Spitz unlikely to return to Olympics in Rio

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Sabine Spitz has been a force within the women’s cross country mountain bike circuit since her first Olympic participation in Sydney during the 2000 Games. Spitz has participated in every Olympic cross country race since its inclusion in Sydney - where she finished in ninth place.

The 40-year-old may have missed out on defending her Olympic gold medal from Beijing in 2008 but was pleased with her second place and silver medal to add to the now, complete collection.

"Now I have my Olympic collection of three different medals, so it’s perfect. I always had a medal on my mind," Spitz told The Washington Post.

Spitz won a bronze medal at the Athens Games in 2004 and has also won the world championships in 2003. She’s been a consistent front-runner in the major cross country events and rarely finishes outside the top-10 at the world championships.

"I don’t have to go for all the World Cup races," she said. "I quit the overseas World Cup to concentrate on the Olympics, and I’m really focused."

While Spitz may have just missed out on taking a second gold medal in the London Games, she is not planning on heading to Rio - at least not as a rider.

"I don’t think so, maybe as a coach. I don’t have any immediate plans, my schedule was until today. And, you know, I have my collection of medals, so they would have to give me another color," she said.

The world championships in Austria will be Spitz next goal in the coming weeks but she has yet to decide her schedule following that race.