Since the 2000 Olympics, Norwegian Gunn Rita Dahle had established herself as the best women mountain biker in the world. She won the World Championship in 2002 and 2004, and the European Championshisp in 2002-2004. In 2003 she won all five of the World Cup races, extending a streak she had begun in 2002 to eight consecutive wins in the World Cup. She was likely the heaviest favorite in any cycling race in Athina. The course was five laps after a start loop, covering a total of 31.3 km. Dahle went right to the front of the pack, and by the end of the first lap had opened a 32-second lead over Canadian Marie-Hélène Prémont. Dahle had the fastest split time on four of the five laps and won by 59 seconds over Prémont. Dahle continued her winning ways at the 2005 and 2006 World Championships. Before her major successes, Dahle had been struggling with anorexia.
