Daniel McConnell will turn from competitor to coach on Tuesday as his wife Rebecca looks to land an historic Olympics mountain biking medal.
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The Canberra rider could only manage a lowly 30th placed finish in the men's mountain biking event on Monday at his fourth Olympics, but has no time to dwell on the result with Rebecca aiming to land Australia's first medal in the sport.
McConnell started towards the rear of the field on Monday, and never found a way into the race won by Great Britain's Thomas Pidcock, who finished seven minutes and 58 seconds clear of the Canberran with a time of 1:25:14.
Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel spectacularly flipped over his handlebars early in the race, and ultimately retired after trying to continue.
Australia's best mountain biking result at an Olympics came at Sydney in 2000 when Mary Grigson finished sixth - a result two-time World Championships bronze medalist Rebecca is tipped to improve.
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"It never is super-easy to watch her - it's quite stressful," McConnell said.
"But at the same time ... we're fairly used to it now.
"It seems to working pretty good at the moment and especially to see Bec riding so well, it's quite rewarding for me."
There had been fears a forecast typhoon would wreak havoc with the technical mountain biking course, but they never materialised during the men's race.
The course was not expected to hold up well under heavy rain.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
