Adam Craig Readies for Olympic Glory

By Michael Frank

Adam Craig (Giant) is doing pretty well heading into the Olympics in Beijing.

He took third on a muddy World Cup course in Bromont, Quebec, where some riders DNF’d because they couldn’t handle the technical challenges.

Maine-born Craig (who now lives in Bend, Or.) says that some riders were complaining that the Bromont course was TOO hard, that the conditions were too nasty, but he says to him that’s just mountain biking. “Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes you have to get off and run. Technical conditions are part of the game, that’s all.” By the way, fellow American Olympian Todd Wells agrees with Craig.

Not that either racer will see similar conditions in Beijing, where it’s more likely to be hot, muggy. We asked him about his race prep, the course in China, and about how he runs his bike, the 2009 Anthem X0. (By the way, the 2009 Anthem X has been greatly revised from the 2008 version, with four inches of travel rather than 3.5 inches, a revised shock position, and an aluminum frame that’s actually lighter than the 2008’s carbon. We’re riding the Anthem X frame right now and it’ll be reviewed in November MB.)

Q. So about that course in Beijing….?
A. It’s going to be a really different sort of track. It’s a very short course, only 4.2km per lap and it’s not that technical; mostly it’s lots of changes of rhythm, with lots of spikes up and down, so you can never really settle in.

Q. So it’s more like a typical urban World Cup course?
A. Yeah, we see that a lot at UCI races, where they use walking paths, bench in some rocks to create something technical. Basically it’s just technical enough so you couldn’t run a CX bike.

Q. You didn’t go to Athens (site of the 2004 Olympics) but you’ve ridden it. How does Beijing compare?
A. It’s similar; these aren’t places people go to ride for fun; they’re race courses designed to be fan friendly, but these are pretty entertaining places to race because they’re so fast. And that’s also technical, because you have to be super careful about line selection. They added tons of rocks to Beijing I saw, so there’ll be lots of flat tire options.

Q. Speaking of which, the Anthem has Michellin Dry2 tires as standard equipment. What will you run in China?
A. Depends on the weather. It’s been raining there, but the race isn’t until August 22nd, so it’s likely to be dry. I always bring lots of super secret rubber for occasions like this; old tires I like. I’d love it if it were wet but that could also be really bad because that soil has a ton of clay, so it could be greasy and also bad for the drivetrain.

Q. Rain would help the air quality, eh?
A. Yeah, I read that the air quality in Beijing had dramatically improved — and pretty much nothing they’ve tried has made much difference — so I was kinda surprised. Then I saw that it’d been raining over there for three straight days, so there you go. But that is what it is; it’s like if it rains or if the course is technical or not. Everyone racing has to deal with it, so pollution is just part of that.

Q. How will that change your prep?
A. All of the U.S. mountain bikers, Todd Wells (GT), Mary McConneloug (Seven/Kenda) and Georgia Gould (Luna) will first be going over to Jeju Island, South Korea next week. The air is clean; it’s supposed to be a lot like Hawaii, so we can acclimate to the heat and humidity. And if the air is lousy once we get to Beijing I’ll just train indoors and try to stay indoors as much as possible. We’re only there three days before the race so it shouldn’t be that bad.

Q. Speaking of training, you’re peaking right now, and had some pretty rough races earlier in the World Cup circuit. Was this intentional?
A. Yeah, if you look at Todd [Wells] he was in tiptop form pretty early and locked up one Olympics spot. But I figured if everyone raced the way they did these past few years I could gamble, peak later and get the other spot. I just needed to be fit enough, which I was, and then it was always the plan to be almost tired at Worlds [in late June] so that I could taper from there and then bring it back up for the Olympics. I’m racing on pretty tired legs right now but I’m still feeling really confident and fast, and that’s right where I wanted to be.

Q. Yeah, you seem to have decent power, running a single front chainring!
A. Well I’m varying the size of that ring but it’s something I pushed for. You save a bit of weight but on these courses that are so fast and usually never have very steep climbs you’re really reducing the chance of a mechanical. So in Vermont and Bromont I ran a 32, which is pretty small, but on some World Cups I ran a 38 front ring. In China with so many little ups and downs, with quick turns right after the descents, I’ll have better chain tension and better balance and when one mis-shift could make for a disaster I’d rather not have that.

Q. What about being on a full-suspension bike with 100mm of travel?
A. This bike is shocking. I’ve ridden it on trails where most guys were on bikes with six inches of travel and been able to hang, and at World Cups I’m so much less tired at the end than I would’ve been on a hard tail. Plus unlike a lot of guys, with the Anthem X it isn’t so much heavier than a hard tail so I don’t have to make that tough decision of deciding which way to go. And because it’s aluminum, not carbon, I’m not always thinking, wondering, if something bad is gonna happen. It’s super solid.