Looks like only two USA mtb guys to Beijing!

U.S. men likely to earn just two mountain bike spots in Beijing. If things stay the course, only two will go and that doesn't look good for Bishop. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Adam Craig look like they will go!

Jeremiah Bishop, has just spent two years on his dream to go Beijing. He was able to hold his own on a tough playground. He was right there, raced with the best, but got sick and missed a few races! At the World Cup level, you can't do that, you have to be at every race and be in the hunt for 2 long years.

Jeremiah has the motor, and he even placed 8th at the world championships, the best any man from the USA in ten years! Did I say this is a tough game, not like football only for one season. That's a long time to stay focused! Most burn out!

It takes two years of racing to qualified for only two male cross-country mountain-bike racers to compete at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Think of that when you watch the games and know how hard all the racers have raced to get there.

This news comes after the UCI released its latest nations' rankings on October 18 - the U.S. men sit in 7th place with 2019 UCI points, 2 points behind Sweden. The world is a big place.

The combined nation ranking for '06 and '07 determines the number of berths each country receives for the games. The U.S. men finished 2006 ranked 4th with 2205 points. Its not over yet, but Bishop will have to pull the rabbit out of the hat.

Should the current 2007 rankings hold through December 31, the U.S.'s combined ranking for both years will be 6th, 129 points behind 5th-placed Germany, which has 4353 points. But only the top 5 nations earn the maximum 3 Olympic berths, meaning for the second Olympics in a row, "ONLY 2 American men" will attend.

The combined point total of a country's top-3 ranked riders determines its UCI nation ranking. At the end of 2006, 3 Americans sat inside the top 25 of the UCI rider rankings: Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (11th), Adam Craig (17th) and Jeremiah Bishop (22nd).

Again, this is a game that taxes you physical abilities to the limit. Yes the maxim "Practice makes perfect" but does not always hold true. This rough-and tumble game is hard on the body. The travel alone can get you really sick as we have seen that many racers like Shonny Vanlandingham at the start of the season.

Bishop is the real deal, he can race, but what can one do about getting sick?

Good effort Jeremiah.