The winner of the gold medal in the inaugural Mountain Bike event at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games is still a medal contender 12 years later, but his wrist wrapped in white tape and changes that made the 4.5-kilometre loop course more technically challenging have put a damper on his chances.
"I have an injury on my wrist. It's a little scary for me on the descents. I cannot control my handlebars very good," Brentjens said after previewing the course. "I missed some training and it hurts all the time. It hurts on the climbs, hurts on the downhill. Even when I am doing nothing, it hurts."
Before the recent crash, Brentjens was optimistic about his chances of scoring a record third Olympic medal in Men's Cross Country in the Mountain Bike competition.
Also the winner of the bronze medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Brentjens is tied with Miguel Martinez of France with two medals in Olympic competition. Martinez won bronze in Atlanta and won the gold medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Brentjens rocketed to international fame after striking gold in Atlanta.
Known for his distinctive ponytail, the tall Dutchman was one of the pioneers of the Mountain Bike scene as it boomed in the early 1990s and he quickly became one of its biggest stars.
Still going strong at 39, Brentjens rode to second at the "Good Luck Beijing" test event in 2007 to boost his medal prospects for 2008.
Since then, however, course designers have toughened up the circuit, adding a series of rocks, drops, berms and new climbs and descents to make the course more challenging for Olympic-caliber competitors.
Only Brentjens and Roel Paulissen of Belgium have competed in all four Olympic Games since Mountain Biking was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1996.