Mountain Bike Cross-Country - Liam Killeen
RAISED in the shadow of the Malvern Hills, cross-country mountain biking was not such a strange career choice for the 26-year old dubbed ‘Killa’.
Since then he has added Commonwealth Games gold to his growing resume and won his first national title around the New Forest last month.
And Killeen believes he is on-course to better his fifth place in Athens four years ago. “Everything seems to be coming together at the right time,” said Killeen.
“I’ve not won a national senior title so that was pretty good preparation and the ideal step towards Beijing. My form seems to be going in the right direction and I’m back up to full speed and really enjoying my racing.”
The 26-year old didn’t travel to the pre-Games training camp in Macau, preferring to acclimatise at the national cycling centre in Wales, where temperatures were cranked up to match the heat and humidity of the Chinese capital.
FACTFILE
Name: Liam Killeen
Event: Mountain Bike Cross-country
Born: London (12/04/1982)
Club: Specialized
Coach: Shane Sutton
Previous Olympics: Athens 2004
Major tournaments: Commonwealth Games gold medal – Melbourne 2006, World Mountain Bike Championships -Les Gets – 2004, Olympics 5th – Athens 2004
Men’s race: August 23
