Through a mutual friend, Ollie and his girlfriend Heidi ended up stayed with us in Colorado for the 3 weeks leading up to the TD.  Ollie (and Heidi for that matter) are two of the nicest people you will ever meet, not to mention Ollie is one of the strongest riders I have ever ridden with.  All of us here in Boulder who rode with Ollie before the TD expected him to do well, so this is no surprise.  His setup was dialed, and his fitness and attitude are impeccable.  Climbs like a goat, and descended the most technical front-range trails on his rigid with aerobars faster than most of my friends do on their FS setups!!  

I laughed hysterically when he told me he was going to go do the Gunnison Growler the weekend before TD.  Then I found out he placed top 10 on his rigid bike!

Great to ride with (Pure comic relief!), but as others have noted, you don't dare try to put a wheel ahead of him!

As for the rules, we had indicated that we wanted to meet him and say hi at Boreas Pass, and he thanked us, and said it wasn't allowed.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for his character as far as the race rules are concerned.

Oh, and dude can crush some Ice cream.  No joke.   

I have been around MTB racing for a long time, and couldn't be happier for such a good person to be doing so well.  Go Ollie Go!!!!