How Christopher Blevins prepared for the Paris Olympics
American MTB contender checks in from France
Christopher Blevins has been the top American man on the World Cup scene for yearrs now. That stature has led to Blevins earning a spot at his second Olympic Games. The 26-year-old from Durango, Colorado checked in for a few questions from a pre-Paris training camp in France.
Portions of this interview originally appeared in The Colorado Sun.
How has your hometown of Durango contributed to your success?
Durango has meant everything to my success and trajectory on the bike. Result wise and where I am as an Olypian but also just how much I love the bike. I think that’s what I’m most proud of and what Durango’s provided. It’s amazing that we have three Durangoans in the Olympics. It means a lot to carry on that legacy.
How have you been feeling this summer?
We had a lot of World Cup racing in June. Had some ups and downs getting back from Covid and starting to feel better and better and the last couple weeks. We’ve been in Annecy, France which is one of the nicest places in Europe. I’ve had really good preparation with USA Cycling and Specialized and starting to feel really good.
Do you have any thoughts on the Paris course?
The Paris course is kind of a typical Olympic style course which means it’s faster, less technical, not too many natural sections. But I think it suits me really well. It’s kind of similar to the first one in Brazil this year. It’ll be a fast race and I think it’ll have a little pack dynamics to it.
There’s really like 10-15 guys who could get a medal who are at a really good level so you don’t know who’s gonna really be on fire that day and you expect everyone to be.Â
What does it mean to be a 2x Olympian?
Being a two-time Olympian I think it’s a different experience now. First of all I’m older, I’ve got more experience and really want to fight for the medals this time. It’s also different in the way where we don’t have Covid and I can actually be a part of the community a bit more, watch some events after, and that’ll be really special, and I’ll be having my family there as well.
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