Olympic Games

Venues-Mountain Biking

Laoshan Mountain Bike Course

Last Updated: Friday, August 7, 2009 | 2:39 PM ET

Bernice Chan CBC Sports

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, rides his mountain bike with Chinese cyclists on the Laoshan Olympic Mountain Bike Course in Beijing, China, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2005. Beijing will host the 2008 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Before the majority of people could afford cars, Beijing was predominantly a cycling city because it’s so flat.

So mountain biking is a relatively new thing for the Chinese, purposely going off-road and making tracks on dirt hills.

The Laoshan Mountain Bike Course is located near the Laoshan Velodrome west of the city.

An L-shaped modern building, a multifunctional service centre, sits on the edge of the forested course. It has seating for 2,000, and organizers have planned for some 15,000 to stand along the course and watch the race.

The area has been renovated for about a year, which include establishing the competition course, constructing a fixed building, a temporary stand and other temporary facilities.

Following the technical guidance of officials from Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the course was shortened to 4.6 km from 6.8 km, with an increased number of race difficulties.

According to the organizers, who held the “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 International Mountain Bike Invitational Competition last September, riders enjoyed the challenging course.

While Liu Ying of China won the women’s race, all three of the Chinese men were unable to complete the race for various reasons.

The course makes use of the natural landscape of Laoshan Mountain, with lots of zigzags and slopes. The area was also reforested to fulfill the mandate of a “green Olympics.”

After the Games it will be the training centre for the Chinese cycling team and the public will be able to see how well they fare along the course.