自行车越野赛项目在美国十分流行，然而在中国还是新生事物。不幸的是，自行车越野赛成为今夏的比赛项目使得中国的自行车赛英雄江永华无法参加比赛。江永华是雅典奥运会的银牌得主，差点就得了金牌。然而女子500米计时赛将被新的自行车越野赛所替代，这也导致了江永华的提前退役。尽管有如此伟大的运动员缺席，中国队仍然渴望在新的自行车越野赛中一展身手。

    Olympic committee member for Cycling and Fencing, Cai Jiadong, made an interesting remark when asked about China's rivals in the BMX championships this summer: "China is now lagging far behind the world in this sport, so I think at present we have no rivals at all, all we have are friends!" With such a wonderful attitude, and the fact that China has genuine medal contenders in the other Olympic cycling events, the future looks bright for China's young cycling stars. China's chances of winning the medals will come down to what individual cyclists can do on the day, but one thing is for sure: it is going to be an entertaining summer. ......