No North Americans on the podium for today's mountain bike events at the Laoshan Cycling Complex in Bejing, but one Canadian placed fourth in the women's event.
At a national or international cycling event, where you figure in the top five or top 10 matters, but at the Olympics, there are just three spots, and there are a lot of competitors fighting for those three.
In the women's events, a rapturously happy Sabine Spitz took the gold, completing the six laps of the 4.5 K course in one hour, 45 minutes, 11 seconds. Poland's Maja Wloszczowski claimed silver; Irina Kalentyeva of Russia took the bronze. Catharine Pendrel of Canada was fourth.
Julien Absalon of France claimed gold in the men's event, with teammate Jean-Christophe Peraud taking the silver, and Nino Schurter of Switzerland claiming bronze. Canada's top finisher was Geoff Kabush, in 20th.
And the photo? Well, mountain bike fans can be, ah, different, although, truth be known, this fan would look perfectly at home on the mountain stages of the Tour de France. In this Associated Press photo by Ivan Sekretarev, we see a Norwegian fan at the women's event today.
You can go here for a written report or see an album of the day here.