(Beijing, September 22) The "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 International Mountain Bike Invitational Competition was rounded off today at the Laoshan Mountain Bike Course. Liu Ying of China, Sabine Spitz of Germany and Lene Byberg of Norway finished the top three in the women's event, while Christoph Sauser of Switzerland, Bart Brentjens of Holland and Carlos Coloma Nicolas of Spain took the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in the men's division.

The competition turned out to be rather grueling, with the course, the venue for next year's Olympic Games, standing the test and receiving much praise from the participants.

The star-studded competition, which attacted five of the world's top 10 in both events, including the top three in the men's, saw a strong field made up of such superstars as gold and silver medalists at the World Cup and Olympic Games. During the competition,  which was a severe test of the riders' techniques, experience and physical and mental abilities, no one dared to slacken off for fear of being overtaken by the others. In the men's event only 8 of the 47 riders managed to finish the full length of the 10-lap race, which was rarely seen in the world. Some riders attributed it to the facts that the course was short in laps and many riders were not in form.

After the competition, many riders regarded the course as a very good one for Olympic competition. The men's runner-up Bart Brentjens called it a course that required both physical ability and techniques. The women's runner-up Sabine Spitz considered it  compactly laid and helpful in boosting riding speed. The men's bronze medalist Carlos Coloma Nicolas described the course as beautiful and challenging.

The competitors also spoke highly of the event organization and the overall service provided by the volunteers.