Race: Race Report: Olympic Games in London. By Raymon van der Biezen

The Olympic Games in London was another great experience in my life, but after riding so well I’m not happy with getting 1st in time trial and a 4th place in racing… Like the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, this was a big happening! It’s unbelievable how many athletes I have seen in such a nice atmosphere. I had a great time till the first race day. From that day I felt a lot of mental stress, because I wanted to show everybody what I am capable of…

The first few days in London we did some easy training sessions

at the Dutch High Performance Centre and we went to the Oakley Safehouse to get our Olympic goggles. On Monday August 6th we had our first practice on the Olympic BMX track, which looked awesome with all the details! My first practice felt okay, but I had some issues with the very first jump coming down the starting ramp and the first jump coming out the first turn. These jumps were really small and steep for the speed we have, but I had to deal with it like everybody else.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we had some more practice. I took my time to discover the track better and better, but also took enough time to recover in between. On Wednesday August 8th the mental stress for me started, because we had time trials. I didn’t feel too great, but somehow I pulled it off and I rode a decent lap! My competitors were almost half a second slower than me, so that gave me some confidence!

Even after a great time trial lap, 1 day later I had the same mental stress again for racing on Thursday. I almost couldn’t eat, but I needed to get some energy for the race, so breakfast and lunch took me some time… Before racing we had 30min warm-up. Riding felt pretty smooth, so I was getting ready for some race action. I was able to win 3 heats and that felt great. Because I won the first 3 heats, I was done and didn’t have to race the last two heats…

Friday: semi finals and final. Same mental stress, but I started off good with a first heat win and a 2nd place in heat two. Unfortunately I had one bad start at these OG and that was during my third semi heat race. Right after the start I had no place to go. At the finish I got 5th place, which gave me the last start pick in the final based on time. From lane 8 it was almost mission impossible to get first place, but I was going for it… Not a bad start, good acceleration, but around 3rd/4th place into turn one. Back to 5th at the second straight but than I was riding some smooth lines and almost came back to 3rd place, but I was on the wrong side into the last turn. All my energy was gone and 4th place was my final result. Teammate Twan did a great job getting 5th behind me, and Laura even better with a bronze medal in the woman class.

Getting 4th at the Olympics is a terrible feeling. I’m still disappointed, mixed emotions, but when I realize where I’m coming from I can be proud of myself.

It’s been a great experience and I want to thank everybody for their support before and after the Olympics. Hopefully I’m able to do this, another 4 years to Rio!

-Raymon van der Biezen